The Semi-Colon

When do we use the semi-colon in English?

1) To connect two grammatically independent items that are closely connected through meaning

To link two things that could function as independent sentences, but work better together in the same sentence, we separate them with a semi-colon:

• Some people love it; others hate it.

2) To separate items in a list

Semi-colons be used in lists, especially useful when the list is complicated or contains words like 'and':

• The government has listed its key areas for policy: law and order; the war on drugs; tax cuts and other economic incentives; ...

Note: Some people write the word without the hyphen: semicolon.

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The Colon