34d. Misuses

34dAvoid common misuses of the semicolon.

Do not use a semicolon in the following situations.

between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence

image

between an appositive and the word it refers to

image

to introduce a list

image

between independent clauses joined by and, but, or, nor, for, so, or yet

image

exception: If one or both of the independent clauses contains a comma, you may use a semicolon with a coordinating conjunction between the clauses.