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 One—Lists and Setting Off

Welcome to our comma extravaganza! This is part one of a two-part series. This week, we'll be focusing on a few of the most common uses for commas and why some of the things you think you know about commas are probably wrong.

Misconceptions

Perhaps you have heard these guidelines of when to use a comma:

"It's when you should take a breath when reading."
"It's to indicate a pause."
"A comma takes the place of 'and.'"
"Use it around someone's name."

These mantras, though popular, are incorrect. So what the heck is a comma for? Let's find out.

The truth

I like to think of commas as the support structure in a sentence. Grammar and punctuation is a lot like architecture. You can't just throw together a bunch of materials and hope it comes out right; you need the proper structure in order for it to stand up properly and be what it's supposed to be.

Let's start out with a few of the most common uses for commas.

Lists

Almost always, commas are used to separate elements in lists. For example, "Today I had eggs, toast, and bacon for breakfast." Wait. Or is it "Today I had eggs, toast and bacon for breakfast"?

Ah, the old debate. There are two ways of using commas in a list, and there are a lot of people who insist that one way is better than the other. For example, newspapers insist on one way (the latter in our previous example), and novels prefer another (the former).

Oxford comma
This is the form most advocated by publishing houses and academia. It includes a final comma before the "and," which, as its proponents argue, tends to eliminate unnecessary confusion.

Source unknown. If you know, tell us!

The other way
Journalism tends to be about concision above all. If there's anything in there that is deemed unnecessary, a newspaper editor is going to cut it. That's why you almost never see that final comma in lists in a newspaper or online article.

Setting off parts of your sentence

Appositives

Source: Quickanddirtytips.com

Appositives might sound scary, but they're actually pretty simple. They're just a technique for renaming something. For example, in the sentence "Barack Obama, the president of the United States, will be giving an address to the nation today," we've named Obama twice. Once with his given name, once with his title. There are many ways of doing this, like "Joe's sister, Anne, hates chickpeas."

That last sentence is an example of the confusing part about appositives. Sometimes appositives imply things about the person or thing being renamed. In this case, the fact that we used "Anne" as an appositive surrounded by commas implies that Anne is Joe's only sister. Those who know Joe would already know this, but the commas signal to the rest of us that Anne is the only sister. There is no other sister, so "Anne" and "sister" are the same thing. That puts Anne in a nonrestrictive position because she wouldn't need to be named for the sentence to mean the same thing. "Joe's (only) sister (Anne) hates chickpeas."

If Joe had more than one sister, we would leave out the commas and write "Joe's sister Anne hates chickpeas." Remember, this is because appositives are equal to the thing they're naming, but if Joe has more than one sister, then Anne only partly defines "Joe's sister." She no longer qualifies for the appositive comma escort because she's not the only sister. What if the other sisters love chickpeas? It's only fair to restrict that preference to Anne, so she takes the restrictive position next to chickpeas. "Anne is Joe's sister who hates chickpeas." But seriously, who even likes chickpeas?

Parentheticals, or Asides
Commas can also be used to set off parts of sentences that are deemed "extra information" that aren't necessary to understanding the sentence. You probably learned about them as "asides."

"The Oxford comma, despite all its detractors, is flourishing in print."
What's the aside in that sentence? An easy way to tell is to take out sections and see if the sentence still makes sense. Let's try it.

• "Despite all its detractors, is flourishing in print." Well, that doesn't make sense.
• "The Oxford comma is flourishing in print." That sounds right! Let's check the last one to be sure.
• "The Oxford comma, despite all its detractors." Yep, looks like that second one is right. So that means "despite all its detractors" is the aside.

There are actually a lot of ways to set aside an aside, but commas are used most often. If you wanted to, you could set off an aside with em dashes or parentheses. These techniques are especially useful if the aside has punctuation inside it already, like in this sentence: "Greg packed up his three favorite things—his teddy bear, his microscope, and his toothbrush—and headed out for an adventure."

Well, that's it for today. Next time we'll be discussing dependent, independent, and other types of clauses and what commas do for each of them. (Don't worry; we'll explain what clauses are.)

Is there something we missed that you want covered? Comment below and we'll add it to part two. Got any questions about this post or our polishing service? Feel free to comment or email us at castleeditorial@gmail.com.

Link to part two.