Namangupta1997 wrote:
Hi
AndrewN I appreciate your explanation about ICs and semi-colons but my question essentially was , if we have one answer choice that uses "but" and the other answer choice that joins 2 ICs with a semi-colon, shouldn't we go for the choice that uses a conjunction to join 2
contrasting statements ? Are both constructions grammatically correct ? Yes. But which answer choice makes meaning/gist of the statement more apparent to the reader ? Maybe the one actually using a conjunction that triggers the thought of contrast in the mind of the reader.
Am I making any sense ?
It makes no difference,
Namangupta1997. If both iterations of a sentence are grammatically sound, and they both can be interpreted in the same way, then you cannot disfavor one over another on the grounds that one simply appears the way you want it to. A semicolon is more versatile than a specific coordinating conjunction, but does that make it any worse if the context of the sentence suggests the same interpretation? Consider:
1) I like to walk; I sometimes drive to get to work.
2) I like to walk, but I sometimes drive to get to work.
In the first sentence, the semicolon could reasonably be interpreted as
yet, but the contrast is clear—
and or
so, for example, would not logically fit—and in the second sentence,
yet could just as well have been used instead of
but. We can only go by what we see in front of us, not by what we want to be there, and in this case, the semicolon is just as functional, so we would need to turn to a different consideration (if this were part of a lengthier SC question) to favor one
whole answer choice over the other.
Thank you for following up.
- Andrew
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