JS Tip 520: Using Supercommas (Semicolons), Part I

We haven’t talked about this in years. 

Our friend Bill Bush asked about semicolons. Here’s our response.  

Semicolons have two purposes. That’s it. Two. No more. 

We’ll talk about one of the purposes today. We’ll talk about the other purpose next Friday. 

Purpose One: Semicolons separate items in a series that already include commas. 

Consider—

The inspection team visited Taos, New Mexico, Tucson, Arizona, and Temecula, California. 

Three items in the series— 

Taos, New Mexico 

Tucson, Arizona

Temecula, California 

But each item already includes a comma (separating the city from the state). 

So how do we make it clear—to those who may not be familiar with Western geography—we’re talking about three locations instead of six? 

Use a semicolon. A supercomma: 

The inspection team visited Taos, New Mexico; Tucson, Arizona; and Temecula, California.

The semicolon replaces the second comma in each item. The principle applies to any paragraph list with items that already include commas:

The team includes Rachel Waite, Audit; Cary Washington, Accounting; and Tony Ramirez, Compliance.

Thank you, Bill. 

Let us know your questions and concerns. We love this stuff. 

Notice the tip number: 520. Ten years of tips. You’ve been faithful. You’ve been supportive. Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your interest.