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The Perplexing Semicolon Trivia Quiz

When do you use a semicolon? This quiz is based on the textbook series "Voyages in English" and a 2014 middle school grammar curriculum.

A multiple-choice quiz by erd_the_man. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
erd_the_man

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
378,681

Updated
Sep 14 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
311

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The semicolon is named as such because it is half-colon. What is the other half of this enigmatic punctuation mark? Hint

Period

Asterisk

Apostrophe

Comma

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which of these are semicolons commonly used to separate? Hint

Diagrams

Clauses

Paragraphs

Sentences

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of the following can follow a semicolon? Hint

Conjunction of Two Independent Clauses

Conjunctive Adverb

Conjunctive Punctuation

Capitalized Common Noun (Not Italicized or Underlined)

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which of these sentences is incorrect? Hint

I eat pie; moreover, I like it.

I eat pie; clearly, I like it.

I eat pie; I like it.

I eat pie; because I like it.

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which of these can you use a semicolon for? Hint

Separating dependent clauses

Separating long items of a series/list

Separating numbers in the date

Separating prepositional phrases which are not in a series/list

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which of these words can NEVER follow a semicolon? Hint

Because

Take

Wraps

Itself

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Question 7 of 10

7. "I don't like pie. I ate that one." How can these sentences best and most logically be combined into one using a semicolon? Hint

I don't like pie; however I ate that one.

I don't like pie; however, I ate that one.

I don't like pie; I ate that one.

I don't like pie; moreover I ate that one.

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Question 8 of 10

8. "The bird is rainbow colored, consequently, it has blue on it." Where would putting a semicolon make this sentence GRAMMATICALLY correct? Hint

It's grammatically correct already

Instead of the first comma

Instead of either comma

Instead of the second comma

9. When you have a long numbered list such as the following, what are you able to do regarding semicolons?
Choose your answer if:
1) You are confident in your trivia-answering ability, and have been for some time,
2) You know the correct answer,
3) You have nothing to do but guess, or
4) You have actually read the question. Hint

Do nothing; you can't put semicolons anywhere

Only apply semicolons when applicable within the conditions

Replace the commas at the end of conditions 1, 2, and 3 with semicolons

Put semicolons at the end of all conditions

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Question 10 of 10

10. Alright, last question of the quiz! Which of these sentences is correct (and preferably true)? Hint

I learned a lot; of course; this quiz was fun!

I learned a lot; Of course this quiz was fun!

I learned a lot of course; this quiz was fun!

I learned a lot, of course; this quiz was fun!

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The semicolon is named as such because it is half-colon. What is the other half of this enigmatic punctuation mark?

Answer: Comma

A semicolon has the top half of a colon, which appears as a dot, and the bottom half of a comma. It looks like this --> ;

2. Which of these are semicolons commonly used to separate?

Answer: Clauses

A semicolon can separate two clauses, when used properly - they must be independent clauses. Clauses are not sentences; a semicolon does not separate entire sentences. Therefore, it cannot separate paragraphs either.

3. Which of the following can follow a semicolon?

Answer: Conjunctive Adverb

Some examples of conjunctive adverbs are: however, moreover, similarly. Regular conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) cannot come after a semicolon. Common nouns are only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence or in the title of a work.

4. Which of these sentences is incorrect?

Answer: I eat pie; because I like it.

You cannot put a subordinate conjunction after a semicolon, except when it introduces a dependent clause that is already attached to a different independent clause. No conjunction, actually, can be placed there. Adverbs, even if not conjunctive, may follow the semicolon if they fit with the clause.

5. Which of these can you use a semicolon for?

Answer: Separating long items of a series/list

In the case of long series/lists that have commas, you can do the following: use semicolons to separate the items in the series, which makes a lot of sense to the reader and gets your point across clearly; use commas, which confuse the reader even more, as long series are already hard to understand; or not use anything at all, which would lead to extreme confusion beyond that which would be induced with a comma.

6. Which of these words can NEVER follow a semicolon?

Answer: Itself

Itself is a reflexive pronoun and must be used in the objective case. Therefore, it cannot start off a clause. Here are three example sentences to show how the other answers can in fact follow a semicolon.
I like cherry pie; because that one was cherry, I ate it.
I like sandwiches; wraps are just as good, though.
I hate this picture; take it somewhere else.

7. "I don't like pie. I ate that one." How can these sentences best and most logically be combined into one using a semicolon?

Answer: I don't like pie; however, I ate that one.

A comma is necessary after the conjunctive adverb. While "I don't like pie; I ate that one." is grammatically correct, it makes little logical sense.

8. "The bird is rainbow colored, consequently, it has blue on it." Where would putting a semicolon make this sentence GRAMMATICALLY correct?

Answer: Instead of either comma

This one is tricky. You can obviously place a semicolon in place of the first comma, but it's possible to put it instead of the second. It's grammatically correct, but would only make sense in a paragraph such as this:

Little Danny owned a bird as a pet. He took great care of it, but one day it flew away into a magical can of rainbow paint. The bird is rainbow colored, consequently; it has blue on it. Blue is Danny's favorite color.

It's not the best composed sentence ever written, but it is grammatically correct.

9. When you have a long numbered list such as the following, what are you able to do regarding semicolons? Choose your answer if: 1) You are confident in your trivia-answering ability, and have been for some time, 2) You know the correct answer, 3) You have nothing to do but guess, or 4) You have actually read the question.

Answer: Replace the commas at the end of conditions 1, 2, and 3 with semicolons

On a long list, it may be clearer to put semicolons at the end of each condition. One thing you must make sure of, though, is that you put either all commas or all semicolons in all conditions except the last one.

10. Alright, last question of the quiz! Which of these sentences is correct (and preferably true)?

Answer: I learned a lot, of course; this quiz was fun!

This question combines as much as I can pack into one question concerning semicolons. "Of course" could be considered a conjunctive adverb, but it was incorrectly capitalized in the one answer that could otherwise have been correct. Also, it is very rare to find a sentence joining more than two independent clauses with semicolons. Putting a comma before "of course" is a separate, but not completely unrelated, grammatical condition.

Source: Author erd_the_man

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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