The editor of 1633 had rather definite views of his own on punctuation, notably a predilection for semicolons in place of full stops.
One of the semicolons is equivalent to a little more than a comma, the other to a little less than a full stop.
On the other hand this use of semicolons leads to occasional ambiguity when one which separates two sentences comes into close contact with another within the sentence.
These critics, whenever they have occasion to copy such authors as Milton and Pope, do not scruple to mutilate their punctuation by putting semicolons or periods for all the colons they find.
One of the greatest improvements in punctuation," says Justin Brenan, "is the rejection of the eternal semicolons of our ancestors.
They might be separated by commas, if semicolons were put where the commas now are.
Neither the comma in illustrative Sentence 1-1 nor the semicolons in Sentence 7 determine meanings: they simply suggest them.
The use of two semicolons in the sentence renders the "but" relation indeterminate.
The occasional substitution of parentheses for commas, where the use of semicolons is thus avoided, is desirable; but the occasion for such use is rare.
To divide paragraph groups by semicolons is so obviously inconsistent that little justification can be found for this form of writing.
Thus in Sentence 7-2 the grouping by semicolons imparts information which might be readily overlooked.
A good close punctuator omits commas from all such groups of words; and a poor open punctuator does the same, but also improperly omits commas and semicolons in many other places.
It is divided by semicolons into four clauses, apparently in a series; but an analysis of the meaning of the language will show that the four clauses do not constitute a series.
Such connection clearly takes them out of the class of groups of words requiring marks of parenthesis; but, because of their purely parenthetical nature, it does not put them into the class requiring commas or semicolons alone.
It is a quite common practice to use a comma before the final "and" in a series requiringsemicolons between the preceding groups.
If the semicolons and the colons were challenged for their meanings, the answers would show an interesting variety of grouping of words, as well as a variety of sense relations.
Clauses in a series are commonly separated by semicolons unless they are short and simple (see pp.
The clauses of a series, when in the same dependent construction, are often separated by semicolons to give more emphasis to each.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "semicolons" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
