I need punctuation help. I still don't always know when to use semicolons. As I understand it, you use semicolons when you want to separate a complex list such as:
She needed to pick up a prescription from the drug store; a flashlight, batteries, and tape measure from the hardware store; and milk from the grocery store.
It is also used when you have a sentence with more than one subject, almost like two sentenes you're pushing together such as:
She was always the one to do the shopping; her sister was utterly useless.
Am I even hitting close on this one? How about htis setence, one I just wrote...which is it a comma or semicolon?
Kay did not trust her sisters, she never had.
I'm leaning toward comma but I'm having doubts.
Posted by DeepDreamer (Member # 5337) on :
It would be a semicolon because you have what could be two complete sentences there and no conjuction between.
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
Here's a general rule. If you have to separate sentences that you're jamming together to make one sentence, use a semi-colon. Otherwise, don't use it.
Dorca pressed the cloth against the wound on her leg. She was bleeding like crazy.
Dorca pressed the cloth against the wound on her leg; she was bleeding like crazy.
Dorca pressed the cloth against the wound on her leg, and she was bleeding like crazy.
All of the above are grammatically correct. Not necessarily good writing, but grammatically correct.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
In the sentence you are suggesting, a semicolon should be used instead of a comma or the word "and" should follow the comma.
THanks for the link, and thanks for the clarification everyone. I don't know why I can't get my brain raound this one...for some people it's passive voice, others it's commas, for me it's semicolons.
