Does this sentence indicate a question or a statement, and is it correct grammatically?

Question

In reference to a discussion about martial arts forms, this statement was made.
"Which hand is in front; I think it's the right."
Is this improper use of a semicolon? Should the sentence have been separated into individual thoughts?
Can you provide a grammatical reference for documentation's sake? There is a rather weighty wager riding on this. I have been unable to locate a rule in Warriner's English Grammar and Composition, and I no longer have a Harbrace to reference.
Thank you to any and all for your assistance.
Jonathan

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
In reference to a discussion about martial arts forms, this statement was made.

"Which hand is in front; I think it's the right."

Is this improper use of a semicolon? Should the sentence have been separated into individual thoughts?
Definitely. Why not just write it this way? "Which hand is in front? I think it's the right."

Can you provide a grammatical reference for documentation's sake? There is a rather weighty wager riding on this. I have been unable to locate a rule in Warriner's English Grammar and Composition, and I no longer have a Harbrace to reference.

It's your sentence, or at least you have the context, so you are in the best position to decide if the first part is intended as a question.
Anyway, it is worded as a question, and thus requires a question mark. You can't follow a question mark with a semi-colon.
Semi-colons link statements, not questions. I think that any grammar source that discusses semi-colons will make this clear.

On the other hand, you could write a statement like this, by changing the semi-colon to a comma.
Which hand is in front, I do not know.
This is a fancy, rather literary word order, for the more normal statement, I do not know which hand is in front.

Best wishes, Clive

Does this sentence indicate a question or a statement, and is it correct grammatically?

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