Hello peeps! What is the difference between the punctuation : and ;? Can anyone tell me please? Thanks!
A colon is used as a break before providing related information, such as a list or definition, e.g. "before going camping Dave needed: A tent; a sleeping bag, and; some toilet paper", or; "camping: the activity of spending a holiday living in a tent." A semi-colon is a way of dividing separate but related clauses in a sentence and lies between a comma and full stop in strength, e.g. "Dave liked camping; however, Cuthbert insisted on glamping." It can also be used to divide items in a list as in my first example above.
Semicolons have several uses. 1. Join two complete sentences that are somehow related 2. Separate items in a list when some or all of the items have commas 3. Separate items in a list when the items are long and may be difficult to follow (only some style guides suggest this) Colons also have several uses. 1. Introduce or announce a list of things 2. Join two related independent clauses where the second clause explains the first (some people capitalize the first word of the second sentence, which is fine as long as it's a complete sentence) 3. Emphasize a certain word Of course, there are several other uses for a colon like writing time or references, but those should be self-explanatory. As with all creative writing, writers sometimes bend the rules a bit, so you may see some unorthodox uses of colons and semicolons from time to time.
Semicolons in a list are usually only used when the list items themselves contain commas, so that using commas would be problematic. Example: The zoo contained big, scary tigers; small, harmless bunnies; and fierce, furry lions. I don't know if it's flat-out incorrect to use semicolons when the items don't contain commas, or not. Also, FYI, the semicolon at the end of the "and" in your first example is incorrect; it should be as above.
Certainly in any legal document or contract, it is always ", and;" since the "and" is not part of the final clause.
Wouldn't that make the "and" part of the preceding clause, since you just have a comma before it? FWIW, this site disagrees with you: http://www.slaw.ca/2010/12/27/lawyers-and-their-love-of-semicolons/ Also this one: http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LwtaSemicolons.htm
Correction, I was looking through a few contracts, and the "and" is simply omitted in most latest editions.
