Semi colon parallelism?

Question

Hi, does 2 sentences separated by semicolon (;), need to parallel?

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

lakshya14

In semi-colon, the  2nd part  normally emphasizes at least one specific thing which is talked about in the  first part .
Example:
   I'm not trying   to convince semi-colon issue only;   I'm also trying   to explain the parallelism issue.  
Here, the blue part is going to emphasis that is pronounced in the green part. There is nothing like mandatory parallelism issue if it consists semi-colon.
Thanks__

Russ19 · Answer

The semicolon is used to connect two independent clauses that are related and make sense. Example:

1. Twelve birds had originally arrived; only six remain.
2. This could be a solution; this could be another solution.

EducationAisle · Answer

For the most part,  semicolon  is used to connect two  Independent clauses .

So  yes , from a parallelism perspective, the part  before  and  after  the semicolon, should mostly be  Independent clauses .

AndrewN · Answer

Hello again,  lakshya14 . I agree with what others have written, but if you are talking about  grammatical parallelism , as in something you would expect to see in a Sentence Correction question, then the answer is no, the two sides do not have to be parallel. Consider the following example:

Jay Leno enjoys his cars; he is something of an aficionado.

The first clause is S-V-DO, while the second is S-V, with a subject complement or predicate noun in  an aficionado . You could also change the verb tense from one clause to the other and still use a semicolon:

Jay Leno enjoys his cars; he used to acquire several a year.

As long as you join two standalone sentences in the same way you would if you were using a period--without conjunctions--then a semicolon will do.

By the way, you should know how to use semicolons to separate items in a list as well, since I have seen official SC questions that test this rule. If there is internal punctuation at any point in the list, then everything needs to be separated by a semicolon instead of a comma. Here is an example:

The teacher read out the names of the students for roll call: Jane; John; Michael (a recent addition to the list, written in pencil); Ralph; and Stanley.

I hope that helps with your inquiry. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

- Andrew

nickwilson777 · Answer

Useful information!

AndrewN · Answer

Thank you,  nickwilson777 . If you have questions about any punctuation--semicolons, colons, em dashes, apostrophes, or commas--I deal with it day in, day out while assisting students with GMAT™, SAT, ACT, or whatever prep. If grammar is tested, I guarantee I have studied and/or taught concepts for such a test.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

Semi colon parallelism?

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