Can someone tell me if these 2 sentences are the correct use of a semi colon:
Another example of prejudice displaying in Maycomb county is against Arthur Radly, the local everyone is afraid of; he is considered the town freak.
One more example of prejudice found in To Kill a Mockingbird, would be that of status; the social structure has four different types.
Thank you
Sentence 1 has a correct use of the semicolon -- it separates two independent clauses.
Sentence 2 also has a semicolon separating two independent clauses, so the semicolon use is fine. There are two other errors, though. Delete the comma after the book's title, and change the verb "would be" to "is." You're not writing about possibilities; you're writing about what is, right?
That's correct. Thanks for your help.
You're welcome!
=)
Yes, both of the sentences you provided use the semi-colon correctly. The semi-colon (;) is used to link two independent clauses that are closely related and could stand alone as separate sentences but are connected in meaning. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of how to determine if the use of a semi-colon is correct:
Sentence 1: "Another example of prejudice displaying in Maycomb county is against Arthur Radly, the local everyone is afraid of; he is considered the town freak."
1. Identify the independent clauses:
- "Another example of prejudice displaying in Maycomb county is against Arthur Radly, the local everyone is afraid of."
- "He is considered the town freak."
2. Check if the independent clauses are closely related in meaning:
- In this case, both clauses discuss prejudice against Arthur Radly in Maycomb County. The use of a semi-colon here is appropriate because the two clauses are closely related.
Sentence 2: "One more example of prejudice found in To Kill a Mockingbird would be that of status; the social structure has four different types."
1. Identify the independent clauses:
- "One more example of prejudice found in To Kill a Mockingbird would be that of status."
- "The social structure has four different types."
2. Check if the independent clauses are closely related in meaning:
- Here, both clauses are discussing prejudice, specifically related to the status and social structure in To Kill a Mockingbird. Therefore, the use of a semi-colon is appropriate.
In both sentences, the semi-colons effectively separate the related thoughts while connecting them in one coherent sentence.