Colons, Semicolons & Em Dashes
A semicolon (;) connects two closely related independent clauses — stronger than a comma, weaker than a full stop. Use it when: (1) two clauses are closely related: "I came; I saw; I conquered." (2) using transitional adverbs (however, therefore, moreover): "She worked hard; however, she didn't get the promotion." (3) separating list items that already contain commas: "We visited Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain."
A semicolon (;) connects two closely related independent clauses — stronger than a comma, weaker than a full stop. Use it when: (1) two clauses are closely related: "I came; I saw; I conquered." (2) using transitional adverbs (however, therefore, moreover): "She worked hard; however, she didn't get the promotion." (3) separating list items that already contain commas: "We visited Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain."
Practice
Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly?
The presentation went wellhowever, the Q&A was challenging.
Put the words in the correct order: