Em dash vs semicolon

Question

I know, this has been asked a billion times. And there are hundreds of webpages on this. It's still confusing though, and different people seem to follow different rules.

I'll give you examples:

* There were times when I became distracted; periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered the challenges of...

* I do not only bring a unique experience to the table; I bring with me a sense of ...

Am I using the semicolons right?

Enoon · Accepted Answer

There are no rules. Just kidding. Not really. There are guidelines. The only thing you can do is pick a standard and adhere to it. I mainly go by the Chicago Manual of Style. You have to modify certain aspects of style for different tasks, though, too. A novel uses different conventions than, well, what we do here, or a newspaper article. In a novel you can use punctuation for timing and FX, you can trail off with ellipses or go !!!!????.

"There were times when I became distracted; periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered the challenges of..." No. The second part is not an independent clause, and the semicolon has a technical feel to it that kills the mood even if it was. Em dash to the rescue, if you like: "There were times when I became distracted—periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered the challenges of... " You can usually use an em dash where a semicolon would go, and a colon, too, in general writing.

"I do not only bring a unique experience to the table; I bring with me a sense of ..." No. Comma. Although the first part looks like an independent clause, the "not only" is a set piece with the tacit "but also" of the second part. The usual inversion makes that clearer: "Not only do I a bring a unique experience to the table, I bring with me a sense of ..."

The semicolon has some highly technical roles, but its ordinary function is to link two independent clauses when their relation to each other is stronger than with a period (full stop) and weaker than with a colon; to use a semicolon, the second part should expand on the first part. To use the stronger colon, the second part should more or less define the first part. You can't just toss a semicolon in when you feel like something other than a comma is called for. It distracts the reader at best.

Sepand Siassi · Answer

K, how about this:

* I have gone through many instances of hardships, even failures, as both a student and an entrepreneur. There were times during the early years of my undergraduate studies when I became distracted; periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered serious business challenges

So in this instane the semicolon is replacing 'as well as.' I life the flow better than '...when I became distracted as well as periods of uncertainty..." Would that be correct? Or em-dash?

Enoon · Answer

Sepand SiassiK, how about this:* I have gone through many instances of hardships, even failures, as both a student and an entrepreneur. There were times during the early years of my undergraduate studies when I became distracted; periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered serious business challengesSo in this instane the semicolon is replacing 'as well as.' I life the flow better than '...when I became distracted as well as periods of uncertainty..." Would that be correct? Or em-dash?

Nope. That is not what the semicolon is for; both parts must be independent clauses—that is not optional. I didn't read anything like "as well as" with it, anyway. I thought you were trying to describe the distracted times as periods of uncertainty. The em dash would read that way, too. One solution is, "There were times during the early years of my undergraduate studies when I became distracted, and there were periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered serious business challenges." The plainest possible form is often the best one; let the words speak for themselves. They're pretty good words, by the way. My two cents.

Sepand Siassi · Answer

Yeah. I'm trying to say I encountered difficult times during two separate phases: in university, when I became distracted at times; and when I encountered difficult periods later as a businessman and my future became uncertain and I felt defeated. (correct use of semi-colon here, by the way?

)

I like "There were times during the early years of my undergraduate studies when I became distracted, and there were periods of uncertainty marked by a sense of defeat as I encountered serious business challenges." I prefer the pause in the middle without the 'and' and comma, however. I don't know why,

Enoon · Answer

Sepand SiassiYeah. I'm trying to say I encountered difficult times during two separate phases: in university, when I became distracted at times; and when I encountered difficult periods later as a businessman and my future became uncertain and I felt defeated. (correct use of semi-colon here, by the way? ) ...

No. The conjunction takes a comma, even if the meanings merited a semicolon, which they don't. This is Style 101. There is an excellent little tiny book called The Elements of Style. Everyone who owns a pencil or a keyboard should study it.

Sepand Siassi · Answer

I see. The second sentence wasn't an independent clause, and it started with an 'and.' I think I'm getting it now <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Em dash vs semicolon

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