How to use a semicolon - Emma Bryce
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-use-a-semicolon-emma-bryce It may seem like the semicolon is struggling with an identity crisis. It looks like a comma crossed with a period....
==========
It may seem like the semicolon is struggling with an identity crisis. It looks like a comma crossed with a period. Maybe that's why we toss these punctuation marks around like grammatical confetti. We're confused about how to use them properly. In fact, it's the semicolon's half-half status that makes it useful. It's stronger than a comma, and less final than a period. It fills the spaces in between, and for that reason, it has some specific and important tasks. For one, it can clarify ideas in a sentence that's already festooned with commas. "Semicolons: At first, they may seem frightening, then, they become enlightening, finally, you'll find yourself falling for these delightful punctuation marks." Even tho...
==========
It may seem like the semicolon is struggling with an identity crisis. It looks like a comma crossed with a period. Maybe that's why we toss these punctuation marks around like grammatical confetti. We're confused about how to use them properly. In fact, it's the semicolon's half-half status that makes it useful. It's stronger than a comma, and less final than a period. It fills the spaces in between, and for that reason, it has some specific and important tasks. For one, it can clarify ideas in a sentence that's already festooned with commas. "Semicolons: At first, they may seem frightening, then, they become enlightening, finally, you'll find yourself falling for these delightful punctuation marks." Even tho...
