The Century Handbook of Writing Part 54

Note.--Very often the writer may choose freely between the semicolon and the period; in such instances the use of the semicolon implies greater logical unity between the clauses than the use of the period would show.

Unless this logical unity is distinct, the period is to be preferred.

=b. The semicolon is sometimes used between coordinate clauses which are joined by a conjunction if the clauses are long, or if the clauses have commas within themselves, or if obscurity would result were the semicolon not used.= (Otherwise, see 91a.)

Right: Very slowly the glow in the heavens deepened and extended itself along the eastern horizon; but at last the bright-red rim of the sun showed above the crest of the hill.

Right: He arrived, so they tell me, after nightfall; and immediately going to a hotel, called for a room.

Confusing: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the music, and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a delight to her.

Better. She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the music; and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a delight to her.

=c. The semicolon is used between coordinate clauses which are joined by a formal conjunctive adverb (_hence_, _thus_, _then_, _therefore_, _accordingly_, _consequently_, _besides_, _still_, _nevertheless_, or the like).=

Wrong: We have failed in this therefore let us try something else.

Right: We have failed in this; therefore let us try something else.

Wrong: He was tattered and muddy, besides he ate like a cormorant.

Right: He was tattered and muddy; besides he ate like a cormorant.

Note 1.--If a simple conjunction like _and_ is used in the sentences above, a comma will suffice. But a comma is not sufficient before a conjunctive adverb like _therefore_. Conjunctive adverbs may be clearly distinguished from simple conjunctions (See 91a). They cannot always be easily distinguished from subordinating conjunctions (see 90b, Note), but the distinction, when it can be made with certainty, is an aid to clear thinking.

Note 2.--Good usage sometimes permits a comma to be used before a conjunctive adverb in short sentences where the break in the thought is not formal or emphatic. For instance, when the conjunctive adverb _so_ is used as a formal or emphatic connective, a semicolon is desirable (I won't go; so that's settled). But in the sentence, "I was excited, so I missed the target", a comma is sufficient. For the use of _so_ is here informal, and probably expresses degree as well as result. (Compare "I was so excited that I missed the target").

=d. The semicolon is not used before quotations, or after the "Dear Sir"

in letters. Use a comma or a colon.= (See 91h, 93a, and 87b.)

Wrong: Mother said; "Let me get my needle."

Right: Mother said, "Let me get my needle."

Exercise:

1. The eggs tasted musty, they were cold storage eggs.

2. You should have seen that old, formally kept house, you should have sat in that stuffy and immaculate parlor.

3. I objected to the plan however since he insisted upon it I yielded.

4. I suppose I must go if I don't he will be anxious.

5. Although the note is due on March 19, you have three days of grace, consequently you may pay it on March 22.

=The Colon=

=93a. The colon is used to introduce formally a word, a list, a statement or question, a series of statements or questions, or a long quotation.=

Right: Only one man stood between Burr and the presidency: Jefferson.

Right: My favorite novels are the following: _Ivanhoe_, _Henry Esmond_, and _The Mill on the Floss_.

Right: The difficulty is this: Where is the money to come from?

Right: The measure must be considered from several standpoints: Is it timely? Is it expedient? Is it just? Is it superior to the other measures proposed?

Right: I shall do three things next year: study hard, take care of my health, and enter into various student activities.

Right: Webster concluded with the following peroration: "When my eyes shall be turned for the last time to behold the sun in heaven," etc., etc.

=b. The colon may be used before concrete ill.u.s.trations of a general statement.=

Right: The colors were various: blue, purple, emerald, and orange.

Right: The day was propitious: the sun shone, the birds sang, the flowers sent forth their fragrance.

Exercise:

1. The city must have these improvements paved streets more schools better sanitation and a park.

2. A guild comprised men of a single cla.s.s tailors, fishmongers, or goldsmiths.

3. Everything was favorable, it was a wheat-raising district, there were no rival mills, the means of transportation were excellent.

4. The personal adornments of the eighteenth century "blood"

were elaborate, wigs, c.o.c.ked hat, colored breeches, red-heeled shoes, cane, and m.u.f.f.

5. The chief of the engineers reported "The route, taken as a whole, is practicable enough, but near Clifton, where the yards must be placed, it leads through a rocky defile."

=The Dash=

=94a. The dash may be used instead of the marks of parenthesis, especially where informality is desired.=

Right: She fell asleep--would you believe it?--in the middle of the lecture.

Right: That fellow actually--of course this is between you and me--stole money from his father.

=b. Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.=

Right: The next morning--let's see, what happened the next morning?

=c. The dash may be used near the end of a sentence, before a summarizing statement or an afterthought.=

Right: When you have carried in the wood and the water, and milked the cows, and fed all the stock and the poultry, and mended the harness--when you have done these things, you may consider the rest of the evening your own.