Mastering the semi-colon.

Captain Morgan · Jul 27, 2007

When I think back to my grade 6-8 years of having to learn english-grammar rules, all that time goes by and not once did any teacher go over the semi-colon issue. Combining two seperate but related bits into one sentence.

I believe they still don't really go over this form when teaching kids today, or do they? With the semi-c use on the rise...

That leads me to wonder, how did most people end up learning to use it? Just from seeing it in books and diving in, or did others actually have someone teach them?

I've read in a few grammar & style books that there are numerous writers who 'think' they understand its use, but get it wrong. And those trying to 'show off' or take advantage of its use end up looking like an amateur.

I've been trying to play it safe and avoid this structure myself.

veinglory · Jul 27, 2007

I saw it in books, used it badly, was corrected and did some research. I do love semi-colons, in moderation.

joetrain · Jul 27, 2007

they taught it to me in junior high or something. i saw that it was good and good for combining complete thoughts. now i consider its proper use down-right sexy. (i think that's the second time since i've joined aw that i've referred to a semi-colon in an extra-platonic fashion. ya'll do frightful things to a man's head.)

Bo Sullivan · Jul 27, 2007

Charles Dickens' use of semi-colons was prolific; I use semi-colons whenever I see the need to do so; it is a worthwhile exercise, and cuts down on the use of commas in long sentences.

Semi-colons have always been in use in the English language and they are a very important part of English grammar.

Chasing the Horizon · Jul 27, 2007

I learned from reading Stephen King. He's quite fond of them.

licity-lieu · Jul 27, 2007

I never learnt; I'm still learning.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 27, 2007

Semi

I was taught to use semicolons in seventh grade, and all my kids were also taught in jr. high. The rules are certainly in the jr. high grammar books. But I try to avoid using them in fiction. I don't like the way they read in the kind of fiction I write, and I've found sometimes two sentences really are better than one.

Oh, and there's no hyphen. It's just semicolon, not semi-colon.

ErylRavenwell · Jul 27, 2007

Never follow the trend.

MerryDay · Jul 27, 2007

The only time I can remember being taught was in Honors AP English classes during the last two years of high school. And...I still have to look up the proper usage!

Prawn · Jul 28, 2007

I don't like them. They can be effective when used properly, but they are often the sign of something that needs to be rewritten. As a guide, I think a MS should not have more semicolons than it has colons. How many colons are there in a novel? Very few.

Also, I think that adding a conjunction almost always clarifies your meaning. Consider

I love you; you are beautiful.
versus
I love you because you are beautiful.
or
I love you, yet you are beautuful.
etc.

I find that a connecting word is usually a better choice than a semicolon.
P

P

julie thorpe · Jul 28, 2007

Noah Lukeman (literary agent and author of The First Five Pages) has this to say in A Dash of Style, his book on punctuation:

'We use a semicolon for the same reason we replace cement floors with marble: cement floors are equally functional but not as elegant, not as aesthetically pleasing as marble. The semicolon elevates punctuation from the utilitarian (from punctuation that works) to the luxurious (punctuation that transcends). Business memos do not need semicolons; creative writers do.'

Go, Noah; I'm with you all the way...

Someone who did a crit on a piece of my WIP recently told me I was semi-colon happy (I had used two). I was quite taken aback, then amused.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 28, 2007

semicolon

julie thorpe said:
Noah Lukeman (literary agent and author of The First Five Pages) has this to say in A Dash of Style, his book on punctuation:

'We use a semicolon for the same reason we replace cement floors with marble: cement floors are equally functional but not as elegant, not as aesthetically pleasing as marble. The semicolon elevates punctuation from the utilitarian (from punctuation that works) to the luxurious (punctuation that transcends). Business memos do not need semicolons; creative writers do.'

Go, Noah; I'm with you all the way...

Someone who did a crit on a piece of my WIP recently told me I was semi-colon happy (I had used two). I was quite taken aback, then amused.

Noah is either wrong, or a God-Almighty lot of supposedly very good fiction writers are wrong. He should learn the choice isn't between concrete and marble, it's between a semicolon and a period. The period works better.

rugcat · Jul 28, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
Noah is either wrong, or a God-Almighty lot of supposedly very good fiction writers are wrong. He should learn the choice isn't between concrete and marble, it's between a semicolon and a period. The period works better.

I must demur. Semicolons have their place. They certainly are not appropriate for all styles of writing, any more than a Eb7#9b5 chord belongs in a rock and roll song. (Actually, the straight #9 7th chord was used by Jimi Hendrix all the time)

Used sparingly, it can break up the choppy feel of too many short sentences one after another. Sure, there are other ways to achieve that, but it’s a useful stylistic device–when used appropriately. Which of course is true of most anything you do.

Eliminating it entirely from writing is just arbitrarily limiting your options.

maestrowork · Jul 28, 2007

Semicolons are very useful and elegant in many situations in which neither full stops/periods or commas would do.

rugcat · Jul 28, 2007

maestrowork said:
Semicolons are very useful and elegant in many situations in which neither full stops/periods or commas would do.

Thanks, Ray. Much more succinct than my rather wordy post. At least I resisted the urge to use any semicolons in it.

ErylRavenwell · Jul 28, 2007

julie thorpe said:
Noah Lukeman (literary agent and author of The First Five Pages) has this to say in A Dash of Style, his book on punctuation:

'We use a semicolon for the same reason we replace cement floors with marble: cement floors are equally functional but not as elegant, not as aesthetically pleasing as marble. The semicolon elevates punctuation from the utilitarian (from punctuation that works) to the luxurious (punctuation that transcends). Business memos do not need semicolons; creative writers do.'

*Bury face in hands* Please don't quote Noah Lukeman again. This has happened everytime a topic on the semicolon shows up.

Honestly, I first encountered the semicolon on a toilet wall—and I was in my third year through an engineering course! Each time someone's brought up the topic on the semicolon I can't help recalling that remark written by some guy on the wall: "I bet this is an Arts student (Arts students are the butt of all jokes) who wrote this. They are the only ones who use semicolons."

julie thorpe · Jul 29, 2007

' Eliminating it entirely from writing is just arbitrarily limiting your writing '

Precisely.

Why not quote Noah Lukeman? It was good advice. Much better than most suggestions found on toilet walls,anyway.

ErylRavenwell · Jul 30, 2007

julie thorpe said:
Why not quote Noah Lukeman? It was good advice. Much better than most suggestions found on toilet walls,anyway.

How true. Can't argue with that.

Returning to Lukeman's quote, it's certainly beautifully written, but that doesn't make it necessarily right. Lukeman's compared the semicolon to marble and leaves us to believe that the basic punctuation marks—the comma, the period, and, perhaps, the colon—are the cement floor in the analogy. If that were the case, how does he explain the fact that many best-sellers and award-winning books don't have a single semicolon?

Further, there is a huge gap between the "utilitarian" and the "luxurious"— and I don't think you can fill this gap with the semicolon.

Then again back to my previous post. I didn't go into the necessary depths, but what I mean: for the vast majority of the readership the semicolon happens to be almost an alien symbol—no more, no less. How can it "transcend" if your audience is ignorant about it?

Note, I'm not trying to press my opinion here. The semicolon is fine with me. I'm just giving the reason why I personally don't use it (or in moderation). It's just me.

I forget this one. Let me counter Lukeman's quote with Vonnegut's. Yes, Vonnegut!

"If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don’t have the nerve to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts. But do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites, standing for absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college."

Getting back into my usual torpor Good bless one-liners

Bufty · Jul 30, 2007

I'll have to take your word for that, Eryl, because I can't say it's something I make any effort to track.

ErylRavenwell said:
.... many best-sellers and award-winning books don't have a single semicolon?

Dawnstorm · Jul 30, 2007

ErylRavenwell said:
Honestly, I first encountered the semicolon on a toilet wall—and I was in my third year through an engineering course! Each time someone's brought up the topic on the semicolon I can't help recalling that remark written by some guy on the wall: "I bet this is an Arts student (Arts students are the butt of all jokes) who wrote this. They are the only ones who use semicolons."

for the vast majority of the readership the semicolon happens to be almost an alien symbol—no more, no less.

A toilet flushed is a noisy thing, but the writer is distracted by graffiti. What curious construction is this? It appears to be a battle field, a comma invading the periods slot.

From the toilet odours emerge, and still the writer pays no attention. His eyes slide downwards, scanning squiggles of a different hand. Semicolon? Is that the alien's name?

Turning towards the cubicle's door, he shakes his head free of smells and punctuation.

Semicolons stink.

maestrowork · Jul 30, 2007

Semicolons don't stink; people do.

pconsidine · Jul 30, 2007

The only indisputable use of semicolons that I have come across is in lists that are preceded by a colon. For example, if you are listing a series of cities: Boston, Massachusetts; Albany, New York; and Bombay, India.

Otherwise, I tend to avoid them.

Dawnstorm · Jul 31, 2007

maestrowork said:
Semicolons don't stink; people do.

Hehe.

(Still, I wonder if maybe you took my post seriously? My above post was a whimsical reaction to Eryl's posts; neither agreeing nor disagreeing, just being silly.)

Sunnyside · Jul 31, 2007

Hunh. I thought a semicolon was only to be used when indicating a "wink" in an instant message.

Kids today.

Unique · Jul 31, 2007

I like semicolons; leave them alone.

Mastering the semi-colon.

Captain Morgan

veinglory

volitare nequeo

joetrain

blank

Bo Sullivan

Chasing the Horizon

Blowing in the Wind

licity-lieu

drying and defragging...

Jamesaritchie

ErylRavenwell

MerryDay

Prawn

Writing is finite,revising infinite

julie thorpe

Jamesaritchie

rugcat

Lost in the Fog

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

rugcat

Lost in the Fog

ErylRavenwell

julie thorpe

ErylRavenwell

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

pconsidine

Too Adorkable for Words

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

Sunnyside

Unique

Agent of Doom