Use a semicolon to join closely related clauses or sentences.
- She used to listen only to heavy metal; now she listens mostly to hip-hop.
- John got a raise yesterday; his last raise was five years ago.
- Some people drink coffee before they brush their teeth; others prefer to brush before they eat or drink anything.
Use semicolons instead of commas to separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas.
- He bought a red, white, and blue sweater; sneakers; and a beanie.
- She has relatives in several places: Queens, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; and San Diego, California.