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Are semicolons necessary?
mipadi
post Aug 6 2009, 10:40 PM
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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?
 
brooklyneast05
post Aug 6 2009, 10:53 PM
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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.
 
karmakiller
post Aug 6 2009, 11:01 PM
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QUOTE(brooklyneast05 @ Aug 6 2009, 10:53 PM) *
i'm in college, and i still don't know when to use them.
This is me. I have to reference my grammar booklet every time I attempt to use them. Semicolons are the arrogant bastards of punctuation.
 
none345678
post Aug 6 2009, 11:03 PM
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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
 
mipadi
post Aug 6 2009, 11:03 PM
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Semicolons, like music, are just things you have to feel.
 
Teesa
post Aug 6 2009, 11:04 PM
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QUOTE(mipadi @ Aug 7 2009, 12:03 AM) *
Semicolons, like music, are just things you have to feel.


laugh.gif i like using them.
 
queen
post Aug 6 2009, 11:05 PM
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i am a semicolon fan; i prefer to make my independent clauses sound like dependent clauses.
 
mipadi
post Aug 6 2009, 11:07 PM
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QUOTE(synkiro @ Aug 7 2009, 12:05 AM) *
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.
 
tokyo-rose
post Aug 6 2009, 11:10 PM
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QUOTE
changmin says (12:02:19 AM): http://www.createblog.com/forums/index.php...=239754&hl=
changmin says (12:02:26 AM): T-T I love semicolons
changmin says (12:02:45 AM): I've been lazy in using them when talking on AIM, though
kryogen1x (12:02:49 AM): i love semicolons too
kryogen1x (12:02:58 AM): i throw them in randomly to show that I've gone to college
changmin says (12:03:06 AM): are you jk
kryogen1x (12:03:18 AM): no for real; they make me sound astute
changmin says (12:03:24 AM): lol
changmin says (12:03:40 AM): I guess this is one issue that Vonnegut and I do not agree on

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.
 
Gigi
post Aug 6 2009, 11:20 PM
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QUOTE(mipadi @ Aug 6 2009, 09:03 PM) *
Semicolons, like music, are just things you have to feel.

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.
 
Joanne
post Aug 6 2009, 11:22 PM
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I love semicolons.
 
brooklyneast05
post Aug 6 2009, 11:23 PM
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QUOTE(Gigi @ Aug 6 2009, 11:20 PM) *
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.


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.
 
tokyo-rose
post Aug 6 2009, 11:42 PM
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QUOTE(Gigi @ Aug 7 2009, 12:20 AM) *
But using it while IM-ing with your friends would be pretentious, of course.
QUOTE(brooklyneast05 @ Aug 7 2009, 12:23 AM) *
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. tongue.gif 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.
 
markmejia
post Aug 7 2009, 03:07 AM
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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
 
Nickfury
post Aug 7 2009, 04:42 AM
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i dont have a problem with semicolons. i just prefer not to use them unless im writing in a more formal setting.
 
Simba
post Aug 7 2009, 04:46 AM
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QUOTE(brooklyneast05 @ Aug 6 2009, 11:53 PM) *
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.
my broYe, I love kanYe West; Kanye West is amazing
 
Ekay
post Aug 8 2009, 01:27 AM
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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.
 
heyo-captain-jac...
post Aug 8 2009, 01:32 AM
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Semicolons are necessary.
 
Joanne
post Aug 8 2009, 01:33 AM
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QUOTE(Markster @ Aug 7 2009, 01:07 AM) *
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

That's exactly how I feel!
 
Mikeplyts
post Aug 8 2009, 01:36 AM
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Semicolons are usually necessary in CSS, so yeah, they're necessary to me. :)
 
-DressYourEyelid...
post Aug 8 2009, 06:00 AM
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yes - but THEY'RE ALWAYS USED f*ckING WRONG!!!!

edit//
...
my computer was on and my boyfriend wrote that. he majored in english, so misuse of punctuation and words make him really pissed.
:D
 
schizo
post Aug 8 2009, 02:15 PM
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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. cry.gif
 
mipadi
post Aug 8 2009, 03:21 PM
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QUOTE(-DressYourEyelids- @ Aug 8 2009, 07:00 AM) *
yes - but THEY'RE ALWAYS USED f*ckING WRONG!!!!

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

Is that why he used four exclamation points at the end of his sentence?
 
libertie
post Aug 8 2009, 03:41 PM
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^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. >.>
 
jiyong
post Aug 14 2009, 04:08 PM
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I like semicolons. I overuse them in English class, lol.
 

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