P3-e Omit a semicolon used incorrectly to replace a comma or another punctuation mark.

Printed Page H-59

Take care not to use semicolons in place of other punctuation.

Replace a semicolon with a comma to link an independent clause to a phrase or to set off an appositive.

appositive A word or word group that identifies or gives more information about a noun or pronoun that precedes it.

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Replace a semicolon with a comma to join two independent clauses linked by a coordinating conjunction.

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coordinating conjunction A word that joins comparable and equally important sentence elements: for, and, or, but, nor, yet, or so.

(See also P1-a.)

Replace a semicolon with a colon to introduce a list.

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Note: For introducing an in-text list as in this example, a dash (see P5-b) is a less formal and more dramatic alternative to the colon (see P4-a).