When in writing do we use ';'?

Answer 1

To separate two independent but related clauses.

Answer 2

This is the semicolon, a punctuation mark indicating the intermediate value between a comma and a full stop.

e.g Yahoo Answers is the best site on which to solve problems; there's an 'answer' given each second.

You could have split this sentence up into two by putting a full stop after 'problems'. The semicolon keeps two related statements that much more connected!!!

Answer 3

In English, the semicolon has two main purposes:

It binds two sentences more closely than they would be if separated by a full stop.

It is used to separate the items of a list when some of the items themselves contain commas.

Use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction: "I went to the pool; I was informed that it was closed."

Use a semicolon between independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase or conjunctive adverb: "I like to eat cows; however, they don't like to be eaten by me."

Use a semicolon between items in a series containing internal punctuation: "There are several Waffle Houses in Atlanta, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; Pensacola, Florida; and Mobile, Alabama."

Semicolons are always followed by a lower case letter, unless that letter begins a proper noun. Semicolons are placed after closing quotation marks.

Examples:

I am alone; my wife left me.
I travelled to London, England; Tijuana, Mexico; and Reykjavík, Iceland.
Lisa scored 2,845,770 points; Marcia, 2,312,860; and Jeff, 1,726,640.

Answer 4

The semi-colon can be used in either of two instances:
1). To Connect Two Independent Clauses - Independent clauses are series of words that could stand alone as complete sentences. When you have two otherwise complete sentences that you want to connect to form one long sentence, use a semicolon between them. eg., This could be a complete sentence; this could be another one. or
2). To Serve as a Super-comma - When you have a series of three or more items that would normally be separated by commas, except that each individual item already has a comma in it, so you can use the semicolon between items. eg., We visited Pago Pago, Western Samoa; Curitiba, Brazil; and St. George, Utah.
If you would like more examples or details of exceptions, visit the website below.

Answer 5

You use a semi colon when you have a list that includes commas in the items (Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN) or to separate two independent clauses in a sentence.

Answer 6

It's to link up a sentence that wouldn't make sense as one whole. If you look in an academic text, you should find examples of it being used. it's called a semi-colon by the way.

Answer 7

It's called a semi-colon, and it's used to separate to independent clauses that are related.

For example:

Billy Bob went to the store to buy tomatoes; however, he bought onions instead.

Answer 8

You use ; (semicolon) when you need something stronger than just a , (comma) or when there's no 'and', 'but' 'or'. It also means that it carries more weight than a comma, so some kind of discontinuity is at place

Answer 9

you can use it when you combine two sentences. for example:
my homework is on my home computer; would you rather i hand it in tomorrow or email it to you?

you could also use it like this: "there are many different houses in Philadelphia, PA; New York, NY; and Camden, NJ."

Answer 10

Very useful site. Give me best answer!!!! ;)

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-English-Punctuation-Correctly

Have a great day.... this site should really help you with your writing.