Semicolon use

Question

0I am sometimes quite unsure how I am supposed to deal with semicolons and colons. I have a decent understanding of when a semicolon should be used, but my confusion is about what I can do with the portion that comes after the semicolon. The sentence below illustrates my confusion because I am not sure if it is a grammaticaly correct sentence.02br00 ---The basis  of  Leibniz's charge is twofold; miracles need to remain special and  sacred and predictions about the world have to be possible.---02br00The portion after the semicolon contains two sentences combined with a conjuction. I know this is usually wrong, but the word "twofold" implies that two clauses have to follow. Any feed back on semicolons would be appreciated. I also have questions about the colon use, and I will post sentences below.02br02br02br00---These are01b00:02b00  Descartes' interactionism, Malebranche's occasionalism, and Leibniz's  pre-established harmony.---02br00 00 02br00---The two events  compliment each other through their relation in time, and this leads  to correlation. This is what we mean by harmony01b00:02b00 inter-substantially  and intra-substantially.02br00Any help would be great.02br00Thanks,02br00Hal 02br02br00 00 0-

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

0Hello Hal, 02br
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01font00 ---The basis of Leibniz's charge is twofold; miracles need to remain special and sacred and predictions about the world have to be possible.--- 02font00This is okay - you use the semi-colon to seperate two independent clauses, but it's actually a great time to use the colon, because what follows is an elaboration or explanation of what comes before.02br
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01font00The portion after the semicolon contains two sentences combined with a conjuction. I know this is usually wrong, 02font00No, its' not. That's exactly what you use a conjunction for.02br
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01font00Any feed back on semicolons would be appreciated.02font00 At least one of the teachers here will tell you to use them as sparingly as possible if at all. I find it a useful mark to join what would otherwise be two sentences that are very closely related.02br
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01font00---These are01b00:02b00 Descartes' interactionism, Malebranche's occasionalism, and Leibniz's pre-established harmony.--- 02font00Don't use a colon here. What follows simply completes the sentence. In running text, use a colon after a complete thought and before the thing that describes, elaborates, or gives examples. 01i00There are three theories to support this: Descarte's... 02i02br
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01font00---The two events compliment each other through their relation in time, and this leads to correlation. This is what we mean by harmony01b00:02b00 inter-substantially and intra-substantially.02font00 This is a tough case because I have no idea what it's try to say, but it seems to be a good use of the colon - those two elements that follow are what is meant by harmony?0-

Semicolon use

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