Do I use semicolons to create a list where there are commas in the items?

Asked Feb 07 '12 at 17:13

Active Feb 07 '12 at 17:29

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Possible Duplicate:
Is it proper usage to replace a comma in a list with a semi-colon in this situation (see details)?
When should one use the comma versus the semicolon, and vice versa?

I have a list if items that contain commas - in this case city/state pairs. A co-worker of mine claims that I should promote the list commas to semicolons in this case but I cannot find any style guide which lists this as rule. Is this just urban legend?

example:

The sales team will visit Portland, Oregon; Portland, Maine; Spring Field, Ohio; and Spring Field, Massachusetts.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

Community

asked Feb 07 '12 at 17:13

John F. Miller

1

I can't speak for correctness in this case, but it does make the list easier to read instead of "Portland, Oregon, Portland, Maine, Spring Field, Ohio..." – FrustratedWithFormsDesigner Feb 07 '12 at 17:17
Every Springfield I've ever met has been written as one word. (And there are an awful lot of them. I swear every US state has at least one Springfield.) – Marthaª Feb 07 '12 at 19:02

Do I use semicolons to create a list where there are commas in the items?

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