Question

In which one of the following sentences is the semicolon used correctly? A. Cheryl’s favorite snack is chocolate; she could eat it daily. B. Jacob, who plays in the orchestra; has a solo in the concert. C. Donald has three sisters; Carla, Donna, and Maggie. D. Whenever I feel afraid; I think of Aunt Margaret.

Answer 1

a is the correct answer.

Answer 2

A. The reason is that a semicolon is used to separate a sentence only when the two parts could each be their own sentence. In B and D, commas would be better as the separation is not very drastic. In C the correct punctuation would be a colon as it precedes a list. Only in A is the semicolon used to separate two distinct thoughts.