Wushu  +  14589 Tue, 02 Dec 03 12:13 AM Semicolons, to me are very confusing. Thus, I rarely ever use them. I've searched the internet for examples to avoid asking a probably, very repetitive question on this board, but can you guys write me a few sentences to show how a semicolon is used? A few examples would help a lot. Edit: Okay, after seeing something on this site I see that Semi-Colon's are used to connect related sentences (thoughts), or something. I knew this already, but I saw like one good example. Can semi colons be used in a long sentence, where you already have many commas but you don't want to stop the sentence with a "."? I am thinking this can't be done. Wushu Joined on Sat, Aug 30 2003 North America New Member 30 "Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots" - Tupac Shakur "Keep Ya Head Up" Colons, Commas, Semicolons

	hitchhiker  +  14614 Tue, 02 Dec 03 09:49 AM Hi Wushu, This should help a bit: Semicolon, Comma, Colon Always avoid sentences that are tooooooo long; it just doesn't look good! hitchhiker Joined on Mon, Nov 18 2002 Richmond, UK Senior Member 3,440 "They obstinately persisted in their absence." —HGTG Colons, Commas, Semicolons

	Wushu  +  14693 Wed, 03 Dec 03 01:09 AM Yes, I saw that previously. I just wanted to double check. I find my self in more situations that aren't shown, where I wonder if I should use a semi colon or not. How about this sentence: "Here it is; solid proof that dogs are better than cats." Wushu Colons

	ryan smith  +  14711 Wed, 03 Dec 03 05:20 AM I would use a comma on that one, since the "solid proof" part doesn't stand on it's own. In other words, if you can't use a period (full stop) then you can't use a semi-colon. There is one exception that I can think of (and I think you mentioned it): In lists where any element has a comma, you can use a semi-colon to offset the elements. I bought the A, B, and C; the D; and the E. As far as colons go, what's on the left must be gramatically complete. What's on the right is a definition of what's on the left. See this site for a few examples (and examples of colons too): http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/colons.html ryan smith Joined on Tue, Sep 9 2003 CLASSIFIED Full Member 199 Colons, Commas

	Wushu  +  14720 Wed, 03 Dec 03 07:06 AM "As far as colons go, what's on the left must be gramatically complete. What's on the right is a definition of what's on the left. " Thanks! That is the kind of thing I can easily remember when writing timed essays! Wushu Colons, Essays