Examples

Example 1

Antarctica isn't just the coldest place on Earth; it's also the driest.

In Antarctica's Dry Valleys region, it hasn't rained in over 2 million years. Seriously. In this example, the semicolon is used to join two complete sentences that are very closely related in idea.

Example 2

The cafeteria offered a choice of ham, turkey, or salami sandwiches; potato chips, French fries, or mixed greens; and milk, soda, or juice.

This example makes us wish we hadn't skipped lunch. Here, semicolons are used to separate the list of various menu options by type. This makes the information much easier for the reader to digest. Hey-o!

Example 3

Tulsa's parking problem must be solved; otherwise, people will just start leaving their cars on the sidewalk.

And you thought it was hard to trying to avoid cracks in the sidewalk. In this sentence, the semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses joined by the conjunctive adverb otherwise.

Examples

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

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