A semicolon (;) separates two complete thoughts within a sentence. You can use the semicolon in place of a comma and one of the FANBOYS. Both semicolon and comma FANBOYS do the same thing – separate two complete thoughts within a sentence.
Look at these examples:
Mary has a pet dog, and her brother has a cat.
Mary has a pet dog; her brother has a cat.
Do you see how the ,and in the first sentence has been replaced with a semicolon? You can use either one to connect two complete thoughts.
Use a semicolon anytime you can also use a comma and one of the FANBOYS.
It’s your turn. Change this sentence. Take out the comma and one of the FANBOYS. Replace them with a semicolon. Today is rainy, but tomorrow the sun is supposed to shine. Did you figure it out? Good for you!