What is a  Semicolon? Let’s have a look.

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a) Spiderman is my favourite Super Hero; he’s my favourite person!

b) Spiderman is my favourite Super Hero; actually, I still really like Superman.

a) I love Spiderman, Superman, and Wonderwoman.

b) Even though Spiderman is my favourite Super Hero, I still really like Superman.

‘Keep reading Spiderman! You have a lot to learn! Everyone knows that I’m the most famous Super Hero; I’m much better looking too!’

So what does this all mean?? What’s wrong with commas?

It means that some of you are using Commas when you should be using Semicolons!

In many European languages, it is correct to separate two sentences (Independent Clauses) with a comma. However, it is not correct in English!

Not only is it incorrect in English, it is a very big, terrible NO NO!  

If you are studying English as a second language, you need to understand this important rule.  (For more information on how to write sentences, click here.)

For now, I’m going to show you how to use Semicolons without giving a long grammatical explanation. 

I was given a lovely framed picture with the following quote by Mother Teresa:

‘Be happy in the moment, that’s enough.
Each moment is all we need.’

Can you see the problem with the comma? You cannot connect two Independent Clauses with a comma! 

Be happy in the moment. This is an Independent Clause (a sentence).

That’s enough. This is also an Independent Clause (a sentence).

An Independent Clause + comma + an Independent Clause
= A very big, terrible NO NO! 

This very big, terrible NO NO is called a Comma Splice.

There are only three ways you can connect two Independent Clauses:

1. with a full stop

Be happy in the moment.  That’s enough.

2. with a conjunction

Be happy in the moment because that’s enough.

3. with a Semicolon

Be happy in the moment; that’s enough.

♦ The example I’ve given above of the ungrammatical Comma Splice (Be happy in the moment, that’s enough.) is a typical example of mistakes that native speakers make as well as English students. It is because you want to keep both ideas together. You don’t want to separate them with a full stop, and a conjunction is not always suitable.

What can you do? Use a Semicolon! It will keep your ideas together and you won’t need to think about conjunctions.

• For more information on how to punctuate sentences, click here.

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