2

Is the following use of a semi-colon correct?

I found examples of variability in temperature and in pressure; some strongly correlated.

I think that the words after the semi-colon have to be a sentence in their own right, but I'm not sure that these are.

Improve this question
  • What do you mean, you're not sure they are a sentence? Of course it is a sentence. There's a subject and a predicate. The predicate has been omitted, is all. We do that all the time in English. We do that all the time in all languages. – RegDwigнt♦ Oct 23 '15 at 14:36
  • I would use a dash because "some strongly correlated" is further describing "examples." – michael_timofeev Oct 23 '15 at 15:25
  • It's fairly clear that the sentence means "I found examples (some strongly correlated) of variability." But the semicolon leads a reader to expect a second and independent sentence. There are instances where this works: "I found variability in temperature; he, variability in pressure." But not here in the OP. – deadrat Oct 24 '15 at 9:00
3

In general, you can combine two clauses that would otherwise be independent sentences by separating them with a semi-colon. This tends to tie them together more closely than two separate sentences. You do not use a conjunction.

Example:

Two sentences: "Bob entered the room. He sat down."

Combined with conjunction: "Bob entered the room and he sat down."

Combined with semicolon: "Bob entered the room; he sat down."

In your example, the second clause does not appear to be a complete sentence. "Correlated" can be a verb but I think it is being used as an adjective here. If the intent is that it is a verb, then the example is completely correct.

Improve this answer
  • Thank you. You're right, I'm using "correlated" as an adjective here. To make it clear I am saying something like "some of them are strongly correlated". So it seems the semi-colon here is incorrect in my case. Would I just use a comma instead? I want to put a hyphen, but it feels informal. – user1551817 Oct 23 '15 at 14:26
  • Yes, if you're using it as an adjective, then don't use a semi-colon because the second clause could not stand as an independent sentence (nor satisfy one of the other conditions where a semi-colon is appropriate). You could simply change it to a comma. – Jay Oct 23 '15 at 18:57
1

You'd need a verb if you want to use a semicolon like this:

I found examples of variability in temperature and in pressure; some were strongly correlated.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.