Writing and Semicolons Thread
05-02-2009, 04:18 PM
Originally posted by a deleted user
This is a writing thread so write stories n stuff
What the fuck is a semicolon, some kind of medieval legend beast or somethin'
A semicolon can be used when you have two separate but closely-related independent clauses. They can be used in lieu of a period, though doing this wholesale can result in overuse.
Notice in the previous sentence that a comma was used instead of a semicolon. This is because 'though doing this wholesale can result in overuse' is a dependent clause. This is rule one of semicolon use:
1> Don't use it in dependent clauses.
Here's some bullshit about conjunctions; notice how subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses.
Notice that in the previous sentence, 'so' was not a subordinating conjunction. 'It would not make sense to substitute a semicolon in this case' and 'you should not use one' were both independent clauses, brought together by the coordinating conjunction 'so'. Without it, they could have been two separate sentences. There are several ways to write such a sentence; each carries a different sense of flow and each assigns importance to the contents of the sentence.
This is rule two of semicolon use:
Do not add a coordinating conjunction like 'and,' 'but,' 'or,' 'nor,' 'for,' 'so,' or 'yet' and a semicolon. They don't mix.
There is one exception to rule two. Say you have a long sentence wherein: you have several dependent clauses, much like this one, which are separated with commas; you have commas, commas and more commas (more than you know what to do with); and it seems like, as if a large fish swallowing a medium-sized fish that has swallowed a school of small fish, the commas have blended together. In that case, you can turn the encompassing list which would normally have commas into semicolons even with the coordinating conjunction.
so instead of:
em dashes
Em dashes (—) are similar grammatically to colons and semicolons—but they punctuate things with more immediacy and they pretty much rule school
This is a writing thread so write stories n stuff
What the fuck is a semicolon, some kind of medieval legend beast or somethin'
A semicolon can be used when you have two separate but closely-related independent clauses. They can be used in lieu of a period, though doing this wholesale can result in overuse.
Notice in the previous sentence that a comma was used instead of a semicolon. This is because 'though doing this wholesale can result in overuse' is a dependent clause. This is rule one of semicolon use:
1> Don't use it in dependent clauses.
Here's some bullshit about conjunctions; notice how subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses.
Quote:The most common subordinating conjunctions are "after," "although," "as," "because," "before," "how," "if," "once," "since," "than," "that," "though," "till," "until," "when," "where," "whether," and "while."Some examples:
Quote:Where he went, there were no roads.It wouldn't make sense to substitute a semicolon in this case, so you should not use one!
There were no roads where he went.
Notice that in the previous sentence, 'so' was not a subordinating conjunction. 'It would not make sense to substitute a semicolon in this case' and 'you should not use one' were both independent clauses, brought together by the coordinating conjunction 'so'. Without it, they could have been two separate sentences. There are several ways to write such a sentence; each carries a different sense of flow and each assigns importance to the contents of the sentence.
Do not add a coordinating conjunction like 'and,' 'but,' 'or,' 'nor,' 'for,' 'so,' or 'yet' and a semicolon. They don't mix.
There is one exception to rule two. Say you have a long sentence wherein: you have several dependent clauses, much like this one, which are separated with commas; you have commas, commas and more commas (more than you know what to do with); and it seems like, as if a large fish swallowing a medium-sized fish that has swallowed a school of small fish, the commas have blended together. In that case, you can turn the encompassing list which would normally have commas into semicolons even with the coordinating conjunction.
so instead of:
Quote:I saw you do it; so you can go fuck yourself.say one of:
Quote:I saw you do it; you can go fuck yourself.
I saw you do it, so you can go fuck yourself
em dashes
Em dashes (—) are similar grammatically to colons and semicolons—but they punctuate things with more immediacy and they pretty much rule school