Comma or colon

Question

1)This is what I ate for breakfast, an apple and a bowl of cereal.

Is the comma correct here, Or should it be a colon?

2) My sister loves mysteries, my brother likes comics.

3) The window was open, I looked out over the empty field.

Is the comma in both sentences correct, or should it be a semicolon?

Thanks in advance.

Clive · Accepted Answer

1)This is what I ate for breakfast, an apple and a bowl of cereal.

Is the comma correct here, Or should it be a colon? Use a colon. Or better yet, reword.

eg For breakfast, I ate an apple and a bowl of cereal.

2) My sister loves mysteries, my brother likes comics. Use a period, a semi-colon or a conjunction.

3) The window was open, I looked out over the empty field. Use a period, a semi-colon or a conjunction.

In my experience, learners of English tend to use semi-colons more often than native speakers do.

Clive

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