, or ; ..... when does it matter?
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In your sentence, comma, not semicolon.
I believe the semicolon is like the poor-man's full stop. When you want two ideas to be separate, but not two-sentences separate.
Could be wrong. I'm not a grammarian. I go with my gut.
I believe the semicolon is like the poor-man's full stop. When you want two ideas to be separate, but not two-sentences separate.
Could be wrong. I'm not a grammarian. I go with my gut.
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Third agreement. Comma. What kept you from coming home. Is a sentence fragment (since there's no question mark making it a question), not a full sentence, otherwise a semicolon would work.
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I actually misread it as a separate phrase (a question despite the lack of question mark) with the semicolon. Fourth agreement for commarage.
So then, my OP is correct.
It was still unclear what had happened; what kept you from coming home.
Two seperate but related thoughts, right?
I don't think ANY punctuation can make that sentence quite "right." It needs a little rewriting:
It was still unclear what had happened that kept you from coming home.
And from what little I know about editing and "tightening up," I'm tempted to delete had. An English Major/Professonal Pedant might argue with me, but I don't think it's neccesary in context.
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No, it should not be a semi-colon. It was still unclear what kept you from coming home. When you use a semi-colon, it divides two sentences that are grammatically capable of standing on their own. You join them with a semi-colon instead of separating them with a period because you want the ideas to flow together more tightly. In your example, you wouldn't want to do that, because then the second phrase would be: "What kept you from coming home?" And that is too abrupt a change from the preceding clause for a semi-colon to be usable.
99% of the time it's a toss-up between a semi-colon and a period, not a semi-colon and a comma.
99% of the time it's a toss-up between a semi-colon and a period, not a semi-colon and a comma.
No, semi-colons are much more closely related to periods than to commas*. If you're trying to decide whether to use a comma or a semi-colon, you're looking at it wrong. The applicable question is whether to use a period or a semi-colon. Never use a semi-colon where you can't use a period.
*In this usage. There's another, much less common usage for semi-colons in which they function as sort of superior commas, but it's unlikely to be found in fiction.
ah! I see! I did have some mishaps in my WIP with fragments separated by a semi-colon.
Will revise...
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I'd go for either a comma or period. The semicolon doesn't make sense here. If the second sentence is a fragment, use a period.
Well, that's obviously correct, but the first version (with a comma, not a semicolon) is correct also and has a different mood to it. There's something sad about "what had happened, what kept you from coming home." It conveys that someone missed you--someone really wondered why you hadn't come back. The alternative you propose loses that feeling completely; it's almost terse.
Using a series of dots/periods may fit the bill for you. I've seen this done many times with authors that I enjoy, such as John Sanford. You want to combine two thoughts in order to form and complete a larger concept. This method works for me and I use it often. Others may disagree.
It was still unclear what had happened.......what kept you from coming home.
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Except you would only use three periods, which is called an ellipsis.
(Okay, I just wanted to jump into a grammar-related thread that I knew the answer to but which had already been answered.)
I disagree; grammatically, an ellipses there is not appropriate. The ellipses is used to indicate a gap, that something is missing. It does not combine two thoughts.
It is perfectly appropriate to use a comma here, because "what kept you from coming home" is the delightful thing known as "the non-restrictive appositive." It refers to the previous clause and provides descriptive data, but is not required in order for the sentence to make since.
True, but there is "grammatically correct", and then there is "accepted practice". The twain shall only occasionally meet.
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Not really, unless by "accepted practice" you mean "informal writing" such as bulletin board postings. What you're doing here is using ellipses as "hesitation" or an extension of a thought. That may work in dialogue (not really either -- in dialogue ellipses are used for trailing speech) but not in narrative.
Granted, if you're a named author, you could do anything and your editor may let it pass. But it's definitely not an "accepted practice" especially if you're trying to get published.
Either way, there is no such thing as a 7-dotted ellipsis anyway.
And I agree with Medievalist: a comma is fine there.
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