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I just suddenly got interested in the War of the Worlds tv show and learning more about electronics, particularly soldering circuit boards; at the same time.
No. Why on earth would you use a semi-colon there? It makes no sense.
These two subjects have very little in common and should be broken into separate sentences so your thoughts don't come across so disjointed and muddled. I don't understand the connection between a TV show and soldering circuit boards and the connection isn't made clear in your sentence.
No. Why on earth would you use a semi-colon there? It makes no sense.
Because thats the way my english-II professor seemed to like it, I never really understood myself. Thats why I was asking.
Quote:
These two subjects have very little in common and should be broken into separate sentences so your thoughts don't come across so disjointed and muddled. I don't understand the connection between a TV show and soldering circuit boards and the connection isn't made clear in your sentence.
Well I was planning on soldering some circuit boards while watching a War of the Worlds tv series marathon. I know the sentence doesn't make sense out of context. Why does that matter?
Maybe it doesn't matter. I can't figure out what you're trying to say but if you're asking about the semi colon, there's no reason on earth to have one. The sentence makes even less sense with a semi colon.
hmmmm. If there's more to the sentence like ".....soldering circuit boards; at the same time I think I'm learning to do something useful."
If there's more to it, then the semi colon would make sense. Someone who knows the technical words to explain this sentence could do better than I did. It would be like joining two ideas or phrases.
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Perhaps it would be helpful to understand the semi-colon and its purpose. Without getting into significant detail, the semi-colon is used primarily to join two independent clauses together which creates a much stronger statement. For example,
"The quality of a wine is not found in the price; the grapes used in the vintage provide the quality."
These are two separate thoughts or concepts that can stand on their own. However, bringing them together presents a more complete thought on the topic. While some style guides will offer leeway for a conjunctive adverb to also be used as part of the second clause, I feel it detracts from the overall purpose of the sentence. For example,
"A quality vintage will have a balanced flavor; after all, it is the smell and taste that real connoisseurs will seek out in a vintage."
A second use for the semi-colon is in a sentence where a complex list of information is presented. For example,
"There are many red wines to enjoy such as Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage, South Africa; Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, California; and Little Penguin Merlot, Australia."
Perhaps it would be helpful to understand the semi-colon and its purpose. Without getting into significant detail, the semi-colon is used primarily to join two independent clauses together which creates a much stronger statement.
Independent clauses, thank you! That's what I was trying to think of. If there is more to the OP's sentence than what he gave us, if the end of his sentence is a fragment of an independent clause, then that would explain why the professor likes the semi colon.
Perhaps it would be helpful to understand the semi-colon and its purpose. Without getting into significant detail, the semi-colon is used primarily to join two independent clauses together which creates a much stronger statement.
Independent clauses, thank you! That's what I was trying to think of. If there is more to the OP's sentence than what he gave us, if the end of his sentence is a fragment of an independent clause, then that would explain why the professor likes the semi colon.
In the OP's sentence, the clause that comes after the semi-colon is not an independent clause -- it cannot stand alone. It matters little that it may be a fragment of another independent clause. Therefore, the entire sentence should be re-structured.
Original: "I just suddenly got interested in the War of the Worlds tv show and learning more about electronics, particularly soldering circuit boards; at the same time."
Suggested revision: "I recently became interested in doing two things at the same time. The two things are watching the War of the Worlds TV show, and learning more about electronics by soldering circuit boards."
Of course, this is only one of many possible revisions.
In the OP's sentence, the clause that comes after the semi-colon is not an independent clause -- it cannot stand alone. It matters little that it may be a fragment of another independent clause. Therefore, the entire sentence should be re-structured.
Original: "I just suddenly got interested in the War of the Worlds tv show and learning more about electronics, particularly soldering circuit boards; at the same time."
Suggested revision: "I recently became interested in doing two things at the same time. The two things are watching the War of the Worlds TV show, and learning more about electronics by soldering circuit boards."
Of course, this is only one of many possible revisions.
Agreed. That's just about what I said in a previous post--and I never said that the part after the semi colon was an independent clause. Of course it isn't.
Here's what I said:
hmmmm. If there's more to the sentence like ".....soldering circuit boards; at the same time I think I'm learning to do something useful."
I revised the last part to make it an independent clause. My thinking was that since his professor liked it with the semi colon, then maybe this is the kind of construction the professor was thinking of. Just a shot in the dark. There could be other revisions that would be much better--like yours--but I was going on what his professor said about the sentence so I tried to keep it as close to the original as possible.
Agreed. That's just about what I said in a previous post--and I never said that the part after the semi colon was an independent clause. Of course it isn't.
Actually, my response wasn't addressed to your post. I apologize for any misunderstanding.
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