A note of caution
I've written a book on grammar and punctuation (unpublished, admittedly) and I still make mistakes in my posts because I read through them too quickly.

A word on semi-colons. They can't be used in place of commas, or colons and have the same meaning. Though various rules exist, the best and simplest is that a semi-colon can only be used when dividing two grammatical sentences. A full stop should be the alternative. Compare:

1) I shat my pants; I had the shits
2) I shat my pants. I had the shits.
3) I shat myself: I had the shits.

1) is two separate but closely thematically connected sentences
2) is two separate and distinct sentences.
3) is one sentence explained by another

Essentially, unless you are a serious writer or a show off, there's really no reason to semi-colons at all. I am a show off.
(frankspencer, Wed 2 Apr 2008, 13:21, Reply)