Using the semicolon
The late satirist and iconoclast Kurt Vonnegut hated semicolons. Hated them. Thought they were show-offy, unnecessary and served no purpose that couldn’t be fulfilled by a comma or a full stop. His underlying point was a very sound one – keep your writing clear and simple – but I don’t know that it was necessary for him to throw a subtle and elegant punctuation mark under a bus for the sake of it.
You don’t see a lot of the semicolon these days, which is a pity; but it’s remarkable how much greater clarity can be brought to a complex sentence with the judicious application of a semicolon.
So when do you use it?
When you have a long list that contains a lot of comma-separated items and you would otherwise be drowning in a confusing sea of commas.
Innovative popular music movements often originate in busy port cities such as Liverpool, England; Seattle, USA; and Marseilles, France.
To make a break that’s stronger than a comma but not as absolute as a full stop.
I can’t foresee a resolution to the situation; we’ve reached a stalemate.
These could be regarded as separate sentences, but we want to preserve the logical internal link that connects them.
The semicolon is just the man for the job.
See also:
