Semicolons and Colons

Recently we asked some folks what the most confusing grammar rule is. We got a lot of who vs. whom, affect vs. effect, and semicolon confusion. We've already cleared up who and whom, so let's get down to business on another issue: the semicolon.

Semicolons

Separating Independent Clauses

In our last post, we explained what clauses are and how to use them. Understanding that concept will be very useful when we're talking about semicolons. Strictly speaking, semicolons are mainly used to separate independent clauses when you still want them somewhat connected. Let's look at an example.

• She spent much of her free time immersed in the ocean; no mere water-resistant watch would do.*

In this sentence, we have two independent clauses: "She spent much of her free time," and "watch would do." Because the subject matter of each is so related to the other, a period would be too much separation. A semicolon shows that the clauses are connected and they somewhat rely on one another. You shouldn't connect two independent clauses with a comma; its cementing power is not quite strong enough—it's more like a Post-It when a semicolon is more like rubber cement.

More examples:

• Call me later; I have something to tell you.
• If you want to see John, you'll have to wait; he's away on vacation.
• Your comments are unnecessary; I know my shirt is ugly.

You should also use a semicolon with certain adverbs, like "however," "therefore," and "indeed."

• The trumpet player developed a painful cold sore; therefore plans for a third show were scrapped.*
• I wish I could tell you I finished the project; unfortunately, the flu prevented me from working on it.

Semicolons in Complex Lists

We've talked about using commas in lists before, but what you might not know is that semicolons are also dead useful when your list has internal punctuation. What the heck does that mean, you ask? Let's discuss.

Here's a pretty straightforward list: "I need new shoes, a belt, and gloves." Three distinct items, all separated by commas. Not too bad.

Here's a more confusing list: "His excuses were myriad: His shoes, belt, and gloves went missing; his cat—who had a terrible case of diarrhea—needed to be picked up from the vet; and his mother, father, and siblings had given away all his possessions."

So, in the above example, the poor guy had three excuses. We used semicolons to separate them because in a couple of his excuses there were commas and em dashes.

Colons

Colons are also used to separate clauses, but they're a little bit more versatile: They can separate independent and dependent clauses or they can separate two independent clauses (like we did here in this very sentence!). Generally, though, colons are considered stronger than semicolons and should be used when you're indicating that what follows the colon explains or amplifies what came before it. For example, they're frequently used to introduce lists.

• Things to pack: shampoo and conditioner, a razor, and a towel.
• I just had a great idea: Let's get a puppy!

Did you notice that we capitalized "Let's" after the colon? That's because it's a complete sentence. This practice is generally well accepted, but some styles say that you can only capitalize after a colon if there are two or more sentences after it, as in the example below.

• Yolanda faced a conundrum: She could finish the soup, pretending not to care that what she had thought until a moment ago was a vegetable broth was in fact made from chicken. She could feign satiety and thank the host for a good meal. Or she could use this opportunity to assert her preference for a vegan diet.*

For your own personal writing, it's okay to pick one way of doing things and run with it!

We were going to do an image search for
"colon," but we thought better of it.

As always, please comment below if you have any questions or need further examples. And if you have a project that needs polishing, just head to the Interest Form and let us know. We're always happy to help.

*This example is taken from the 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Commas, the Trickiest Punctuation Mark Ever, Part Two—Clauses and More

Last time, we discussed the Oxford comma, appositives, and parentheticals. This week, we're continuing our work on the comma with pointers on how it works with clauses and how to use it in a quotation or in dialogue.

Commas in clauses

What's a clause?

Clauses are the smallest unit of a sentence that communicates a complete thought. A clause requires nothing more than a noun and a verb.

"When her mother gave her permission, Maria decided it was time to run away."

There are two clauses here: "When her mother gave her permission," and "Maria decided it was time to run away." We could even condense these into "Mother gave" and "Maria decided." That's all it takes to have a clause.

Now, as it happens, one of the clauses is an independent clause and one is a dependent clause. Which one is which, and why? Let's find out.

Independent clauses

Independent clauses are clauses that don't need the other part of the sentence to make sense. Which clause in our previous sentence is the independent clause? "When her mother gave her permission" doesn't make sense on its own, but "Maria decided it was time to run away" makes perfect sense. It doesn't need the first part to get its message across.

Which one is dependent and which is independent?
Image credit: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/

Dependent clauses

As you might have guessed, dependent clauses do need their independent counterparts. They depend on them to give them meaning. That would be the "mother's permission" section of our sentence. There always needs to be a comma between a dependent clause and an independent clause.

Commas are also used between independent clauses, like in the sentence "Do you want to get Indian food, or should we order a pizza?" Notice that there is also a conjunction (that's the "or") and that the comma comes before it. This is a wobbly sort of rule, however. Many styles say that the comma can be omitted if the second independent clause is very short.

If there are two independent clauses with the same subject, you don't need a comma. For example, "Beth and Stan danced and sang." This looks a little tricky because the subject is implied with "sang." It would be weird to say "Beth and Stan danced and Beth and Stan sang," right? But even when we take them out, they're still performing the action, so it's still technically a clause.

Commas in quotation and dialogue

Using commas around other punctuation marks can get a little confusing. Here are a few quick tips:

• Commas should always go inside quotation marks, even if the quotation ends in a period, if you are continuing your sentence. 
• When Bobby said "I hate you," his mother began to cry.
• If your quotation or dialogue ends in a question mark or exclamation point, omit the comma, but continue your sentence as usual.
• When Bobby screamed "I hate you!" his mother began to cry.
• Obviously, this looks ugly. If at all possible, rearrange the sentence.
• Bobby's mother began to cry when he screamed "I hate you!"

 Commas are also used in direct address.

• When you're directly addressing someone, put a comma before their name.
• Hey, Jean! How are you doing?
• What do you think, Steve?
• Look at this, Laura.

Conclusion

Well, hasn't this been fun? I hope this pair of posts has made things a little clearer. Once you understand the structure of your sentence, it's a lot easier to figure out where the commas go. (Did you notice I had a dependent/independent clause combo there?) There are a few other miscellaneous comma uses that we didn't get to. If you have any questions about them, about this post, or about our polishing service, please comment below or email us.