User:NoFlyingCars/Grammer

Grammer

I sometimes have trouble with semicolons ( ; ) and commas ( , ). This page is made to clear these issues up so I can write better Wikipedia content.

;

There are several ways to use a semicolon:

1. To connect two independent clauses (a series of words that could stand alone as complete sentences).

Examples:

• "This could be a complete sentence; this could be another one."

• "Nine workers started the project; only five remain."

• "Red is strong; green is deep."

Exception: (don't use a semicolon when a conjunction (and, or, etc.) is used (which is a complete sentence):

• "This could be a complete sentence, and this could be another one."

• "Nine workers started the project, and only five remain."

• "Red is strong, and green is deep."

1. To serve as a super-comma (when you have three or more items that have commas in them, you separate these items with a semicolon).

Examples:

• "I visited Atlanta, GA; Miami, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida."

• "My favorite bands are Porcupine Tree, a progressive rock group; Tool, another progressive rock group; and The Yellowjackets, a fusion-jazz band."

• "Megan's three sons were born on August 17th, 1981; November 1st, 1984; and September 13th, 1992."

1. Preceding a connecting word (that is, for example, however, but (does not have post-ceding comma), for instance, such as (does not have a post-ceding comma) etc.). But, a period ( . ) can be used before the connecting word.

Examples:

• "Jimmy ran away; however, he returned later that night."

• "BMW enjoys using many car finishes; for example, red, blue, silver, white, etc."

• "My boss ordered new computers, printers, and scanners; but the order was incorrectly filled."

• "With picture quality more on a par with a cellphone, the iPod nano 5G probably isn’t going to replace a standalone camcorder; still, that’s not what Apple are expecting."