Kurt Vonnegut wrote, "Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college." But I happen to like semicolons; I have been to college and I know how to use them properly. So who's right, Kurt Vonnegut or me?

sorry, i have to side with Vonnegut. i don't think they are necessary and they never enhance the meaning or my understanding of anything.


on top of that, i'm in college, and i still don't know when to use them. maybe that's why i'm being forced into an advanced composition class though. either way, i don't feel like a sentence made any more sense to me because it had a semicolon in it.

This is me. I have to reference my grammar booklet every time I attempt to use them. Semicolons are the arrogant bastards of punctuation.

My history english teacher is obsessed with semicolons. We spent weeks on them. And I can not remember for the life of me how to use them.

edit: Why the hell did I put history? lol

Semicolons, like music, are just things you have to feel.

i like using them.

i am a semicolon fan; i prefer to make my independent clauses sound like dependent clauses.

I think it's best to describe them as interdependent; the clauses are individually independent, but they must certainly be related.

lol.

I've known how to use semicolons properly for a few years now (and I'm not in college yet; go, me), and will continue to use them. The English teacher I had in my junior year of high school actually required us to use a certain amount of semicolons in a paper after giving us a lesson on punctuation. It was boring for me, but interesting to see how some of my classmates didn't understand the point of a semicolon until that day.

LOL you know, I actually don't disagree with that, because I've known how to use semicolons before someone officially taught me how to use them (which was probably 9th grade or so). They're not too difficult...if you feel it hahahaha.

In all seriousness, a semicolon is immensely useful to throw in the mix to vary sentence structure a bit, and English teachers LOVE that. In an academic setting, it's completely appropriate. But using it while IM-ing with your friends would be pretentious, of course.

I love semicolons.

this makes me laugh. my mom is an english teacher. whenever we're on gmail talking on google chat she always uses all this complicated punctuation. it really annoys me. it is pretentious.

Hahaha, well thanks, Gigi. I use commas about half the time and semicolons the other half, depending how lazy I feel. I don't use all proper capitalization and punctuation, though, because that really would be too pretentious.

i like them. they seem perfect to use at times. of course, i don't overdo it.






but then again, have i really been using them properly all this time? @_@ idk

i dont have a problem with semicolons. i just prefer not to use them unless im writing in a more formal setting.

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i love semicolons; they allow to me to variate my sentences. rather than, i love how semicolons allow me to variate my sentences.

i believe that's how it's used. i googled this ish like crazy to learn it and i think i got it.

Semicolons are necessary.

That's exactly how I feel!

Semicolons are usually necessary in CSS, so yeah, they're necessary to me. :)

yes - but THEY'RE ALWAYS USED f*ckING WRONG!!!!

edit//
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my computer was on and my boyfriend wrote that. he majored in english, so misuse of punctuation and words make him really pissed.
:D

I loved using them when my English classes actually involved grammar.

Unfortunately, high school literature classes have completely wiped my mind of all the fancy grammar rules and techniques I knew. I don't use semicolons anymore because I don't remember how.

Is that why he used four exclamation points at the end of his sentence?

^LOL

I can't say I like or dislike semicolons - I guess I'm pretty apathetic. However, there are times when I think it just looks right if I separate two related thoughts with a semicolon. I can't say that I'd just stop using them because someone thinks they aren't necessary. Sometimes when a paragraph seems monotonous, it is necessary to break up the sentence structures in order to improve the flow: "I like dogs. Dogs are cool. My dog ate off my plate yesterday. It kind of made me mad. Then he climbed into my bed with me before bed. I forgave him." I'm not saying that a semicolon is necessary anywhere in that group of sentences, but the sentences COULD be regrouped to make it flow better. I will admit to talking like this 90% of the time on the internet, though. :P

I agree that in most conversations with friends, using a semicolon can be perceived as pretentious.. It all depends on who you're talking to, I think. Just for the record, I have avoided a few opportunities to use semicolons in this post. >.>

I like semicolons. I overuse them in English class, lol.

College? Pssh. Sixth grade accelerated English class.

Jan went to the store, and she bought some milk.
Jan went to the store; she bought some milk.

That's the only use I remember. I hate all this literature bullshit high school throws at you. I want my grammar back!

Ha ha! I'm a SUPER semi-colon freak; I just like them! Ha ha! I thought I was the only one who had this sickness

And...um, writing is subjective;to each his own. Don't bother quoting Vonnegut and just do what works for you.