Can you put and after a semicolon

Semicolons help you connect closely related ideas when a style mark stronger than a comma is needed. By using semicolons effectively, you can make your writing sound more sophisticated.

Rules for Using Semicolons

• A semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought. When a semicolon is used to join two or more ideas (parts) in a sentence, those ideas are then given equal position or rank.
  

  Some people write with a word processor; others write with a pen or pencil.

• Use a semicolon between two independent clauses that are connected by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases.
  

  However they choose to write, people are allowed to make their own decisions; as a result, many people swear by their writing methods.

• Use a semicolon between items in a list or series if any of the items contain commas.
  

  There are basically two ways to write: with a pen or pencil, which is inexpensive and easily accessible; or by computer and printer, which is more expensive but quick and neat.

• Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction if the clauses are already punctuated with commas or if the clauses are lengthy.
  

  Some people write with a word processor, tablet, or even a phone; but others, for different reasons, choose to write with a pen or pencil.

Avoid using a comma when a semicolon is needed:

Incorrect: The cow is brown, it is also old.
Correct: The cow is brown; it is also old.

What’s going on here? Both parts of the sentence are independent clauses, and commas should not be used to connect independent clauses if there is no coordinating conjunction. This mistake is known as a comma splice.

Incorrect: I like cows, however, I hate the way they smell.
Correct: I like cows; however, I hate the way they smell.

What’s going on here? The conjunctive adverb however signals a connection between two independent clauses, and commas should not be used to connect independent clauses if there is no coordinating conjunction.

Incorrect: I like cows: they give us milk, which tastes good, they give us beef, which also tastes good, and they give us leather, which is used for shoes and coats.
Correct: I like cows: they give us milk, which tastes good; they give us beef, which also tastes good; and they give us leather, which is used for shoes and coats.

What’s going on here? It’s unclear what the three list items are, since the items are separated by commas.

Incorrect: Cows, though their bovine majesty has been on the wane in recent millennia, are still one of the great species of this planet, domesticated, yet proud, they ruminate silently as we humans pass tumultuously by.
Correct: Cows, though their bovine majesty has been on the wane in recent millennia, are still one of the great species of this planet; domesticated, yet proud, they ruminate silently as we humans pass tumultuously by.

What’s going on here? It’s unclear where the first independent clause ends and the second independent clause begins.

Avoid using a semicolon when a comma is needed:

Incorrect: Because cows smell; they offend me.
Correct: Because cows smell, they offend me.

What’s going on here? The first part is not an independent clause, so no semicolon is required.

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• Guide to Punctuation
• Introduction
• Why Learn to Punctuate?
• The Full Stop, the Question Mark and the Exclamation Mark
• The Comma
• The Colon and the Semicolon
• • The Colon
  • The Semicolon
  • The Colon and the Semicolon Compared
• The Apostrophe
• The Hyphen and the Dash
• Capital Letters and Abbreviations
• Quotations
• Miscellaneous
• Punctuating Essays and Letters
• Bibliography

The semicolon (;) has only one major use. It is used to join two complete sentences into a single written sentence when all of the following conditions are met:

Here is a famous example:

A semicolon can always, in principle, be replaced either by a full stop (yielding two separate sentences) or by the word and (possibly preceded by a joining comma). Thus Dickens might have written:

The use of the semicolon suggests that the writer sees the two smaller sentences as being more closely related than the average two consecutive sentences; preferring the semicolon to and often gives a more vivid sense of the relation between the two. But observe carefully: the semicolon must be both preceded by a complete sentence and followed by a complete sentence. Do not use the semicolon otherwise:

These are all wrong, since the semicolon does not separate complete sentences. (The first and last of these should have only a bracketing comma, while the second and third meet the requirements for a colon and should have one.) Here are some further examples of correct use:

If a suitable connecting word is used, then a joining comma is required, rather than a semicolon:

A semicolon would be impossible in the last example, since the sequence after the comma is not a complete sentence.

Note, however, that certain connecting words do require a preceding semicolon. Chief among these are however, therefore, hence , thus, consequently, nevertheless and meanwhile:

Observe that in these examples the sequence after the semicolon does constitute a complete sentence. And note particularly that the word however must be separated by a semicolon (or a full stop) from a preceding complete sentence; this is a very common mistake.

There is one special circumstance in which a semicolon may be used to separate sequences which are not complete sentences. This occurs when a sentence has become so long and so full of commas that the reader can hardly be expected to follow it without some special marking. In this case, we sometimes find semicolons used instead of commas to mark the most important breaks in the sentence: such semicolons are effectively being used to mark places where the reader can pause to catch his breath. Consider the following example:

This sentence is perfectly punctuated, but the number of commas is somewhat alarming. In such a case, the comma marking the major break in the sentence may be replaced by a semicolon:

Such use of the semicolon as a kind of "super-comma" is not very appealing, and you should do your best to avoid it. If you find one of your sentences becoming dangerously long and full of commas, it is usually better to start over and rewrite it, perhaps as two separate sentences:

In any case, don't get into the habit of using a semicolon (or anything else) merely to mark a breathing space. Your reader will be perfectly capable of doing his own breathing, providing your sentence is well punctuated; punctuation is an aid to understanding, not to respiration.

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