A recent article about semicolons, published in the New York Times, caught my attention, so I wrote a column for our internal news site about the demise of the semicolon and about how we are using fewer in the pages of National Geographic today than we once did. Wow! Did I ever get a strong response from colleagues.

A writer who usually praises my writings on grammar and word usage said, “Fie on anyone who would propose the demise of the semicolon; heresy of the highest order. Writers ought to have all the tools of punctuation at their disposal.” 

An editor wrote: “Frankly, I like semicolons; they let you know there is more to come; they link the logical sequence of set-up, then resolution.”

Notice how cleverly these two correspondents punctuated their thoughts.

Another editor told me she recently asked an author to decrease the number of semicolons in a story because they were slowing down the pace and were too cumbersome. (Ah, at least one person on my side.)

A third editor opined that she is a devotee of the semicolon and finds it elegant, something that she’d have a hard time giving up.

A member of our Detroit advertising office offered this: “My favorite example of incorrect semicolon usage is found within this sentence, however; I have no doubt you'll identify it easily.”

And a marketer in our book division observes: “I was just reading your article on semicolons, and I realized that I use semicolons most often when I'm joining two independent clauses separated by a conjunctive adverb.  Would that qualify as archaic these days?  And if so, would you recommend using a period instead?”

(After reading this last comment, I wondered how many conjunctive adverbs most of us could list. In answer to his question, yes, a period would work, and in some cases a comma would too.)

I’m sorry to have caused angst in some of my colleagues. My advice to everyone is that if you like semicolons and are using them correctly, then, please, continue to use them. As an editor, I would be reluctant to actually remove a semicolon as long as it suits the style of the writing.

On the other hand, having been given permission to do this by William Strunk and E. B. White (page 12 of the illustrated Elements of Style), I may allow someone with a breezy, chatty style to substitute commas for semicolons: He came, he saw, he conquered.

And for those of you scratching your heads over conjunctive adverbs, here’s a list taken from the third edition of Words Into Type: so, therefore, hence, however, nevertheless, moreover, accordingly, besides, also, thus, then, still, otherwise.

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