Semicolon

What Is a Semicolon?

Semicolons (;) are as basic as a period stacked on top of a comma. Does that mean you can use it like either one? Don’t get your hopes up. But don’t let this punctuation mark get you down, either. After all, that sly emoticon winky eye can’t be all bad. ��

How to Use a Semicolon Correctly

The most common use of the semicolon is to join two independent clauses without using a conjunction like and. 

Do you use a capital letter after a semicolon? The general answer is no. A semicolon should be followed by a capital letter only if the word is a proper noun or an acronym.

We can go to the museum to do some research; Mondays are pretty quiet there.

Remember, semicolons are not interchangeable with commas or periods. Instead, they’re somewhere in between: stronger than a comma but not quite as divisive as a period. Sounds pretty cunning to us.

Here are the rules for using semicolons correctly; we hope you’re taking notes.

 

1. Semicolons Connect Related Independent Clauses

You can use a semicolon to join two closely related independent clauses. Let’s put that another way. The group of words that comes before the semicolon should form a complete sentence, the group of words that comes after the semicolon should form a complete sentence, and the two sentences should share a close, logical connection:

I ordered a cheeseburger for lunch; life’s too short for counting calories.

Money is the root of all evil; I don’t believe the reverse is necessarily true.

Martha has gone to the library; Andrew has gone to play soccer.

Notice that the letter following the semicolon is not capitalized. The examples above are both made up of two complete, grammatically correct sentences glued together. Yes, that means there are four total sentences up there—and thanks to the semicolon, only two capital letters. That’s exactly why you can’t substitute a comma for a semicolon. Using a comma instead of a semicolon in the sentences above would result in a comma splice. And there’s nothing as painful as a comma splice.

2. Delete the Conjunction When You Use a Semicolon

A semicolon isn’t the only thing that can link two independent clauses. Conjunctions (that’s your ands, buts, and ors) can do that too. But you shouldn’t use a semicolon and a conjunction. That means when you use a semicolon, you use it instead of the ands, buts, and ors; you don’t need both. Here’s a hint: if you used a comma and an “and” to link two related ideas, think of the period (you know, the top part of the semicolon) as a replacement “and.”

I saw a magnificent albatross, and it was eating a mouse.

I saw a magnificent albatross; it was eating a mouse.

You need a comma plus something to avoid a comma splice. That something can either be the right conjunction or the period that turns a comma into a semicolon. If semicolons can link independent clauses that would otherwise have a period or a conjunction between them, that means they can demonstrate contrast, too. This is part of the same rule, but the conjunction in question is “but” instead of “and.” In other words:

This is part of the same rule; the conjunction in question is “but” instead of “and.”

To summarize, a semicolon links up two related ideas by narrowing the gap between the ideas of two separate sentences or by replacing a conjunction between two related ideas. That goes for showing contrast, too: just because two ideas are opposed or contradictory, that doesn’t mean they aren’t related closely enough to earn themselves a semicolon.

3. Use Semicolons in a Serial List

You can use semicolons to divide the items of a list if the items are long or contain internal punctuation. In these cases, the semicolon helps readers keep track of the divisions between the items.

I need the weather statistics for the following cities: London, England; London, Ontario; Paris, France; Paris, Ontario; Perth, Scotland; Perth, Ontario.

My plan included taking him to a nice—though not necessarily expensive—dinner; going to the park to look at the stars, which, by the way, are amazing this time of year; and serenading him with my accordion.

Let’s recap: so far we’ve got semicolons for linking two independent clauses; replacing a conjunction (whether showing similarity, like “and,” or opposition, like “but”); and long, comma-loving lists. Yup, that was one now.

4. Use Semicolons With Conjunctive Adverbs

When you have a conjunctive adverb linking two independent clauses, you should use a semicolon. Some common conjunctive adverbs include moreover, nevertheless, however, otherwise, therefore, then, finally, likewise, and consequently. 

I needed to go for a walk and get some fresh air; >also, I needed to buy milk.

Reports of the damage caused by the hurricane were greatly exaggerated; indeed, the storm was not a “hurricane” at all.

The students had been advised against walking alone at night; however, Cathy decided walking wasn’t dangerous if it was early in the evening.

I’m not all that fond of the colors of tiger lilies; moreover, they don’t smell very good.

These words sometimes show up in other parts of a sentence; therefore, the semicolon rule only applies if it helps the conjunctive adverb join two independent clauses. (See what we did there?) This conjunctive adverb rule is similar to the conjunction rule. In both cases, check that the two ideas are independent clauses that could stand on their own as sentences. If so, then you’re grammatically good to go as far as the semicolon is concerned.

5. Use a Semicolon to Give a Wily Wink

Emoticons will never replace a solid knowledge of the English language. But they can sure spice it up from time to time. �� The semicolon is a good punctuation mark to have in your back pocket. Or on top of your parenthetical smile. So whether you’re using it to whip up a good complex sentence or to give someone a wink, now you know how to do it right.

Top 5 Most Frustrating Writing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Recently Grammarly asked its social media communities which writing mistakes were the worst kinds of errors. Our fans tend to find substantive grammatical trip-ups, like verb errors, far more frustrating than typographical errors and “stylistic” errors, such as homophone misspelling and preposition placement.

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Here are the top five worst writing mistakes and how to avoid and correct them.

1Incorrect verb forms — 51%

Irregular verb forms are one of the most difficult grammar concepts to master, even for native speakers—many of whom use incorrect irregular forms without realizing it. While these “mistakes” are part of English dialects all over the world, these non-standard forms carry a stigma that can significantly damage your credibility if used in formal settings, like business or school. Here are the most common verb conjugation mistakes:

I seen vs. I saw

I seen the movie last week.

I saw the movie last week.

I been vs. I have been

I been there!

I have (I’ve) been there!

I done vs. I did

I done the homework.

I did the homework.

We was vs. we were

We was just about to start the reading.

We were just about to start the reading.

2Subject-verb disagreement — 20%

In many languages, it is important that the subject of the sentence aligns correctly with the verb conjugation in terms of number and gender. Since English does not conjugate verbs to reflect the gender of the subject, you only need to pay close attention to the number of the subject—is it a singular or plural noun?

The struggles that the horse experiences while climbing the mountain is intense.

Here the subject the struggles does not align with the verb “is.” Because struggles is plural, the verb should be are.

The struggles that the horse experiences while climbing the mountain are intense.

In English, irregular verbs and compound subjects make subject-verb agreement somewhat tricky. Irregular verbs, like those above, must be memorized, but compound subjects follow a simple rule—they are plural. See below for an example using the compound subject Jane and Mark.

Jane and Mark are running a marathon this month.

3Run-on sentences — 10%

According to Grammarly’s research, run-on sentences are among the top grammar mistakes made by writers worldwide. A run-on sentence contains two or more independent clauses (a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and that can stand alone as a sentence) that are not connected with correct punctuation. Though there are different kinds of run-on sentence errors, most often writers neglect to use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, etc.).

I enjoy writing immensely but my deadline is looming I am starting to feel overwhelmed.

I enjoy writing immensely, but my deadline is looming; I am starting to feel overwhelmed.

Each independent clause must be set apart from other independent clauses with punctuation or a comma and conjunction. Punctuation marks that are ideal for marking complete sentences are periods (full-stops), semicolons, and em dashes.

4Comma splices — 6%

Comma splices and run-on sentences go hand in hand. In fact, all comma splices are run-on sentences.

He was very hungry, he ate a whole pizza.

He was very hungry. He ate a whole pizza.

He was very hungry, so he ate a whole pizza.

To splice means to connect or join. When a writer joins two independent sentences with a comma instead of separating them with a period or a coordinating conjunction, that’s a comma splice.

The comma has its own jobs to do, but connecting two independent sentences isn’t one of those jobs. Besides, the period gets testy when his sister, the comma, steals his thunder. Periods have their jobs, and so do commas, but never the twain shall meet—unless it’s in the form of a semicolon. Semicolons can also take the place of a coordinating conjunction, such as “and,” “but,” or “so,” among others.

5Pronoun-antecedent disagreement — 5%

John had a card for Helga but couldn’t deliver it because he was in her way.

John had a card for Helga but couldn’t deliver it because Tim was in Helga’s way.

When you use the pronouns “her” or “him,” readers need to know to whom those pronouns refer. A pronoun without a clear antecedent is ambiguous.

In our example sentence demonstrating an ambiguous pronoun, the reader is unsure who the second “he” is. Was John in the way, or was there another “he” involved? As noted in the corrected example, the pronoun “he” refers to Tim, who is card-blocking Helga. Always be sure your pronouns refer to a specific antecedent.

Additionally, 5% of respondents said that the worst error was not listed in the poll. Participants listed homophone, apostrophe, and contraction spelling errors as the most frustrating, while others cited using textspeak in professional settings and plagiarism as the most egregious writing mistakes.

What do you think? We love hearing from our community.

Grammarly’s weekly polls are published every Wednesday and cover a range of subjects related to the state of writing, grammar, and education. You can find and participate in our most recent poll here.

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How to Take Feedback, Even When It’s Hard

Getting feedback in the workplace can be a difficult experience. We each crave success, aspiring for praise from our leaders and peers that will, in turn, make us feel recognized and valuable at work. In reality, constructive criticism will be doled out more often and will play a more significant role in the dynamics of our relationships with co-workers and in our individual performance.

Trust me, I know how hard it can be to receive feedback. When I was working in my first job out of college, my manager sat in on one of my calls with a client. After the call ended, she told me that I needed to do a better job of conveying confidence by being less apologetic and not heightening my pitch as I ended sentences. I took her input horribly. I thought she believed that I was not cut out for the job and that I was one strike away from being let go.

Over time, I’ve learned to build thicker skin and use constructive criticism as a means to become more competent in my responsibilites. Here are a few of the key takeaways that have helped me in shifting my mindset:

Accept Your Imperfections

Receiving input can be uncomfortable. If you take it personally, or take it as a sign that you’re bad at your job, it will quickly affect your performance.

For example, when my manager told me that I needed to project more confidence with clients, I took the feedback as a reflection of my personality and generalized it as how others normally perceive me in most settings. This made me increasingly self-conscious and self-critical as I engaged with customers, colleagues, friends and family.

To get over this hump, I decided to acknowledge negative thoughts when they came up, but instead of believing them, I’d come up with positive alternatives. Instead of “I don’t think I’m coming across as intelligent or experienced,” I began telling myself “I believe in my training and knowledge, I can help this client.”

Another mental shift is to accept that you are not perfect. Perhaps you occasionally lose your confidence or get anxious when speaking with more experienced, older professionals. Whatever the case may be, it is important to embrace your imperfections and accept consultation so that you give yourself an opportunity to mature both professionally and personally.

Ask for Help

Is there a certain role that you’re aiming for? What are your goals for the next five years?

To ensure that you are on track to hit your objectives over time, feedback from colleagues who either work closely with you or are in roles that you desire will be critical. (A combination of both would be even better!) This will allow you to get a better idea of the skills that are required to be successful in those target roles and understand where you need to improve in order to get there.

If the peers and superiors you hope to seek feedback from are currently silent, there may be numerous reasons that explain why. They may be shy or perhaps feel like you’ll take it the wrong way. Whatever their hesitation is, your aim should be to unravel the feedback they have to offer. To do this, you need to be honest and give a good reason for why you’d like their input.

For example, you can say something along the lines of, “I’m really eager to improve in this role. What is one thing that you think I can do to get better?”

If you frame your question with a reason, your colleague will feel more comfortable in opening up and giving you their honest thoughts.

You are also helping the colleague that you’re seeking advice from. Not only does their willingness to help make them look good in front of their boss, but it also gives them the chance to feel important and valuable.

Follow Through

Feedback carries no value if you never follow up on it.

Your first step should be to investigate it further. Ask your colleague for specific examples. Review documents, recordings, or any other relevant materials for the areas that you need to improve on.

Once you fully understand what you need to work on, you can form a plan for improving and monitoring your development over time.

It’s also worth considering that people who took the time to help you will more likely begin to pay more attention to you as a result. Out of curiosity (and their own self-interest) they will want to see whether you implemented their advice and how it improves your performance.

If you ignore your colleagues, you risk coming across as someone who is not seriously considering their opinions. As a result, the likelihood of them helping you in the future will be compromised.

Feedback is a constant in the working environment. Your approach to receiving and acting on feedback will define your professional development, relationships with colleagues, and outlook on life. My feedback for you is to take action and ensure that you are in a position to receive and process constructive criticism effectively!

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Jon Gitlin is a Customer Success professional at a start-up in the East Bay Area. During his free time, he loves to watch the Warriors, go on runs, and listen to podcasts.

English Grammar Rule Basics

A house needs a good foundation. Likewise, to speak a language, you need a firm understanding of grammar. Here are some basic rules you will need to know if you want to speak and write English well.

Nouns

Nouns denote animate and inanimate things, ideas, places, or people. They compose about half of the English language. There are many types of nouns, and each type has its own usage rules. However, here are two rules that are relatively universal for nouns:

Pluralization

To make regular nouns plural, add an -s to the end of the word. Of course, there are exceptions. If a word ends with the letter y, you change the y to i, and add -es.

Regular nouns

house➝houses tool➝tools

Nouns that end in Y

balcony➝balconies

Remember, however, that even exceptions have exceptions! For a more detailed explanation, check the Grammarly Handbook.

Capitalization

Capitalize nouns if they are at the beginning of a sentence, or if they are proper nouns. Proper nouns refer to specific people or places.

George obtained his degree from McGill University.

Note that some nouns can be proper nouns or common nouns.

Will Dad allow me to go to the park? My dad allowed me to go to the park.

Pronouns

After mentioning a noun once, it’s tedious to repeat it again and again. Pronouns replace nouns. There are also different types of pronouns. Pronouns must agree in number and gender with the noun they replace.

The nails (plural) are too flimsy for the job.➝They are too flimsy for the job. Yolanda (feminine, singular) finished her drink.➝She finished her drink. Bobby (masculine, singular) doesn’t like coconut.➝He doesn’t like coconut.

Articles

The three articles a, an, and the distinguish between specific and nonspecific nouns. A and an are indefinite articles, whereas the is a definite article. If you want to refer to a specific thing, use the. If not, use a before a noun beginning with a consonant and an before a noun beginning with a vowel or a voiceless H.

A book is on the table. (a nonspecific book) An almanac is on the table. (a nonspecific almanac) An hourglass is on the table. (a nonspecific hourglass) The book is on the table. (a particular book)

Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns. In most cases, adjectives appear before the noun they modify. If more than one adjective modifies the same noun, separate the adjectives with a comma if they are coordinate; that is, if they modify the noun equally. Don’t add a comma if one of the adjectives forms a unit of meaning with the noun (as is often the case with words describing color).

The mail carrier wore a bright blue bowtie with his uniform. The mail carrier fed the dogs some pungent, crumbly biscuits.

Adverbs

While adjectives describe nouns, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Most of them end in -ly, but you can also identify them by asking the questions how, where, or when. For instance: How did Sally sing? Sally sang well. Because it answers the question how, well is an adverb.

The Rule: Never place an adverb between the verb it modifies and the direct object of the verb.

The car turned quickly the corner.

The correct word order is “The car turned the corner quickly.” Or “The car quickly turned the corner.”

Verbs

Verbs make it possible to describe an action, state, or occurrence. In other words, verbs let us know what’s happening. Hundreds of rules govern the use of verbs. The standout rule has to do with consistency. In a sentence, you have to pay attention to the tenses of the verbs. Let’s look at an example.

Betsy arrived home from school, eats a snack, and watched her favorite cartoon.

In the example, “eats a snack” is in the present tense, but the other verbs are in the past tense. This is a no-no. You can’t describe the same period in two different tenses in the same sentence. To achieve verb tense consistency, you must maintain the same tense throughout the sentence. And if you want to refer to multiple time periods, you will want to separate them into a new clause or start a new sentence.

Betsy arrives home from school, eats a snack, and watches her favorite cartoon. (All present tense) Betsy arrived home from school, ate a snack, and watched her favorite cartoon. (All past tense) Betsy arrived home from school and watched her favorite cartoon. Now, she is eating a snack. (The tense changes in the new sentence)

Prepositions

Prepositions situate nouns in time or place. You have probably heard one “rule” of preposition use: never end a sentence with a preposition! In reality, this advice only applies to very formal writing, and even there it is somewhat dated. In casual speech and writing, dangling prepositions are generally acceptable.

Here is a bag you can keep your things in. (casual) Here is a bag in which you can keep our things. (formal)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions link ideas, clauses, and parts of sentences. Notice how the coordinating conjunction and can be used to combine two related sentences.

Hugh loves coffee. Hugh has always wanted to own a cafe. Hugh loves coffee and has always wanted to own a cafe.

When you use conjunctions, be sure that the two components have parallel structure. To illustrate, consider the verbs in these two linked phrases:

To lose weight, Jack diets, ran marathons, and drinks lots of water.

Here, two verbs are in the present tense, and one verb is in the past tense. Remember your verb rule! You can’t mix the tenses. With conjunctions, make sure that all the elements in a list match. If you are listing nouns, for example, you cannot insert a verb into the same list.

Interjections

Interjections are words we use to express extreme emotions or to emphasize a point. They are often followed by an exclamation point if they stand alone. In a sentence, they are often set off by commas.

The Rule: Don’t use interjections without context.

Holy smokes!

The above interjection doesn’t give away any information. The reader would not be able to discern what is happening from the interjection alone. When you write, describe the context that merits the interjection.

Holy smokes! I have never seen a pumpkin that color!

Nouns, verbs, and the other parts of speech you examined today are the building blocks of the English language. By mastering a few rules for each part of speech, you are laying a firm foundation for writing and communication. There are hundreds more rules to consider, but don’t be overwhelmed. Bricks used to build a house are laid one at a time.

Treasure Doving? The Past Tense of Dive

Many folks’ grammar abilities take a nosedive when it comes to this verb. After this article, that will all be in the past. But does that mean your grammar abilities nosedived, or nosedove?

Dive on in to get the details on the difference between dived and dove.

What it means and how it conjugates

To dive is an verb meaning: To swim under water To jump into water head-first To descend sharply or steeply Or, figuratively: To undertake with enthusiasm, or to plunge into a subject, question, business, etc.

Here’s how it looks when you conjugate it:

Present tense I/you dive She/he dives We/They dive

Past tense I/you dove or dived She/he dove or dived We/they dove or dived

As you can see, dove and dived are both accepted as past-tense conjugations of the verb. Which one you choose depends a bit on where you’re doing your diving, but grammatically, neither one will make your readers dive for cover.

Just avoid diven. You may say “I drive, I drove, I have driven,” but stick to dived when present perfect and past perfect tenses get involved.

Now let’s talk pronunciation. The past-tense verb dove, which has to do with jumping into water, looks a lot like the noun dove, which is a symbolically peaceful type of bird. The words are homographs, meaning they’re spelled the same but have different meanings and (in this case) different pronunciations. The bird version has an “uh” sound to rhyme with “shove” or “glove,” while the verb has a hard “o,” same as the “o” in “nose.” That’s a good way to remember how to pronounce it, but unfortunately “nosedove” hasn’t caught up with dove in being accepted as a newfangled past-tense formation. (“Took a nosedive” is probably your safest bet, at least grammatically).

Why torture people with two verb forms?

Even though the rules about which form to use are relatively lax, it’s kind of confusing to have two separate versions of one verb. But it wasn’t always like this.

According to the juicy rumors of the etymology world, dove originated about two hundred years ago. Dived had been the accepted form before that, but dove dove into existence (ha) as a closer parallel to analogous past tense forms, like drove for drive and wove for weave. If you think dived sounds weird, “I drived home after work” sounds even kookier.

Outside North America, dived is the more common variant; some of our friends across the pond would cringe at the newfangled dove.

Here are some examples with different meanings of dive from some British (or old-fashioned) books and publications.

Examples using dived

To move downward quickly: “[T]he bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one. But not for nothing was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century.” —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 280

To experience rapid deceleration: “Its shares dived 5.5% after it said like-for-like revenues had risen 1% in recent weeks, compared with 2.8% growth in the three months to 30 April.” —BBC

To plunge into water: “Oh, Ahab! what shall be grand in thee, it must needs be plucked at from the skies, and dived for in the deep, and featured in the unbodied air!” —Herman Melville, Moby Dick, 122)

And, for good measure, let’s dive on over to the other side of the pond.

Examples using dove

To descend quickly and (here) aggressively: “Then he was up, pulling Lex back onto her feet, and running with Tim a few feet forward while overhead two more birds wheeled and dove toward them, screaming. At the last moment, he pushed the kids to the ground, and the big shadows flapped past.” —Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park, 313 To start work enthusiastically: “Jack dove into the project, hiring chemists and experimenting with different mixes of natural latex, organic essential oils, and water to see what he could create.” —Forbes

And, again, to plunge into water: “A maid-of-honor in Stroud, England, dove into a lake in her bridesmaid dress to save a gosling from a swan that was trying to drown it.” —The Huffington Post

So, in summary:

Dived and dove are both accepted past-tense forms of the verb to dive Dove is used more frequently in the United States and Canada; dived is more common outside North America The word usually means plunging into water, but don’t forget about its figurative uses Don’t pronounce dove (the verb) the same as dove (the bird)

Realise or Realize?

Realise and realize are different spellings of the same word, and they can be used interchangeably. Both are common throughout the English-speaking world, though in different areas. Realize is preferred in American and Canadian English, while realise is preferred outside North America.

You can find more details about these spelling differences below.

Realise or Realize—Which Should I Use?

People associate a lot of things with British culture—one of them is how different British English is from American English, spelling included. Let’s compare realise and realize.

Consider your audience. For American readers, the -ize ending is probably the way to go. While both endings might be correct according to your dictionary of choice, you could unnecessarily alienate your audience if you insist on using -ise. Elsewhere, preferences might not be as strong, but they might view -ize as an American spelling. What is important is that you are consistent. For example, if you decide to go with realize, you should use the -ize ending for all verbs that can be spelled with either -ize or -ise. By doing so, you will minimize the risk of someone thinking you’ve made a mistake.

The -ise ending is actually newer than the -ize ending. In Britain and other countries, it became popular after 1875, when it began appearing in news articles. However, the -ise ending didn’t catch on in the United States or in British science periodicals and professional journals. For that reason, you will see both verb endings in British literature.

Oxford University Press, a British publisher, prefer to use the -ize ending for words that derive from the Greek suffix -izo. Doing so reflects the origins of verbs and nouns, such as realization, organization, and privatization. An -ise ending could erroneously suggest that the verbs derive from the French verbs réaliser, organiser, or privatiser. That’s not to say that Oxford style always condemns -ise endings. To illustrate, the -ise of televise doesn’t have a Greek origin, so that -ise ending is A-okay.

Examples

People do not seem to realise that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

We’re living in science fiction, but we don’t realize it.

Terry Pratchett

Adding this up, Woolworths could realise up to $1bn on the sale.

The Australian

Worse than not realizing the dreams of your youth would be to have been young and never dreamed at all.

Jean Genet

Which do you prefer—realise or realize? Will you choose the spelling most popular where you live?