The semicolon, explained without the fear

Many students avoid semicolons altogether. Others scatter them everywhere. The truth is simple: a semicolon joins two complete sentences that are closely linked.

The main rule

The rain stopped; the match continued.
Both halves are complete sentences, and they are clearly connected. A full stop would also be correct, but the semicolon shows the link.

The test

Could you put a full stop where the semicolon is? If yes, the semicolon is probably correct. If either half cannot stand alone, it is wrong.

Common mistakes

• “The rain stopped; and the match continued.” Do not add a joining word after a semicolon.
• “Because it rained; the match stopped.” The first half is not a complete sentence.

The second job: complicated lists

When list items already contain commas, semicolons separate them clearly: “We visited Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Berlin, Germany.”

Try it: write three pairs of related sentences about your weekend and join each pair with a semicolon. Then read the comic “The Comma Splice Club”.