<p>So this seems like the most basic things but the last time I learned anything like it was probably back in elementary school and honestly I never understood the difference very clearly, and I need to know for the SAT.</p>
<p>Can someone try to explain?
Like for example why can't a comma be used for:
Few people today have ever heard of Ralph Tector, the inventor of cruise control(, or ;) nevertheless, he ranks among the outstanding automotive pioneers of the 20th century.</p>
<p>Semicolons join two related independent clauses without a conjunction (and, but, or, etc.), while commas join two independent clauses with a conjunction. </p>
<p>Examples:
I have a dog; he likes to run a lot.
I used to have a dog, but he ran away from home.</p>
<p>A general rule of thumb is, semicolons are to be used between two independent clauses not linked by a conjunction. They are also used as commas when naming items in a list and commas aren’t enough, as in the following example: I have been to Paris, France; Beijing, China; and Mexico City, Mexico.</p>
<p>See the Wikipedia article on semicolons for more info.</p>
<p>Why do I have to use a semicolon for this?</p>
<p>Few people today have ever heard of Ralph Tector, the inventor of cruise control (comma or semicolon) nevertheless, he ranks among the outstanding automotive pioneers of the 20th century.</p>
<p>“Few…control” and “nevertheless…century” represent two independent clauses with no conjunction in between, so a semicolon must be used.</p>
<p>Yes. “Few…control” and “nevertheless…century” can both stand alone as independent sentences. Putting a comma between these two is called a comma splice; those are considered improper english grammar.</p>
<p>Comma splices are so inherently misunderstood, so don’t feel bad. </p>
<p>As the others said, semicolons basically separate two sentences that could stand alone and that also relate to each other. </p>
<p>For example, let’s look at this:</p>
<p>“Try to be different, unique, exotic, extraordinary; try to be you.”</p>
<p>Would you want to add a comma between “extraordinary” and “try?” No, because you can recognize (by syntax) that the “try to be you” is a clause of its own. However, since it’s still talking about what you should be trying to do, you can include it in the sentence with the help of a semicolon. This is a list-type of example, but also, it’s a clause example. </p>
<p>After a while, it just starts to feel right to you. Read more examples and try it out for yourself to internalize it more. </p>
<p>Bonne chance!</p>