At one point, I was a comma queen. I was obsessed, and they became overused. My sentences ran on for ever and ever, without restraint and without proper grammar. I still tend to overuse the humble comma (and more on that in another article), but everything changed when I was introduced to this beautiful comma-colon amalgamation. This is the story of an oft-misused punctuation: simple, yet concise; tirelessly supporting our long, but correct, sentences; always just a little bit unsure.
Despite the worldly worry that they cause, semicolons aren’t as difficult to use as they may seem; it’s just a case of poor explanations that create this misunderstood punctuation. Basically, you can use them in two ways: when you’re listing items, but you use commas within your list items; or, when connecting two related clauses into one. That’s all there is to it; the subtle semicolon is easier we normally make it out to be.
The reason I love the semicolon is for its ability to break up a sentence you’re reading. While you speak in period-ed sentences or comma pause, the semicolon doesn’t have a respective spoken sound. You use it to replace other punctuation; you use it to make your sentences more clear. I love it because I can turn what would be a run-on, confusing sentence into a simple-to-understand idea; I think that’s pretty beautiful.