How To Use Commas And Semicolons In A List
She likes chocolate vanilla strawberry and pistachio ice cream.
How to use commas and semicolons in a list. It is usual to use commas to separate the items in a list. The choice is yours. Colons can introduce a list while commas are used to separate items in a list. Now look at this list. I bought apples grapes and pears.
Semicolons are used to join two independent clauses or two complete thoughts that could stand alone as complete sentences. Colons and semicolons are two types of punctuation. Semicolons help divide listed items that each contain commas. To help separate items in a list when some of those items already contain commas. Suppose i want to list three items that i bought at the grocery store.
Semicolons separate independent clauses that are related in meaning and they separate items in a list when those items themselves are long or include commas. Place a comma between each item in the list unless you are writing in associated press style. In a sentence i would separate these items with commas. We would recommend that commas be used rather than semicolons to separate the items in this list because the items themselves do not contain commas. When to use a dash or dashes the dash or more specifically the em dash is perhaps the most versatile of the punctuation marks.
Comma use a comma after the first independent clause when you link two independent clauses with one of the following coordinating conjunctions. For example this summary could say semicolons are useful. And but for or nor so yet. However when the list items themselves contain commas you can outrank those commas by using semicolons as the separators for your list items. You will need to bring the following.
A comma or a semicolon. In that case you would not place a comma before the and that joins the final two items. However like the semicolon it is underutilized in most kinds of writing. Look at this list. Colons are used in sentences to show that something is following like a quotation example or list.