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Rebooting Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Semi-colon usage

I was reading Lynne Truss' Eats Shoots Leaves, and there's this sentence.

Then comes full stops; colons and semi-colons; questions marks.

Why is she using a semi-colon instead of a comma? I'd have done it the following way,

Then comes full stops, colons and semi-colons, and questions marks.

Is this incorrect?

Thanks a lot.
  

Top answer

rebooting I was reading Lynne Truss' Eats Shoots Leaves, and there's this sentence. Then comes full stops; colons and semi-colons; questions marks. Why is she using a semi-colon instead of a comma?

— Canadian45

  • rebooting I was reading Lynne Truss' Eats Shoots Leaves, and there's this sentence.
  • Then comes full stops; colons and semi-colons; questions marks.
  • Why is she using a semi-colon instead of a comma?
  • I have no idea why.
  • I'd have done it the following way .
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4 Answers
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rebootingI was reading Lynne Truss' Eats Shoots Leaves, and there's this sentence.
Then comes full stops; colons and semi-colons; questions marks.

Why is she using a semi-colon instead of a comma? I have no idea why.

I'd have done it the following way.

Then comes
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Semi-colons are sometimes used in lists when each item in the list is made up of more than one word.

CB
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To be honest very few (native) English speakers use semicolons in their everyday lives. You are correct that using a comma would be the most common way to divide a list.

Grammatically it can be used to help in complicated lists. Lyn Truss' list was not very complicated but by using a semicolon she was able to avoid a double 'and'.
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Hi,

I'm reluctant to even teach my class about semi-colons, because students seem to love them. I start to get writing from them that has about a dozen semi-colons on every page.
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