Punctuation

1
Punctuation

• The Semi-Colon

2
Simple Sentences

• Now, lets expand on that idea a little bit.

• Lets begin with a simple sentence.

• Heather comes late to class.

• She will have to face the consequences.

3
The Independent Clause

• Heather comes late to class.

• She will have to face the consequences.

• This is OK. These are two independent ideas
  (independent clauses), separated by a period.

4
Sentence Combining

• What if we try to combine these ideas by using a
  comma?

,
Heather is late for class
she will have to face the consequences.
Somethings wrong. We connected two independent
clauses with only a comma.
The dreaded COMMA SPLICE!
5
How do we fix the comma splice?
6
Using a Coordinating Conjunction
coordinating
conjunction.

• We could insert a

Because Heather comes late to class, she will
have to face the consequences.
This is better. Note the comma that accompanies
the coordinating conjunction.
7
Using a Subordinating Conjunction
subordinating
conjunction.

• We could insert a

Heather comes late to class so she will have to
face the consequences.
Notice here that the comma is gone. The word
so subordinates the second clause, making it a
dependent clause.
8
Using the semi-colon

• We could make use of the semi-colon to join two
  independent clauses.

• Heather comes late to class she will have to
  face the consequences.

• Notice that there is NO conjunction
  (subordinating or coordinating) used in this
  sentence, just the semi-colon.

9
Conjunctive adverbs and semi-colons

• Sometimes semicolons are accompanied by
  conjunctive adverbs words such as however,
  moreover, therefore, nevertheless, consequently,
  as a result.

• Heather comes late to class

• as a result,

she will have to face the consequences.
Notice the pattern semi-colon conjunctive
adverb- comma