You can also use them to split lists where the items have commas in them. Like if you're saying you're holding a party and you invited A, whom you dislike but would feel bad to exclude; B, who you've not seen in years and really want to catch up with; and C, who is also going to be there.
My 2c is that if the majority of people are confused about the purpose of a punctuation mark or language feature in general, then that feature is not actually fulfilling a useful function. If it was actually useful then people wouldn't be confused, they would just be using it. People would learn it organically and not need it to be explained.
That example sentence would function exactly the same if it was separated by a period, nothing is gained by using a semicolon. No new information is added, you are just going to make people wonder why there is a semicolon there making the sentence less comprehensible.
Its sorta related to the prescriptivism vs descriptivism distinction.
That example sentence would function exactly the same if it was separated by a period; nothing is gained by using a semicolon. No new information is added; you are just going to make people wonder why there is a semicolon there making the sentence less comprehensible.
FTFY. You aren't supposed to separate two independent clauses with a comma.
I occasionally use semicolons. They can help with parsing; finding a semicolon instead of a period may signify that the next expression is a continuation and expansion of the previous statement.
They separate different clauses that don't necessarily have to be two separate sentences. It can be used in place of a comma where you would follow with but, and, or, nor, for, so and yet.
So you also use a semicolon if you are separating a list and the list includes phrases separated by commas. For example:
My favorite things are lions, tigers, and bears; sugar, spice, and everything nice; and the ol' red, white, and blue.
I came up with that in thirty seconds so admittedly it's a bit nonsensical, but there are valid reasons to structure a sentence this way and a semicolon is the only thing helping those independent phrases stay separate and thus help the sentence make sense.
That said, I love semicolons in general; I use them for fun and for variety. They are useful for slightly adjusting the pacing of written communication, since the reader won't treat them exactly the same as a full stop.
If it was actually useful... People would learn it organically and not need it to be explained.
People don't learn how to read "organically;" you need instruction. Learning how to use punctuation is a part of that instruction. You learned how to use a comma or a period way back in elementary school, you just don't remember specifically learning it. And a semicolon is a perfectly useful piece of punctuation.
"Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college."
"If you want to take my guns away from me, and you're all for murdering fetuses, and love it when homosexuals marry each other ... you're a liberal. If you are against those perversions and for the rich, you're a conservative. What could be simpler?"
-Kurt Vonnegut
Yeah it looks like the dude had some issues to say the least...
I'm sorry, but the example in your comment is nonstandard usage. The part after the semicolon would typically be an independent clause, whereas the "because" marks yours as a dependent clause.
There are still comma-like uses though. The major one I can think of is as a separator in a list where each element is long, possibly containing commas of its own.
em dash supremacy—my friend introduced me to this and i haven't looked back since.
alt+0151 on PC, ctrl+alt+minus for word if I remember right. On mobile you go to more symbols, hold down the minus, and slide to the longest one.
Both require numeric keypad though- but using a minus and a space after can work as a substitute--as well as 2 minus signs (plus Lemmy happens to convert that to an em dash) - but like THAT? treason. absolutely not.
You can even join more than 2 independent clauses together as shown above.
(in standardized English) No, you can’t make them into a star with the semicolon in the center. Sentences are linear, so you can only connect two clauses at a time with one semicolon between them. However, you can chain clauses together, each time using a semicolon to join two independent clauses.
Except language changes over time, so if the star usage of the semicolon catches on and introduces nonlinear sentences, then have at it.