Semicolons and Spanish Real Estate

This description of a two-million-dollar loft in Barcelona provides a good example of when to use a semicolon rather than a colon: “The windows are also original, as are the wooden-beamed ceilings; in the main living area, they are 16 feet high.”

– Virginia C. McGuire, “”House Hunting in … Barcelona,”

New York Times, Aug. 17, 2010

This semicolon is right for this sentence because the ceiling’s height doesn’t depend on its woodwork. But it makes sense to collect these loosely related topics in one sentence because together, they explain why the apartment gets beautiful light.

Check out our new, one-page PDF “Semicolons: A Write It Well Guide”!

And for a thorough guide to punctuation in business writing, see our updated book Professional Writing Skills: A Write It Well Guide.

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