Punctuation

[Allen165]

A sentence from an internet site:

"In it, I was very critical of the Cavs and their arrogant sense of entitlement; the feeling that people were supposed to lie down because of who they were and what they accomplished during the season."

Should there really be a semicolon before "the feeling"? I don't think "the feeling ... season." is an independent clause because it can't stand on its own; you need the first part of the sentence to understand it. Perhaps the author was using the semicolon for emphasis.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Raymott]

A sentence from an internet site:

"In it, I was very critical of the Cavs and their arrogant sense of entitlement; the feeling that people were supposed to lie down because of who they were and what they accomplished during the season."

Should there really be a semicolon before "the feeling"? I don't think "the feeling ... season." is an independent clause because it can't stand on its own; you need the first part of the sentence to understand it. Perhaps the author was using the semicolon for emphasis.

Thanks a lot.

A comma would be enough. Or a dash for emphasis. A semicolon is not right; it leads you to expect an independent clause, as you say.