Re: semicolons. I read somewhere (Fowler?) that what follows a semicolon need not always be a complete sentence. Example # 1:
"Every day infantile business majors, like boys at play, fill SI's message boards with their silly games of pretense. Indian Shorts whoop and holler around the circled wagons of Cowboy Longs who bravely defend their portfolios of womenfolk and children; all for nought by day's end when Mother calls them home for dinner and, sadly, reality returns."
Example # 2: Such a sentence could be separated into two complete sentences. In that case, the second sentence might read, "At day's end, Mother calls them home for dinner; sadly, reality returns."
Re: commas. You are right. They are optional when used to separate subordinate clauses in complex sentences. General style books advise there are no hard and fast rules. It is largely a matter of the writer's intended rhythm and personal preference; not so, however, when listing three, four, or more items in a series. In such cases a comma is required in front of every listed item except the first and last.
Example # 1:
Great thread, Bill, but hopeless task. Have you noticed that even search engines are programmed to assume users can't spell, write grammatically, or think clearly?
Example # 2:
The only hope for the language is that purists like us give up, change or die. |
