WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Grammar Minute: Everyone Hates Semicolons

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

Don't use these funny-looking punctuation marks. Learn more in today's episode of Grammar Minute!

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we're saving the English language 60 seconds at a time. I'm Lauren Smith, and I'm back to once again make the case against semicolons. First, let's cover what a semicolon does and does not do. It is not used to start lists, and it does not come before a conjunction like and. It is used to join two sentences that would otherwise be complete by themselves. For example, I could say, the cat was big, fluffy cats are the best, and have a semicolon between those sentences. My question is, why wouldn't you just make those two separate sentences? Even if they're clearly related, do you really need a sort of odd-looking punctuation mark to show that?

Or could you just rephrase the sentence to make the relationship clearer? Semicolins are weird-looking little hybrids. It's generally best to avoid using them altogether, and if you do decide to use them, don't use them more than once. That's your Grammar Minute. Visit Thegrammerminant.com for more tips and trips.