I'm in my final year of Engineering Undergrad looking up how semicolons work. This is a great explanation!
1:20
Me: CONJUNCTIONS!
Him: Connections
Me: D:
The main function of the semicolon is to make a winking smiley. ;-)
Semicolons can provide additional information through inference because they have to connect related ideas. Watch:
I use semicolons; nobody talks to me.
Since the semicolon means these two sentences are related, we can determine that nobody talks to me because I use semicolons.
(I could be wrong though, so take all of this with a grain of salt.)
i think a better way to say that would be:
Since I use semicolons, nobody talks to me.
Your sentence sounds ambiguous and unclear.
@@connerbuxton3320 Not really, if the sentence used comma, it would be:
"I use semicolons, nobody talks to me."
Which is unclear, the sentence sounds not connected.
However, as stated before, semicolon can stress the connection. In this case, it is a cause-and-effect connection.
Therefore, a correct sentence would be:
"I use semicolons; nobody talks to me."
Or
"I use semicolons, so nobody talks to me."
Edit: CMIIW ;)
qvindicator ppl forget this rule a lot the two phrases need to be related
I was so shocked to see this video was posted 6 years ago the animation looks so cleannn
ted Ed - truly timeless
This is a really interesting video; the animations made the information easier to digest and process
I really loved this animation; it kept things interesting.
I always thought semicolons were just used in coding; now I see their amazing uses in literary contexts!
How was the education system never in 12+ years able to teach us what this 3 and a half minute video did? Thank you for making a better world ted-ed!!
Incredibly helpful! I loved the videogame theme; I wish this were around when I was a kid.
Grammar Nazi has changed their name to: Punctuation Nazi.
Take note of the usage of the colon in that statement, or else!
Punctuation is part of grammar.
Not trying to argue, just letting you know so you don't have to get new business cards. 😉
+Julianna D Grammar belong to morphosyntax. Punctuation belongs to orthography.
Semicolons are also used in various programming languages to tell the compiler that the line of code before it is the end of a command. This is my favorite use of semicolons.
Hi Amin Personally I'm fond of semicolon tattoos (for suicide prevention)
words can not decribe the amount of understanding i get from ted-ed.
2 Rules of Semicolons:
1. Semicolons should only connect clauses that are related in some way
2. You'll almost never find a semicolon willingly stationed before coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, yet, so). But, it can replace a conjunction to shorten it or give it some variety.
One of the rare uses of semicolons in a conjunction, is using it in place of colons when the things being listed have colons in their structure. The best example are locations:
city, state; city, state; and city, state.
Thanks so much for this! Very easy to understand and very visually appealing video!
OmG I love the gaming illustration so muvh! It depicts vividly usage n f(x) of semicolon. Thx TED-Ed :))
I; have no; idea what the hell; you just said.
COEXISTential No; he has his own; proprietary punctuation; that is somehow unique and not available; on my keyboard.
frosted1030 Congratulations! Today, you win the internet! Well played.
The animation makes this video 10000x more enjoyable; the animator should get a raise.
The graphics make this video even way better... I love it
2:38 really made me happy. I was worried about semi colon not repaying period XD
I love this video; therefore, I gave it a thumbs up.
2010lawcy I think the semicolon in this case can substitute your word 'therefore'.
I love this video; I gave it a thumbs up.
Did I do it right??
HoldOnToYourTails You use a semicolon when you link two independent clauses with no connecting words; however, you can also use a semicolon when you join two independent clauses together with one of the following conjunctive adverbs: however, moreover, therefore, consequently, otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc.
This just made my day!! Thank you TED-Ed!!
I've always been cinfused on how to use these
thanks Ted!
I'm practicing for my SATs; I think I will do just fine now that I know when to use a semicolon.
SAME! How did you do? I have a month till I have to do mine, but I'm panicking
I WANT A VIDEOGAME LIKE THAT
That is litteraly my first favorite mark
I even use it in all my paragraphs that needs 5 sentences
I never really knew how to use semi colons for writing; now I do because of this video! Thank you!
Console.WriteLine("Okay.");
Console.ReadLine();
Space Core if (Space_Core == "What programming language is that?")
{
Console.WriteLine("C# Console Application");
}
GreenSoap
System.out.println("You missed the \"Console.ReadLine();\".");
This animation is so creative! What a great idea to communicate this information!
This is my favorite educational video ever; The writing was so clever!
I'd like this to be a real videogame :D
I love this channel; it makes me wanna learn more and more.
I've always struggled with when to use these. I've been writing for over two decades but it's a hobby I'll never stop learning for.
Once I wrote an essay and finished early. I gave it to my teacher, and he said "Finally! A semicolon used correctly." I have never been happier.
I don't know if it was intentional but in that comment that you typed, you could have used a semicolon.
It can be either a “, and” or “;” they are both correct 😁
Awww that must be a great feeling! I love semi-colons, they are so fancy :)
Imagine being criticised for using semicolon wrongly
“I gave it to my teacher; he said ‘Finally! A semicolon used correctly.’”
Is this right?
If this helps out anyone, I try to remember how to use semicolons as the following:
• Semicolons are used like a period, but are read like a comma.
• Both sides of a Semicolon must be able to stand as independent sentences.
• The conjoined sentences should still be fluid while reading them, such like a comma would.
(I’m not an English major, but this what I think helps me remember semicolon usage)
Oh my god, you're amazing; I hope this gets upvoted to the top!
Thanks!
So precise ! Thanks !
What is an independent sentence?
@@Username-qu1jt
An independent sentence or clause is a sentence that makes sense on its own. For example, "I went to the school today; I went in to get my certificate of recognition." Both sentences separated by the semicolon make sense on their own and can stand by themselves without the other. A dependent sentence for example is, "I ate apples because I was hungry." The part of the sentence, "I ate apples", can stand on its own therefore it is an independent clause. The part of that sentence, "because I was hungry" doesn't make much sense on its own or give much context, therefore it is considered as a dependent clause.
Tl;dr: "An independent clause contains a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but no complete thought."
I hope this helps! I tried to explain it to the best of my abilities and based on what I understood and learned throughout the years of studying English as a secondary language. :)
Edited the typos lol
The most annoying thing is how every textbook spends a whole page on "when to use semicolons" and then in the exercise they give examples that don't match any of the conditions
lmfao so true
AHAHA
That textbook is so annoying; I hate school textbooks
It do be like that
Not just in English. I can;t tell you how many times that happened to me in maths
Programmers be like: ohh it's just how you end a line.
Many times I use semicolons in cmd.
this comment is funny;
C and Java intensifies**
Python programmers: *Confused screaming*
@@Karsow2054 I use C++ and python mainly and sometimes I accidentally use semicolons in python 😅
No teacher has ever taught me on how to use a semicolon; thank you TED-ed
Yeah. I was scared to use them in case I messed up; now I understand them!
Alvaro Padilla yeah! I cant believe they dont teach children how to use semicolons; they are pretty awesome!
Now my essays can look extra fancy when i pass them!
But can't a comma be used here as well?
So totally agree
A semicolon makes more sense Damon, he's almost into another subject but it still os related to the first sentence. It adds clarity.
"It seems like the semicolon is facing an identity crisis"
Same bro.
cheers ill drink to that bro
😔
mood
Bruh I was just about to comment something like that-
But yeah bro 😭
Johnny Johnny, relating to grammar?
"Semicolons were once a great mystery to me; I'd really like a sandwich."
U menace
🥪
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
I wonder why the video said it's not belong to the same sentence. It's perfectly make sense: such mystery makes us think hard and thus, hunger strikes. Therefore: sandwich 🥪!
That got me laughing bro
Meanwhile programmers watching video: that's what we use on every line.
Python programmers: whats a semicolon again?
meanwhile me, using HTML, JS, and C# all at the same time: *confused screaming*
I've never used a semicolon; I will begin to now.
Sid3aff3ct Good first effort.
I've never used a semicolon; will begin now
ive never use a semicolon; i will begin now. both sentences should be fully cohesive sentences.
I think it should be "I will start now", but ok.
how's the progress?
"i quitted 2 years ago"
Semicolon's belong to the end of your statement, otherwise your code won't compile
Jokester The Mighty Programmer humor, not for everybody
Hhehh
Apostrophes belong in abbreviations and ownership, not plurals.
Jokester The Mighty Imagine not putting them in matlab!!
And quotation marks around literals!
It’s basically a soft period or a hard comma. That’s how I learned it in my college English Editing major.
I REALLY like how you made the animation look like a video game. Very good artistic choice. Note that in computer programming languages, the semicolon signifies the end of a statement.
A;m I d;oi;ng it ri;g;ht ?
Y;es
No, you're not.
edit-2021: ple;ase s;top whoosh;ing ;me
godwin972 w;u;t d;I;d y;o;u s;a;y?
godwin972 o
y;our d'oing it leek a cham-pion wordstress!
Semicolons are hard to use; you seem smarter when you do though.
You really do; I so agree!
thx i rlly needed some examples no joke im trying to write an essay after the summer and completely forgot how to use semicolons; now they are as clear to me as day
and thats a fact
the "though" is excess in this case; he said so as well
It's like getting the latest iPhone; it makes you one of the "cool kids".
Thank you so much TED ED! I’m and aspiring author, but I never knew how to use semicolons. The variety in my writing was limited; I never took the risk of using them. Now that I know how to use them, I’m really happy and definitely gonna be using them much more often! :)
You ever get anything published?
@@majinray5726 stop liking your own comment blud
@@sabuba47913 I didn't?? tf?
@@majinray5726 real.
I can’t wait to use this in ELA; it will make my writing look more professional.
I love using semicolons; they help me express my thoughts more efficiently.
Me too; too bad there is not a "semicolon culture" in English grammar.
+SpyMaster356
+Joseph Kim They're both two independent clauses. So, a period is right.
+Jessica Nguyen But a semicolon can take the place of a period. (Where a sentence could've ended, but didn't.)
+Julianna D
Not if you are talking about different things.
I want this Nintendo game, what's it called? Super Grammar Bros?
løst lmao
@@patrickwchen
*Facepalm*
Hes only joking
It's not grammar, it's punctuation
There's a character selection, it's probably the second one
someone needs to make this a real game
Now that I think about it, in all my life of 13 years of studying at school I have never learnt how to properly use this punctuation because no teacher has ever taught me to. I am not exaggerating. Even the English teachers would overlook it because apparently "it is an unimportant punctuation".
You should have seen my seventh grade English teacher; she was obsessed with semicolons (and oxford commas).
@@ehmaree I'm obsessed with the Oxford comma; it brings so much more clarity, however I rarely see semicolons in anything other than formal literature.
@@SagBobet Your final punctuation is flawed; however, I will instead provide an example of proper punctuation.
I never know when to use a semicolon and readily admit that I throw them in sometimes to look like I know. I am totally relying on the reader to also not know when they are supposed to be used, and then think I’m a genius!
This actually helped me ; now i am unstoppable
Meguroko Sylveon And certainly unfull-stoppable :D
You need a comma after "now".
Also, there's no space between "me" and the semicolon.
Go tiger
@@SAndSPictures oof
UA-cam comments tomorrow - Semicolons, semicolons everywhere.
HoldOnToYourTails I; don't; know; what; you; are; talking; about;.
HoldOnToYourTails Better! than! a! video! about! Yahoo!
HoldOnToYourTails UA-cam comments tomorrow; semicolons, semicolons everywhere.
HoldOnToYourTails Semicolons; semicolons everywhere.
Devils Advocate you mean semicolons; semicolons everywhere
Semicolons are so good; why did four semesters of English class never teach me how to use them?
Is that a right sentence?
Looks like you still don’t know
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
@@hitman3648 ...a what? Correct sentence?
hmm there should be a comma mate.
Semicolons are fun; they're a bit mysterious to many people. Use with care, so you don't look like a dork, and don't overuse (like emojis!).
I've learned more in a three minute UA-cam video than an entire period in English class at school.
Then you should only spend a semicolon in English class, it’ll work better
They have to teach it to like +10 people at a time though.
That’s simply because you didn’t pay attention. You don’t need to undermine one thing to show your appreciation for another.
@@enfreenity4291or the teacher just sucked idk
@@ace_of_hearts6378 Then you should only spend a semicolon in English class; it’ll work better
i love apples; they are delicious
Jontzur i think its right?
*I, delicious.
I also love apples; they are one of the only fruits I like.
I love apples ; absolutely delicious
Jontzur
Wasn't it "appleS" tho
Basically when you have a sentence like “I like cheese, but I don’t like ham,” the “,but” turns into a semicolon
Yo nice, so a porker doesn't like ham... :)
Well, that's only part of it.
I remember this one time where we were making a 5 paragraph reflection paper. I have this friend who just observes our writing (he is quite egocentric), like he is some kind of a judge or something. I have this one sentence in mind where I needed to use a semicolon. He just ironically clapped his hand in amusement because it was his first time seeing me use it. Our friendship was forged through mischievious competition, in other words, we're frenemies, acting like we are seperate and but ends up being best bro's.
I loved this video; it was both animated and constructed brilliantly!
FINALLY somebody who listened and used the semi-colon right!
Ben Dover...why are you using crying Peter Griffin as your pfp
Nah developers love em.
** can't live without them.
Who's Em? Is she foxy or just another one of 'em fools who don't know when to use apostrophes? ;D
And hate them at the same time; since they always cause errors...
Not in LISP, it is commenting symbol there
ATMunn Actually it's such a delight to see there's one error, and for it to turn out it's just a semicolon.
Finally. I thought I was the only one who knew how to properly use semicolons; they are important tools and also make you really look like you know what you’re doing when writing. Something else you may have wanted to clarify is capitalization in regard to semicolons: like a colon or a comma, you do not capitalize the next letter after a semicolon. This was confusing to me because semicolons quintessentially connect two sentences; I thought that because they were still two separate sentences, that I should capitalize the letter subsequent to the semicolon. Think of semicolons as a way to connect two closely related and complimentary sentences into one sentence.
I FINALLY understand how to use those semicolons now; my life is complete.
They kind of said this in the video, but semicolons can also be used as *super commas!* , separating listed items with commas. For example:
"When I was on vacation, I went to Jacksonville, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; and New York City, New York."
In this case, it is used to list places, which are separated by commas. If they were all commas, things would get confusing fast.
🤓
@@sabuba47913🤡
This should have been taught in school
Agreed. But many things that aren't taught at school should be. They are moronic.
FightOnGaming
Yeah sometimes schools miss so much important stuff they might as well be a day care to give your parents a break lol
I teach this in school. They don't listen.
Yes they're taught in schools; you skipped the class.
@@TheInterestingInformer
*Many things are not taught in school; they are moronic.
The visuals in this are so cleverly put together; The same way it follows with the narration.
Semicolons were created for 2 reasons:
1 - Coding
2 - The winky face ;)
were?
Ikr ;)
Things I like about this video: The cheeky, colorful animations; The quirky, 90's gaming style music; Emma Bryce's wonderful, manly voice.
nitelite78 To me the animation seems childish, colorful, and the music simple, 90's gaming style; I liked these things about this video.
Cout
That's not Emma Bryce's voice, it's Addison Anderson's.
None of those were independent clauses. You need a comma my friend.
lefu lmao
The only problem is; some people just don't pay attention; and end up using it wrong anyway.
+Reptilian Eucalyptus - very funny. :-)
Reptilian Eucalyptus edge
Haha ; comedically humorous...
@@2000anandhu hahaha why this comment has no likes?
But you're using it wrong too
For a great little guide to punctuation, read “Eats Shoots, & Leaves.” By Lynn Truss. A wonderfully humorous guide. I can’t recommend it enough as an easy book on all types of punctuation.
My ex g/f used to call me wombat; because wombats eats roots, shoots and leaves.
@@ErgonBill - I see what you did there. 😳👍
@@dejavu666wampas9 🙊shhh
Thank you so much for the recommendation.
Do NOT read 'Eats, Shoots, and Leaves'. She stretches what would make a marginal pamphlet into a book by belaboring points endlessly to pad out the page count. She also wastes time (and paper) arguing against points that nobody makes. And she never mentions that there are differences in English grammar/usage between British English (her native tongue) and American English, so some of her instructions are dead wrong for American users.
Huge waste of time. It's one of the very few books I have actually thrown away after reading rather than recirculating.
BTW: My degree is in English and I have taught post-secondary English for years.
it’s interesting how it seems like a daunting tool, but yet eventually how you’re able to build more confidence to use them more frequently
I was never taught how to use semi-colons; I was in doubt. Now I use them properly. Thank you TED-Ed
Well replace that period with a semicolon and there ya go
But you used it perfectly
@@InkWaxstudios100 Are you allowed to string more than one semicolon in one statement?
I love this video so much; the animation style and the info were great.
This video made me realize how I overuse commas and coodinating conjunctions together; this is probably a good start towards correcting that.
Everybody saying that they were never taught this reminds me of that old Simpsons episode when Bart goes to Shelbyville.
He starts off by ignoring Ms. Krabappel while she's teaching the class Roman numerals, and she even emphasizes that while it seems archaic, you never know when you'll need it.
Later on Bart encounters Roman numerals and complains, "they never even TRIED to teach this to us!"
This is the cutest video; I love the art style.
One of the best ted-ed animations yet!
We had to learn how to use these in grade 6 and it was so hard to understand because the only example we understood was with places like “Berlin; Germany”. This explanation, years later, finally has given me some grasp on the matter. All that’s left is to use it till it becomes 2nd nature
No. It's not "Berlin; Germany". It's "Berlin, Germany". The semicolon is used in lists that include items with commas. So:
We went to the beach, the lake, the desert, and the mountains.
We went to Berlin, Germany; Porto, Portugal; Milan, Italy; and Paris, France.
This English lesson would have never been easier without animation; Excellent work indeed.
A semicolon tells the reader that what follows is closely related to the preceding clause. It has more effect than a comma, more power to seperate than a colon and more formality than a dash.
I absolutely love using semicolons; they're my bread and butter.
I seriously didn't intend for that to be a demonstration, I just wanted to express my thought, hehe.
There should have been a semicolon in the second sentence.
***** either way would work, yes. Except you would use a dash. Not a hyphen. A hyphen is when you say something like: mother-in-law. A dash, is when you seperate two sentences, and a dash is longer. Two hyphens = one dash.
I seriously didn't intend for that to be a demonstration-I just wanted to express my thought
I like semicolon
The semicolon is a beautiful thing.
the longer dash is called em dash and the shorter is en dash. :)
As a non-native speaker I always had trouble with semicolon; I just didn't understand why do people use it!
Thanks ted ed, to me this is the most useful youtube channel for learning english.
I genuinely enjoyed this video; It condensed the information I required. Thank you!
I'm dumb as fuck. I still don't get it.
I'm dumb as fuck; I still don't get it
I'm dumb as fuck; I still don't get it.
im gay
+Staggoner your gay; thats honestly okay
you're*
Loved the animation, loved the lesson on semicolons (mainly because I feel they're under appreciated and/or forgotten), fell in love with my new favorite sentence.
I had not a clue how to handle such a grammatical segment; thank you for now I can finally use this part of grammar to my benefit.
this was awesome! Thank you so much for your hard-work and effort!
THAT BACK SLAP THO @ 2:30 DANG
I LIKE YA CUT G
Can we have a moment for the amazingly satisfying animation
The format of the video made it so easy to follow. Good work!
TED-Ed, Your videos always make me happy, so I subscribed!
But I already know how to use semicolons ;_;
+asdfers Welcome to the internet.
Oh I just got it LOLOLOL ;);) ;)
***** are you slow...?
***** printf("Pfff, tell me about it!
");
***** I'm joking by the way. You can you any language you want, though JS is kind of slow for apps (hence NaCl)
messageOne.html
-----------------------------------------
document.write("JavaScript is so slow though, so unless you're programming on the web,");
console.log("Finished");