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Akeem Lasisi
We are back in punctuation marks class today. We shall discuss semi colons (;) from what I will call another perspective. Based on my observations of how some confuse it with others like the full stop, comma and colon, I want to establish how NOT to use the semi colon, with the hope that it will broaden everyone’s perspective on it.
Error one: Capital letters after semi colons
The expression that follows a semi colon should not start with a capital letter – unless it is a proper noun. This is a major difference between the semi colon and a full stop, and why the latter is considered stronger than the first. After you end a clause with a full stop, the one (clause/sentence) that follows it starts with a capital letter. This is, however, not the situation with the semi colon because the expression that follows it is not a new or an independent/full sentence. It is a part of the initial one:
Oba Darasimi
Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Ogun State chapter has said eight teachers died during the first term holiday.
The chapter Chairman, Akeem Lasisi, confirmed the death of the teachers saying that their pupils and colleagues were shocked and sad to discover that the affected teachers did not resume like others and upon inquiries, they were told that the teachers died during the holiday.
He said what the union lost and suffered during the holiday had affected their psyche, adding: “We now discharge our duties amid fears and pains.”
He said the eight were just the ones the union officially documented, expressing fears that more may be discovered to have died when inventory is taken about public school teachers.