Question

n which of the following is the semicolon correctly used?

To my dismay, my car had a flat; I desperately needed to find another way to go.

Because we repaired the antenna; our reception improved.

Dev declared the meeting adjourned; and we began squabbling.

That video game is awesome; yesterday I went ice-skating.

Answer 1

Only the first sentence uses the semicolon correctly:

- Correct: "To my dismay, my car had a flat; I desperately needed to find another way to go."
(Two independent clauses closely related — semicolon is appropriate.)

Why the others are wrong, with fixes:
- Incorrect: "Because we repaired the antenna; our reception improved."
("Because we repaired the antenna" is a dependent clause. Use a comma or reword.)
Fix: "Because we repaired the antenna, our reception improved." or "We repaired the antenna; our reception improved."

- Incorrect: "Dev declared the meeting adjourned; and we began squabbling."
(Do not use a semicolon before a coordinating conjunction like "and." Use a comma or drop the conjunction.)
Fix: "Dev declared the meeting adjourned, and we began squabbling." or "Dev declared the meeting adjourned; we began squabbling."

- Questionable/awkward: "That video game is awesome; yesterday I went ice-skating."
(Both are independent clauses, but they lack a clear connection; a period or a clearer link is better.)
Fix: "That video game is awesome. Yesterday I went ice-skating." or add a connecting phrase that shows relation.