5 ms·
Aren't semicolons the correct english list separator?
by sixothree 5y ago
Aren't semicolons the correct english list separator?
- CamperBob2 5y agoThat's another argument in itself. I was always taught that phrases set apart by semicolons need to be capable of standing alone as complete sentences, so it's jarring to see them used to delimit nouns or noun phrases in a list. At the same time, the language clearly needs a comma-like operator with higher precedence than the comma, and it's very hard to argue against pressing the semicolon into that role.
- frosted-flakes 5y agoThe semicolon is often used as a superlist separator, with commas used for the sublists.
- CamperBob2 5y agoYes, that's the point -- it's often used that way, but not "correctly."
- frosted-flakes 5y agoWhat's incorrect about it?
- CamperBob2 5y agoAs I said, at one time it was taught that clauses separated by semicolons should have their own subjects and verbs.
- seanwilson 5y ago> At the same time, the language clearly needs a comma-like operator with higher precedence than the comma, When a bulleted list is too much, I usually fall back on 1) this thing 2) this, this and this other thing and 3) this final thing. Gives you an easy way to refer back to each item too. Bit stuffy for causal writing though.