1. Semicolon Usage View this presentation to learn more about how to use semicolons, an awesome piece of punctuation.

2. Let’s start by looking at why we might need a semicolon. First, we will look at a simple sentence: Mary doesn’t like to miss anything.

3. Independent Clause Mary doesn’t like to miss anything is a complete sentence – or you can use the fancy term and call it an independent clause. It has a subject (Mary) and a predicate (like).

4. What happens when you want to add more? What if we want to add more details? Mary doesn’t like to miss anything. She stays up very late.

5. Can we combine these into one sentence? Now we have two independent clauses about the same topic: Mary doesn’t like to miss anything. She stays up very late. Let’s learn a new way to combine sentences: Mary doesn’t like to miss anything; she stays up very late.

6. Ways to use Semicolons: There are three main ways to use semicolons: To join two independent clauses without any connecting terms To join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb and a comma To separate items in a complicated list that already has commas.

7. To join two independent clauses without any connecting terms: I want to go to the store; mom wants to go to the movies. Ralph hates school; Fred thinks it is a great place to spend the day. The cat went to climb the tree; the dog chased it away.

8. To join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb and a comma I like to swim; however, I like to bike even more. The sky looks grey; as a result, it might rain. Sarah is studying; meanwhile, Jenny is at ball practice.

9. To separate items in a complicated list that already has commas. We need to take a tent, a sleeping bag, and a compass; a cook stove, a cooler, and some plates; and some boots, a coat, and rain gear when we go camping.

10. For more information about how to use semicolons, please read the notes in the semicolon folder.