Is this correct semicolon usage?

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Alright guys, I'm finally going to learn how to use a semicolon. So would this be correct?

I've finally learned how to use a semicolon; it's wonderful.
 

guttersquid

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Alright guys, I'm finally going to learn how to use a semicolon. So would this be correct?

I've finally learned how to use a semicolon; it's wonderful.

No, it would not be correct. You have joined two independent clauses, but that is only the first requirement for the semicolon. The second requirement is that the clauses must be centered around the same idea.

I've finally learned how to use a semicolon. (one idea)
It's wonderful. (a different idea)

The semicolon tells the reader that there is a direct relationship between the two clauses, and that relationship is centered around one idea. Consider this sentence.

Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town; streets have become covered with bulldozers, trucks, and cones.

You can easily see the relationship between the two clauses. The second clause restates the first. It is not a different idea.
 

King Neptune

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Guttersquid demonstrated that your use of a semicolon was correct with his example, which also has two separate but related ideas.
 

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I agree with all Guttersquid says--except the first sentence. I also think Tophat's example makes the cut for sufficient relationship in the two main clauses and, thus, correctness.
 

guttersquid

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Guttersquid demonstrated that your use of a semicolon was correct with his example, which also has two separate but related ideas.

I was thinking that my "It's wonderful" would be related to my first clause.

I agree with all Guttersquid says--except the first sentence. I also think Tophat's example makes the cut for sufficient relationship in the two main clauses and, thus, correctness.

Yes, the ideas are related, but they're two separate ideas. In such cases sentences would be better served with either a period or a coordinating conjunction.

I finally learned how to use a semicolon. It's wonderful.
I finally learned how to use a semicolon, and it's wonderful.

Using semicolons when they meet the minimum "requirement" of joining two independent clauses reduces their effectiveness. Restricting their use to expressing a single idea maximizes their effectiveness and helps prevent overuse, something I believe we all agree is a good thing.
 
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King Neptune

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I was thinking that my "It's wonderful" would be related to my first clause.

That's how it read for me also.

If you feel uncomfortable with semicolons, then you might want to read essays and letters by Jonathan Swift and others of that era. Back in those primitive times people weren't afraid to use semicolons.
 

TopHat

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Yes, the ideas are related, but they're two separate ideas. In such cases sentences would be better served with either a period or a coordinating conjunction.

I finally learned how to use a semicolon. It's wonderful.
I finally learned how to use a semicolon, and it's wonderful.

Using semicolons when they meet the minimum "requirement" of joining two independent clauses reduces their effectiveness. Restricting their use to expressing a single idea maximizes their effectiveness and helps prevent overuse, something I believe we all agree is a good thing.

That's how it read for me also.

If you feel uncomfortable with semicolons, then you might want to read essays and letters by Jonathan Swift and others of that era. Back in those primitive times people weren't afraid to use semicolons.


Thank you everyone for your advice. Thank you Guttersquid for your help, I really appreciate it. And thank you Neptune for the Swift recommendation.
 

Ken

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Thank you so much for this!!! I love the oatmeal but never saw this. Guhhhhhh!!!

Yeah. Neat comic. Funny too :)

ps What's a "comma splice?"
From the context it seems like it's when two "independent clauses" are joined with a comma when a semicolon would be the thing to use.
Couldn't say for sure though :e2shrug:
 

evilrooster

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ps What's a "comma splice?"
From the context it seems like it's when two "independent clauses" are joined with a comma when a semicolon would be the thing to use.
Couldn't say for sure though :e2shrug:

Yep. If you're using a comma where you need a semicolon or a period/full stop, it's a comma splice.

I got up late that day. Everyone was at work. <-- two sentences. Totally fine.
I got up late that day; everyone was at work. <-- The two clauses are related enough that a semicolon works.
I got up late that day, everyone was at work. <-- comma splice. Using this will make many grammarians wince.
 

Ken

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Yep. If you're using a comma where you need a semicolon or a period/full stop, it's a comma splice.

I got up late that day. Everyone was at work. <-- two sentences. Totally fine.
I got up late that day; everyone was at work. <-- The two clauses are related enough that a semicolon works.
I got up late that day, everyone was at work. <-- comma splice. Using this will make many grammarians wince.

Helpful stuff. Thanks :)
 

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Comma splices are usually how I figure out where a semi-colon goes.
 

Ken

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I guess for me my sentences are almost always terse. So it's more a matter of connection vs separation for me: substituting a semicolon for a period, etc. Mostly I go by feel. Sometimes two just seem to go together, rather mysteriously :)
 

Justin K

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the semicolon is best used in styles where sentences are long and rhetorically complex, whereby a reader can get a heads up that the following sentence is diving further into the one that preceded it, thereby not missing out on its association.
 

guttersquid

I agree with Roxxsmom.
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Justin, sentences don't have to be long and/or rhetorically complex to use a semicolon. But you were right when you said that readers can "get a heads up that the following sentence" independent clause "is diving further into the one that preceded it."