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Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons and Colons

1. INTRODUCTION.

The comma looks like this ,

The semicolon looks like this ;

It’s helpful to think of a comma as a “small, light pause for breath” inside a sentence. A semi-colon makes such a pause slightly heavier, a little more marked.

2. COMMAS AFTER LINK WORDS AND PHRASES, FULL STOPS BEFORE THEM

When a “free-standing” link word or phrase such as HOWEVER, NEVERTHELESS, EVEN SO, MOREOVER and FURTHERMORE is used at the beginning of a sentence, the “small pause for breath” that has been mentioned above is needed, so it is best to place a comma after it. For example:

a) ‘Thousands of peasants were ready to rise up against the occupying army. HOWEVER, the resistance movement did not have enough weapons to distribute to the volunteers.’

b) ‘There was little hope of winning an outright victory. EVEN SO, the rebels fought bravely.’

NOTE: These link words CANNOT follow a comma. This means that the following sentence is wrong:

(*) WRONG (*) ‘There was little hope of winning an outright victory, nevertheless, the rebels fought bravely.’

However, sometimes a semi-colon can work quite well, if you want to imply a CLOSER CONNECTION between the two statements than a full stop provides.

’There was little hope of winning an outright victory; nevertheless, the rebels fought bravely.’

3. COMMA AND SEMI-COLON BEFORE “AND”, “OR”, “BUT”

(i) Use of the comma. If the kind of “small, light pause for breath” mentioned above is needed, a comma can be used before a word like “AND”, “OR”, “BUT”. For example:

a) ‘Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.’ (Jane Austen)

b) ‘Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.’ (James Thurber)

c) ‘A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks.’ (George Orwell)

d) ‘Government can easily exist without laws, but laws cannot exist without government.’ (Bertrand Russell)

(ii) If no breath pause is present, then no comma needs to be inserted. For example:
e) ‘Philosophy is not a theory BUT an activity.’ (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

f) ‘He has all of the virtues I dislike AND none of the vices I admire.’ (Winston Churchill)

(iii) Use of the semi-colon between two items separated by “AND”, “OR”, “BUT”.

If the items on each side of “AND”, “OR”, “BUT” are quite large, and involve quite a lot of words, then a semi-colon may be used to indicate a slightly heavier pause. For example, the above sentence from Bertrand Russell could have been written as follows:

a) ‘Government can easily exist without laws; but laws cannot exist without government.’
This creates a slightly heavier pause. Here are some other examples:

b) ‘He who gives himself entirely to his fellow-men appears to them useless and selfish; but he who gives himself partially to them is pronounced a benefactor and philanthropist.’ (Henry David Thoreau)

c) ‘Active valour may often be the present of nature; but such patient diligence can be the fruit only of habit and discipline.’ (Edward Gibbon)

d) ‘If a person tells me he has been to the worst places I have no reason to judge him; but if he tells me it was his superior wisdom that enabled him to go there, then I know he is a fraud.’ Ludwig Wittgenstein.

4. THE COMMA AND THE SEMI COLON FOR ITEMS IN A LIST

(i) Use of the comma

Single-word items in a list are separated by commas EXCEPT FOR the last item, which in affirmative sentences is usually preceded by the word AND. The word AND indicates that the next item will be the last and that the list is about to end. For example:

a) We’re having a party. Let’s invite Sharon, Daniela, Jeremy, Mustafa AND Darren.
b) The situation was complex, difficult, uncertain AND liable to misinterpretation.

Short phrases in a list can also be separated by commas, in the same way. For example:

Peanut butter, orange marmalade, strawberry jam, cream cheese with raisin chutney, AND cheddar cheese with pickled onions were among Clement’s favourite fillings in toasted sandwiches.

(Notice that, in the above sentence, the final AND is preceded by a comma because, without it, the meaning would be ambiguous. It could mean “cream cheese WITH raisin chutney AND WITH cheddar cheese AND WITH pickled onions” – all as a single collective item. The comma before AND is therefore absolutely necessary to avoid this ambiguity.)

In negative lists and in lists which imply uncertainty of choice or doubt, AND is usually replaced by OR. For example:

a1) Martha said that she didn’t like Sharon, Daniela, Jeremy, Mustafa OR Darren. So she didn’t want to invite any of them to her party.

(ii) Use of the semi-colon

When the items in a list get longer, then a SEMI-COLON can be used to divide them. In the following example, the great historian Gibbon +is describing the different ways in which (1) the people, (2) philosophers and (3) magistrates viewed worship in ancient Rome. The semi-colon is used. A comma would not be adequate here. Note too, that the final AND is preceded by a semi-colon.

‘The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; AND by the magistrate, as equally useful.’ (Edward Gibbon)

5. JUXTAPOSED AND CONTRASTIVE SENTENCES, USING THE COLON OR THE SEMICOLON?

This is a fascinating area. It is very helpful to explore it, because understanding it fully can really help you to evolve a balanced and modulated style, capable of expressing subtle and nuanced ideas in a coherent and elegant way.

As we have seen, the semi-colon can be thought of as a ‘large’ or ‘heavy’ comma. We have also seen that it can be used contrastively, e.g. before BUT, as in this sentence, already quoted:

a1) ‘If a person tells me he has been to the worst places I have no reason to judge him; BUT if he tells me it was his superior wisdom that enabled him to go there, then I know he is a fraud.’ (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

In the above quotation, the word BUT could of course be taken out very easily:

a2) ‘If a person tells me he has been to the worst places I have no reason to judge him; if he tells me it was his superior wisdom that enabled him to go there, then I know he is a fraud.’ (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

This makes it more economical, snappier.

Of course, the sentence could also be split into two separate constituent sentences, with the two parts divided by a full stop:

a3) ‘If a person tells me he has been to the worst places I have no reason to judge him. If he tells me it was his superior wisdom that enabled him to go there, then I know he is a fraud.’

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So we see that a semicolon can be used to juxtapose two sentences, but without the writer even bothering to use a connective word (conjunction) like WHILE or WHEREAS or BUT or FOR. Here are some examples:

b1) ‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.’ (Winston Churchill).

c1) ‘Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

d1) ‘Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

It might even be said that the semicolon itself functions here INSTEAD OF the conjunction. This creates a concise and witty effect. The two ideas are put into direct relationship, which may be one of contrast, or balance, or dependency, or amplification (development), or all of these functions.

And, of course, each of the above sentences consists of two sentences, which could have been set out separately and divided by a full stop.

b2) ‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.’

c2) ‘Better keep yourself clean and bright. You are the window through which you must see the world.’

d2) ‘Beware of false knowledge. It is more dangerous than ignorance.’

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The colon can be used in almost (and perhaps exactly) the same way as the semicolon, to create a juxtaposition between two ideas. The colon could replace the semicolon in all the above sentences:

b3) ‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity: an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.’ (Winston Churchill).

c3) ‘Better keep yourself clean and bright: you are the window through which you must see the world.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

d3) ‘Beware of false knowledge: it is more dangerous than ignorance.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

Is there a difference? Perhaps. We shall explore that in a minute. But here are some more examples of the colon with a juxtaposing function:

e1) ‘Arguments are to be avoided: they are always vulgar and often convincing.’ (Oscar Wilde)

f1) ‘Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

g1) ‘Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain, surround us on every hand: life itself is the miracle of miracles.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

And, conversely, we can substitute the semicolon for the colon here without changing the sense of balance very much, if at all.

e2) ‘Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.’ (Oscar Wilde)

f2) ‘Beware of the man who does not return your blow; he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

g2) ‘Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain, surround us on every hand; life itself is the miracle of miracles.’ (George Bernard Shaw)

The question then arises: how is the colon different from the semicolon in these kinds of sentence, in which two ideas or statements are being juxtaposed? The answer is rather hard to pin down. Many expert writers would say that it doesn’t matter at all whether you use a colon or a semicolon in these kinds of sentences, and that it’s entirely a matter of individual preference.

My personal view is that there IS a small difference.

I think the semicolon suggests a “loose relationship” rather than a “bond”.

I think the colon suggests a tighter, stricter relationship in which the statements on either side of it are more strongly dependent on each other – even “tied” to each other. I think that this is a rather subtle and delicate nuance.

‘The semicolon indicates a love affair between two ideas; the colon represents their indissoluble marriage.’ (Melonious Kline)

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I would describe the function of the colon as follows:

THE IDEA OF A BALANCE / SET OF WEIGHING SCALES. THE COLON AS FULCRUM / PIVOT.

(A) : (B) .

Think of a balance or set of weighing scales. The purpose is to compare (contrast, balance, equilibrate) TWO distinct items. This is exactly how the colon works. So it is useful to think of the colon as an exact POINT OF BALANCE (FULCRUM, PIVOT). For example, here are two sentences.

a) She was impoverished, quick witted and ambitious. He was wealthy, lazy and gullible.

These sentences could be “balanced” quite effectively in various ways:

a1) She was impoverished, quick witted and ambitious. ON THE OTHER HAND, he was wealthy, lazy and gullible.

a2) WHEREAS she was impoverished, quick witted and ambitious, he was wealthy, lazy and gullible.

And so on. But a far more economical, effective and simple way is to use the colon:

a3) She was impoverished, quick witted, and ambitious: he was wealthy, lazy and gullible

What is more, the second WAS can be cut out entirely and be replaced by a comma. The effect is then much faster, more witty, more elegant:

a4) She was impoverished, quick witted and ambitious: he, wealthy, lazy and gullible.

So the colon always unites, meshes and balances two statements. The second part contrasts with the former, and perhaps amplifies it.

The colon may therefore be used instead of a full stop when two statements are in direct juxtaposition. Here are some more examples:

b) ‘Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer.’ (George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”)

c) ‘Pessimist: one who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both.’ (Oscar Wilde)

d) ‘There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.’ (Oscar Wilde)

e) “Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth”

f) ‘Gandhi was once asked what he thought about western civilization. His response was: “I think it would be a good idea.”’

This last example shows that the colon is used to introduce a quotation.

Once you have grasped the use of the colon, you will have acquired one of the basic techniques needed in the game of academic writing. You can go more or less directly from the colon to developing contrastive (antithetical / binary) structures of ideas in a highly articulate way.

6. THE USE OF THE COLON IN INTRODUCING LISTS (ITEMISED

One common type of juxtaposition occurs when a statement is used to introduce a list. In such cases, a colon is used. This kind of thing is very common in student essays. Here are some silly examples:

a1) We need some fruit: apples, pears, bananas AND grapes.

b1) This essay will examine the following four aspects: text, sources, commentaries AND interpretations.

Here the separate items in the list, which are all short, are separated by commas. So the structure of these sentences may be represented in this way:

(A) We need some fruit: (B1) apples, (B2) pears, (B3) bananas AND (B4) grapes.

(A): (B1) , (B2) , (B3) AND (B4) .

(A) This essay will examine the following four aspects: (B1) text, (B2) sources, (B3) commentaries AND (B4) interpretations.

(A) : (B1) , (B2) , (B3) AND (B4) .

But when each of the items in the list is lengthened and made more elaborate, then SEMI-COLONS are used in place of the commas. As we have already noticed, the semi-colon here may be thought of as a “big” or “heavy” comma. Here are some silly amplifications of the above to illustrate the point.

a2) We need some fruit: apples, preferably of the delectably sea-flavoured variety that adorn the luxurious gardens of Whitney Bay; pears, which should of course be King Williams, from Cirencester; bananas, from the greenhouses of Little Shuckleford; and, finally, grapes of the Muskrat variety, from the Niddrie estate, in elegant Edinburgh.

a2) Therefore, this essay will examine the following four aspects: first, the primary text, which exists in several distinct versions; second, the sources, in Aramaic, Amharic and Hebrew; third, commentaries on the text, with special attention to those compiled between 300 and 320 A.D.; and, finally, critical interpretations by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Here the structures have been amplified and the commas between the various subunits of (B) have been replaced by stronger semicolons.

(A) : (B1) ; (B2) ; (B3); AND (B4).

Moreover, inside each of the sub-units of (A) and (B), commas are used at a secondary or lower level.

(INSIDE A , ) : (INSIDE B1 , ,) ; (INSIDE B2 , , ,) ; (INSIDE B3 , , ,) ; AND (INSIDE B4 , ,) .

This model, which combines a colon, semi-colons and commas inside a single sentence, is one of the keys to clear organisation of ideas inside a single sentence.

Furthermore, in academic English, the use of all these three punctuation marks together indicates to the reader that you are in command of your subject. Such a combination provides clear evidence that you are able to manipulate and juggle sets of mental structures. This ability is likely to include the following skills: offsetting and balancing ideas against one another; distinguishing among them; connecting and developing ideas; and organising ideas into distinct hierarchical categories.

This kind of sentence is obviously quite useful in formulating part of a simple and straightforward structural introduction to an essay.

7. THE COLON AND THE SEMICOLON: SUMMARISING THE DIFFERENCES

 (Next morning afterthoughts) It's clear, then, that the colon usually joins TWO parts of a statement (or two separate statements) into a single tightly bonded relationship. It functions as a balancing point (pivot, fulcrum). The relationship it sets up is contrastive and antithetical. It is binary.

The semicolon may have the above function too, though perhaps in a slightly looser relationship. However, the semicolon may often connect MORE THAN TWO items together, as in a list. Its connecting function is not necessarily binary.

(This reminds me of the two words 'BETWEEN' and 'AMONG'. 'BETWEEN' posits the relationship of two entities - like the colon. 'AMONG' posits the relationship of more than two - like the semicolon.)

Richard Burns

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