In a series of posts Virtus will provide tips and advice covering many aspects of publishing. This series will be an ongoing selection of language tips, covering areas that many authors find difficult or confusing. These will be short and to the point.

The Misunderstood Semicolon

A very common area of confusion among authors (and even editors) concerns the correct use of semicolons (;) versus other types of punctuation.

The most common mistake I see is when semicolons are used when a comma is appropriate.

There are circumstances where semicolons are used in the context of lists to avoid confusion and to make it clear to the reader which list items belong together.

However, that is not the primary or most common function of a semicolon.

The simplest explanation I can think of is this:

A semicolon functions like a full stop. If you could not use a full stop and change lowercase to uppercase, then you do not use a semicolon.

Any of these are correct:

A storm was approaching; the seagulls were noisy.
A storm was approaching: the seagulls were noisy.
A storm was approaching. The seagulls were noisy.

In the first case, we use a semicolon to keep the two concepts in the same sentence, because they are related. The reason the seagulls were noisy was because a storm was approaching. When we want to keep these two ideas in the same sentence, a semicolon is the best option.

The second case is an alternative option: to use a colon. This also expresses the idea that the approaching storm was related to the noisy seagulls.

The third case is grammatically correct, but it is not as effective because it’s no longer clear that the two ideas are related.

This use of a comma in this example instead of a semicolon is incorrect:

A storm was approaching, the seagulls were noisy.

When determining whether a semicolon is appropriate, look at the two clauses that are to be separated by punctuation. If they can stand on their own as sentences , then a semicolon is appropriate.