Which punctuation is correct in this case (colon, semicolon, or period)?

Question

Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights: walls
covered with cracks and peeling paint, storm drains clogged with moss,
dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.
Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights: walls
covered with cracks and peeling paint; storm drains clogged with moss;
dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.
Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights. Walls
covered with cracks and peeling paint. Storm drains clogged with moss.
Dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.

Or maybe the three of them are orthographically correct in their respective contexts?
EDIT (based on dockeryZ's answer):
I think second example is right, regardless of the context. Explanation: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon.

dockeryZ · Accepted Answer

The second one is more correct in my humble opinion, because it contains a list within a list.  And in such situations, the semicolon is the way to go.  It is used as a super-comma in this case.

The third one isn't grammatically correct at all.  None of those subsequent sentences are actually (full) sentences.  They all lack a verb.

scohe001 · Answer

I would advise against your final passage in formal writing, as none of the sentences after the first are complete, but it could work in a narrative.

You could use the semicolon passage as a way to distinguish between your outer and inner lists (see the third bullet here), but since you only have that one inner list and it comes last, I'd suggest going with the first passage.

Which punctuation is correct in this case (colon, semicolon, or period)?

2 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question