A semicolon is used to separate items in a list when those items contain internal punctuation, such as commas. For example, if you have a list of places with more complex descriptions, you would use semicolons for clarity. Here’s an example:
- I have traveled to Paris, France; Tokyo, Japan; and Rome, Italy.
In this case, semicolons are used because each item in the list includes a comma (the city and the country), which can lead to confusion if commas were used alone.
If your list of places contains more straightforward names without internal punctuation, you would typically use commas. For example:
- I visited New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami.
So, use semicolons in lists of places when those places include additional descriptions or details that themselves contain commas.
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