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The semicolon; (or semi-colon [1]) is a symbol commonly used as orthographic punctuation.In the English language, a semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought, such as when restating the preceding idea with a different expression.
The clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon that functions as a conjunction, a colon instead of a semicolon between two sentences when the second sentence explains or illustrates the first sentence and no coordinating conjunction is being used to connect the sentences, or a conjunctive adverb preceded by a semicolon. A ...
The sentence can be given as a grammatical puzzle [7] [8] [9] or an item on a test, [1] [2] for which one must find the proper punctuation to give it meaning. Hans Reichenbach used a similar sentence ("John where Jack had...") in his 1947 book Elements of Symbolic Logic as an exercise for the reader, to illustrate the different levels of language, namely object language and metalanguage.
Punctuation can be used to introduce ambiguity or misunderstandings where none needed to exist. One well known example, [17] for comedic effect, is from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (ignoring the punctuation provides the alternate reading).
In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point · , known as the ano teleia (άνω τελεία). In Georgian, three dots ჻ were formerly used as a sentence or paragraph divider. It is still sometimes used in calligraphy.
A formal grammar describes which strings from an alphabet of a formal language are valid according to the language's syntax.A grammar does not describe the meaning of the strings or what can be done with them in whatever context—only their form.
Sentence spacing concerns how spaces are inserted between sentences in typeset text and is a matter of typographical convention. [1] Since the introduction of movable-type printing in Europe, various sentence spacing conventions have been used in languages with a Latin alphabet. [2]
Comma splices are rare in most published writing, [6] but are common among inexperienced writers of English. [1] [7]The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White advises using a semicolon, not a comma, to join two grammatically complete clauses, or writing the clauses as separate sentences.