It's not a question of 'weak' anything. It's a question of clarity.
The punctuation means I don't interpret all these sentences in the same way. It's up to you how you punctuate it.
The punctuation means I don't interpret all these sentences in the same way. It's up to you how you punctuate it.
posted by Pellshek I have a question on semicolons & lists.
Here's my problem sentence, punctuated three ways (commas only, semicolons only, mix of two):
No. 1: They both knew what he was telling her with that kiss, what the film of sweat meant, and the shallow breaths.
No. 2: They both knew what he was telling her with that kiss; what the film of sweat meant; and the shallow breaths.
No. 3: They both knew what he was telling her with that kiss; what the film of sweat meant, and the shallow breaths.
.........
No. 1: The commas feel too weak, and meaning unclear.
No. 2: Final semicolon feels unnecessary to achieve clarity. Final semicolon breaks the flow.
No. 3: This one sounds best to my ear, I think it makes the meaning ping. But looking at the rules, I think it may be ungrammatical. I'm not sure it's even a "list" because it only contains 2 items.
Really not sure. What do you think?
Last edited: