USING SEMICOLONSThey’re not just for winky faces!

;)

Semicolons (;) have two main purposes:

1. Connecting closely related sentences.

2. Separating list items that have commas in them.

I had a lot of homework; it took me all night to finish.

I had a lot of homework; it took me all night to finish.

Here, we have two complete sentences....

…that are

combined into

one using a

semicolon.

Notice that they cover the same

topic.

I made chocolate chip cookies; there’s only one left.

I made chocolate chip cookies; there’s only one left.

Here’s another example:

Our company has offices in San Diego, California; Fargo, North Dakota; Austin, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; and Provo, Utah.

Our company has offices in San Diego, California; Fargo, North Dakota; Austin, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; and Provo, Utah.

The cities and states in this list are separated by commas.

The semicolons help the reader

understand that each city and

state are part of the same item.

Today we met with Jack, the engineer; Claire, the programmer; and Sandrine, the accountant.

Now, it’s your turn!

ADD THE SEMICOLON:

1) My grandpa bought me an ice cream cone it dribbled all over my shirt.

1) My grandpa bought me an ice cream cone it; dribbled all over my shirt.

ADD SEMICOLONS AND COMMAS:

2) We traveled to Athens Greece Santiago Chile Cairo Egypt Tokyo Japan and Montreal Canada.

2) We traveled to Athens, Greece; Santiago, Chile; Cairo, Egypt; Tokyo, Japan; and Montreal, Canada.

Ciao, Baby!