SEMICOLON MS. PRYZBYLKOWSKI, SIXTH GRADE BLUE TEAM LANGUAGE ARTS The semicolon is used to do the following:

To combine two (or more) sentences that aren’t connected by the conjunction “and”

When you want to show a relationship between sentences or closeness in meaning

When you have a cause =effect pattern

If you have too many compound sentences*.

EXAMPLES:

Once I had a ’57 Chevy; it was the first car I ever owned and a classic.

I adore dogs; labs and puggles are my favorites—after Lola, of course. 

Ron bought hot chocolate and cookies for the “Final Poetry Project” celebration; he even provided cups and napkins.

The girl charged for the finish line; she was thirsty to win the race and meet with victory yet again.

NOTICE: Semicolons always have a complete sentence before and after them and you never capitalize the word that comes after the semicolon.

Complete sentence; complete sentence

A semicolon can also be used to avoid confusion in long lists that contain commas. This is the only instance where a conjunction can appear after the semicolon and you do not need to have a complete sentence following the semicolon.

I read collections of poems that tell a story: Waiting to Waltz, Soda Jerk, and I’ll Be Back Again by Cynthia Rylant; Baseball, Snakes, and Summer Squash by Donald Graves; and Been to Yesterdays by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

I have many vinyl records that are extremely unique and rare to find: A Hard Day’s Night and Abbey Road by the Beatles; American Beauty by the Grateful Dead; The Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East and Brothers and Sisters by the Allman Brothers Band; Jackson Browne by Jackson Browne; Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin; and Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton.

*A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses, usually joined by a comma and a connecting word. (I forgot my lunch, but Dad ran to the bus with it) SEMICOLON MS. PRYZBYLKOWSKI, SIXTH GRADE BLUE TEAM LANGUAGE ARTS

*A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses, usually joined by a comma and a connecting word. (I forgot my lunch, but Dad ran to the bus with it)