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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Punctuation

Can someone else please explain the basic rules of semicolumn and comma? Thanks
  

Top answer

Hi I'm sure others will have other rules, but mine is that punctuation follows the breath that you take when you speak. If it will take me three beats to think of the next phrase; that's a semicolon. Less than that, it's a comma Dave

— Dave_anon

  • Hi I'm sure others will have other rules, but mine is that punctuation follows the breath that you take when you speak.
  • If it will take me three beats to think of the next phrase; that's a semicolon.
  • Less than that, it's a comma Dave
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2 Answers
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Hi

I'm sure others will have other rules, but mine is that punctuation follows the breath that you take when you speak. If it will take me three beats to think of the next phrase; that's a semicolon. Less than that, it's a comma

Dave
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Two complete, closely related clauses which could be separated by a full stop can be separated by a semicolon — not a comma. It doesn't matter how long you wait between them.

Ben Downe is six; Ben's brother Neil is seven.
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