Question

What is the difference between a comma and a semicolon? How do you determine when to use one or the other?

Answer 1

Hint:A comma and a semicolon are types of punctuations which are used to give more clarity of thoughts in a sentence by separating them. Both the comma and a semicolon have separate uses. A comma is denoted by (,) and a semicolon is denoted by (;).

Complete answer:
Let us discuss what is the difference between a comma and a semicolon and how do we determine when to use one or the other.

The semicolon looks like a comma with a period above it, and this can be a good way to remember what it does. A semicolon creates more separation between thoughts than a comma does but less than a period does. A semicolon is used to help separate the items in a list when some of them already contain commas and also to separate independent clauses.
Example: I bought shiny, ripe apples, small, sweet, juicy grapes, and firm pears. (Wrong) Example: I bought shiny, ripe apples; small, sweet, juicy grapes and firm pears. (Correct)
Commas are a punctuation mark that is used in several contexts, most often for separating specific parts of a sentence or text like clauses and items in a list that contains three or more items. Comma is derived from the Greek word komma, which literally means a cut-off or disjointed piece.
Example: I went to buy some fruits. I got apples, bananas, grapes, watermelon and pears.

Depending on the circumstances, one of two different punctuation marks can be used between the independent clauses in a compound sentence: a comma or a semicolon. The choice is yours.
We use a comma while connecting two independent clauses and placing the comma after the first independent clause. Example: I am free on the weekends. Let us go shopping. This can be written as: I am free on the weekends , let us go shopping.
We use a semicolon when we link two independent clauses with no connecting words. For example:
I am going to the farm house; I intend to stay there.

Note:A group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought is called a sentence or an independent clause. Sometimes, an independent clause stands alone as a sentence, whereas sometimes two independent clauses are linked together and form what we call a compound sentence.