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In a list or sequence, if even one item needs its own internal comma, use of the semicolon as the separator throughout that list is justified, as shown by this example from the California Penal Code: A crime or public offense is an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it, and to which is annexed, upon ...
Items may be given with initial lowercase or in sentence case. No final punctuation is used in most cases. Semicolons may be used when the list is short, items are lowercase, and the entire list forms a complete sentence (typically with its introductory phrase and possibly with a closing phrase after the list to complete the sentence).
[3] [4] [5] For example, a list of three countries might be punctuated without the serial comma as "France, Italy and Spain" or with the serial comma as "France, Italy, and Spain". The serial comma can help avoid ambiguity in some situations, but can also create it in others. [6] There is no universally accepted standard for when to use the ...
As in the second of the two examples below, if a semicolon separates the two sentences and the second sentence starts with an adverb, this adverb is preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma. In this sentence, furthermore, commas would also be called for. This sentence is a bit different; however, a comma is necessary as well.
Punctuation in the English language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. [1] English punctuation has two complementary aspects: phonological punctuation, linked to how the sentence can be read aloud, particularly to pausing; [2] and grammatical punctuation, linked to the structure of the sentence. [3]
If a sentence contains a bracketed phrase, place the sentence punctuation outside the brackets (as shown here). However, where one or more sentences are wholly inside brackets, place their punctuation inside the brackets. There should be no space next to the inner side of a bracket. An opening bracket should usually be preceded by a space.
A comma between clauses may change the connotation, reducing or eliminating ambiguity. In the following examples, the thing in the first sentence that is very relaxing is the cool day, whereas in the second sentence it is the walk, since the introduction of commas makes "on a cool day" parenthetical:
It is also possible to present short lists using very basic formatting, such as: ''Title of list:'' example 1, example 2, example 3 Title of list: example 1, example 2, example 3 This style requires less space on the page, and is preferred if there are only a few entries in the list, it can be read easily, and a direct edit point is not required.