Before you can even think about using a semicolon properly, do you know what a complete sentence is? In all its forms?

This is very important.

A complete sentence is also called an independent clause; it contains a subject and a corresponding verb. Be careful because other verbs can appear in the sentence so try to think in terms of one main subject and one main verb.

These are complete sentences:

The doorbell rang.

Despite being ill, she jumped out of bed.

The wind howled around the house.

You can use semicolons to join two complete sentences together so long as they are closely related. That means one sentence expands on the other or says the same thing in a different way. The second sentence will normally add meaning to the first or detail the consequences of an action in the first one. A semicolon negates the need to use extra words or have disjointed choppy sentences.

However, joining two sentences together in this way means you get a longer sentence than you would by using a comma and a coordinating junction. If your two sentences are very short, a semicolon may not be a good idea.

Have a look at these examples. Each has the correct punctuation but one of each pair will sound better than the other. Read them aloud if it helps and make sure you pause at the semicolon for the right effect:

Her uncle stays home. He likes his fishing shows.

Her uncle stays home; he likes his fishing shows.

Her uncle never leaves the house in the afternoon. He’s worried he might miss something on one of his shows.

Her uncle never leaves the house in the afternoon; he’s worried he might miss something on one of his shows.

There’s a mixture of short and long sentences here. Of the shorter ones, the third probably sounds and reads the best while, of the longer ones, the last is probably the best. The fourth one sounds like a list and the fifth one seems to drone forever.

Try these examples:

She wandered aimlessly all day. Her heart had been broken.

She wandered aimlessly all day; her heart had been broken.

She wandered aimlessly all day because her heart had been broken.

She wandered the lonely cobbled streets all day as the cruel sun rose and fell on her battered and broken heart.

She wandered the lonely cobbled streets all day; the cruel sun rose and fell on her battered and broken heart.

As demonstrated earlier the semicolon doesn’t really fit with short sentences. On the other hand, using too many short sentences on their own can make your writing feel choppy. The only time you should do this is if you are trying to create a special effect. What it really boils down to is context.

In part 3 we’ll look at using semicolons with adverbs, transition words and commas to join complete sentences as well as in groups of related items in lists containing other internal punctuation.