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Use of semicolon

English translation: colon would be better

16:27 Dec 21, 2015
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Tourism & Travel / Servicio de Transportación en Agencia de Viajes
English term or phrase: Use of semicolon
As far as I know, the semicolon is used to join two or more ideas in a sentence which are then give equal position or rank.

I was asked to review this paragraph, and the use of the semicolon seems weird to me.

To make your experience in the Mexican Caribbean more pleasant, we provide you with an extensive ground transportation catalogue. Select the option that better suits your needs and let our professional drivers take you safely to your destination; transfers from Cancun International Airport to your hotel, from your hotel to any activity you have booked, single or roundtrip. In addition to the...
Zantike2
Mexico
Local time: 08:27
Selected answer:colon would be better
Explanation:
I agree with you; what follow the semi-colon is not a complete phrase, but just a list of transportation examples; as such, we ought to introduce such a list with a colon.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 15:27
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +8colon would be better
Tony M


  

Answers


26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +8
use of semicolon
colon would be better


Explanation:
I agree with you; what follow the semi-colon is not a complete phrase, but just a list of transportation examples; as such, we ought to introduce such a list with a colon.

Tony M
France
Local time: 15:27
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 44

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Neil Ashby: or even an en-dash would do –
20 mins
  -> Thanks, Neil! Yes, that would be my preferred solution
agree  acetran
50 mins
  -> Thanks, Ace!
agree  Charles Davis: I would go further: semicolon is wrong here.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Charles! Yes, indeed... I'd meant to go on and say exactly that, but got distracted...
agree  AllegroTrans: Yes, it's effectively a "new" statement as opposed to 2 ideas of equal importance
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, C!
agree  Andy Watkinson: Yes, A colon should list/announce what was was promised before it.
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Andy! Good explanation
agree  Catharine Cellier-Smart
11 hrs
  -> Thanks, Catharine!
agree  Sheila Wilson
1 day 58 mins
  -> Thanks, Sheila!
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin: 100% d'accord avec toi, Tony ... Joyeux Noël ...
4 days
  -> Merci, J-C ! Joyeux Noël à toi aussi. :-)
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