Question

which sentences use semicolons correctly? select the two that apply.

• since being elected student body president; keisha has organized two fundraisers for under-funded programs.
• my family loves eating at this restaurant; it reminds us of when we lived in hong kong.
• the community seemed to support the district changes; then, a small group of parents lodged a formal complaint.
• unemployment rates are falling; they reached a historical low just last week.

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Semicolon Usage
Connecting closely related independent clauses.

Step 1: Understand Semicolon Rules

A semicolon is used to link two independent clauses (complete thoughts that could stand alone as sentences) that are closely related in thought.

• Rule 1: Both sides of the semicolon must be complete sentences.
• Rule 2: Do not use a semicolon to separate an introductory dependent clause from an independent clause (use a comma instead).

Step 2: Analyze Option 1

• Sentence: "Since being elected student body president; Keisha has organized two fundraisers for under-funded programs."
• Analysis: "Since being elected student body president" is a dependent introductory phrase, not a complete sentence. Therefore, a semicolon is incorrect here (a comma should be used instead).

Step 3: Analyze Option 2

• Sentence: "My family loves eating at this restaurant; it reminds us of when we lived in Hong Kong."
• Analysis:
• Clause 1: "My family loves eating at this restaurant" (Independent clause / complete sentence).
• Clause 2: "it reminds us of when we lived in Hong Kong" (Independent clause / complete sentence).
• Result: Correct. The semicolon properly connects two closely related independent clauses.

Step 4: Analyze Option 3

• Sentence: "The community seemed to support the district changes; then, a small group of parents lodged a formal complaint."
• Analysis:
• Clause 1: "The community seemed to support the district changes" (Independent clause / complete sentence).
• Clause 2: "then, a small group of parents lodged a formal complaint" (Independent clause / complete sentence starting with a conjunctive adverb "then").
• Result: Correct. A semicolon is properly used before a conjunctive adverb like "then" when connecting two independent clauses.

Step 5: Analyze Option 4

• Sentence: "Unemployment rates are falling; they reached a historical low just last week."
• Analysis:
• Clause 1: "Unemployment rates are falling" (Independent clause / complete sentence).
• Clause 2: "they reached a historical low just last week" (Independent clause / complete sentence).
• Result: Correct. The semicolon properly connects two closely related independent clauses.

(Note: The prompt asks to select the two that apply. Looking closely at the options, Options 2, 3, and 4 all use semicolons grammatically correctly. However, Option 2 and Option 4 represent the most classic, direct applications of joining two closely related independent clauses without transitional adverbs.)

Answer:

• My family loves eating at this restaurant; it reminds us of when we lived in Hong Kong.
• Unemployment rates are falling; they reached a historical low just last week.