How Do You Punctuate A Series With Commas And Semicolons?
Both commas and semicolons separate items in a series. A series is a list of three or more items. All lists require commas while only series with items that contain commas require semicolons. Writers must learn when and how to use commas and semicolons in order to punctuate lists correctly. Use a comma after each item in a series. For example: “I like cats, dogs, and rats.” and “She was singing, dancing, and cooking when the phone rang.” Use a comma before the conjunction to avoid and resolve ambiguity. For example, the sentence “I am having dinner with my classmate, a teacher and a librarian” could mean either that I will be eating my dinner meal with three people-a classmate, a teacher, a librarian-or that my classmate is both a teacher and a librarian. Placing a comma before the conjunction resolves the ambiguity: “I am having dinner with my classmate, a teacher, and a librarian” means that I am eating with three other people. Use a semicolon after each item in a series to separate
