If two or more clauses grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon. Mary Shelley’s works are entertaining; they are full of engaging ideas. It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. It is, of course, equally correct to write each of these as two sentences, replacing the semicolons with periods. Mary Shelley’s works are entertaining. They are full of engaging ideas. It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark. If a conjunction is inserted, the proper
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