Help me resolve an argument.

In the above clip, my friend says the semi doesn't fit where it is. I say it does because it's a stop, but not a full stop, and the second part is a continuation of the first sentence's idea. So.. who's right?

 

Even though I can't offer you an exact answer backed up by English punctuation rules, I would personally not use the semicolon. I think a hyphen would be better in this situation. But undoubtedly someone will prove me wrong!

 

It's my understanding a semicolon divides two complete sentences and a comma is used when one part of speech is lacking or it's clearly a clause.

When I type your sentence into Word, it wants a comma there.

 

I say it's a comma regardless of what Word says. I think the semicolon is justifiable if you delete the "like" that follows it. As it stands, though, I think it should be a comma.

 

The semicolon requires that the sentence following it be a complete sentence, and it's not. The semicolon would be permissible if you change it to a complete sentence. For example:

; it's like you're floating on a cloud in your own little world where nothing can touch you.

or

; you're floating on a cloud in your own little world where nothing can touch you.

 

I tweaked it a bit using Thomas' advice on the hyphen.

 

This is the rule

 

I could be wrong, but I think you could actually use a colon there.

 

I don't think a colon belongs there. It's a comma, I tell you! A comma!

 

Hehehe. I for one, am a big fan of the in-text colon: an important part of any complex sentence. Grossly underutilised, in my view. Grossly.

 

Sure, it works there. That's fine, and I like it there. But it doesn't belong in place of the semicolon in the original example.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

I just went with the comma in the end...

 

Hooray! I love a happy ending.

 

It's not completely happy. Now she's gloating because she won the argument.

 

as a professional editor of many decades' standing, i agree a comma is the only correct mark there...

as for the suggestion to use a 'hyphen' that would be totally incorrect, as hyphens are used only for hyphenated words and words broken at the end of line...

if you are mistakenly calling an 'em dash' a hyphen, while the writer might choose to use an em dash there, as an exercise of author's styling rights, a comma is still the most appropriate mark, imo...

 

Thank you for correcting me, Maia.

 

My philosophy on debates are they are a win-win: if you lose the argument you still go away with the prize of new knowledge.

 

Agreed Ginger.