this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

They can also be used as a super comma; because sometime you make a longer sentence, or a sentence with complex clauses.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's more of a weak period than a strong comma; both sides of it need to be complete sentences.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

I'm sorry, but the example in your comment is nonstandard usage. The part after the semicolon would typically be an independent clause, whereas the "because" marks yours as a dependent clause.

There are still comma-like uses though. The major one I can think of is as a separator in a list where each element is long, possibly containing commas of its own.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

You didn't quite get it right; adding "because" removes the need for a semicolon. Take out that single word, and your sentence becomes proper.