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Is it proper usage to replace a comma in a list with a semi-colon in this situation (see details)?

Is it ever appropriate to use semicolons to separate elements in a list that follows a colon?

For example: I packed several items for my trip to Europe: shoes; shirts; boots; hats; and gloves.

I realize that S&W (4th edition, page 7) advises writers to use commas between a list's elements, but I'm seeing semicolons in a published academic journal, and I'm wondering whether usage has changed since S&W's release.

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philq
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2 Answers2

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In that example, the semi-colon doesn't seem to provide anything that a comma doesn't. However, a semi-colon can be useful in punctuating a list of longer items when they are set out like this:

The choice for the country is between:

investing in the economy;

promoting overseas development; and

paying higher wages.

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Barrie England
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  • Thank you. Does your answer change if the list has a dozen elements? – philq Nov 06 '12 at 19:29
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    One also uses a semicolon for the list separator when at least one of the list elements contains a comma. – tchrist Nov 06 '12 at 19:29
  • I'd prefer a bulleted list when there are many items. – rajah9 Nov 06 '12 at 19:31
  • @tchrist: Yes, quite right. – Barrie England Nov 06 '12 at 19:37
  • @rajah9: Then how do you deal with the and if you want to make it a sentence? – Barrie England Nov 06 '12 at 19:38
  • @BarrieEngland Chicago Manual of style (at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/VerticalListsBullets.html?old=VerticalListsBullets_questions01.html) says "You have found that CMOS would punctuate your list as a long sentence (6.125). If that doesn’t work for you, rewrite your introductory statement to make it grammatically complete and follow the examples in 6.124." If the list elements are comprised of one or two words, then bullet + word + , for all lines except for the penultimate bullet + word + , "and." Final line bullet + word + period. – rajah9 Nov 06 '12 at 20:11
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I don't have S&W with me, but I think Strunk said to use commas unless there might be some confusion as to which items belonged together.

In your example, there are only single items and no confusion. Commas are preferred.

"...trip to Europe: shoes, shirts, boot, hats, and gloves."

But note how the items are separated more cleanly by using semicolons to separate:

"...colors of European flags: blue and white; blue, white, and red; green, red, and black; blue and yellow."

rajah9
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