A
semicolon (
; ) is a conventional
punctuation mark with several uses, mainly for pauses in sentences and breaks in lists. The
Italian printer
Aldus Manutius the Elder established the practice of using the semicolon mark to separate
words of opposed meaning,
and to indicate interdependent statements.[1] The earliest, general use of the semicolon in
English was in
1591;
Ben Jonson was the first notable English writer to use them systematically. The modern uses of the semicolon are discussed below, and relate either to the listing of items, or to the linking of related clauses.
- It could be used between two phrases, in which the first phrase causes the second.
Example: "He played much; so, his clothes became dirty".