Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?

• A. She bought apples; oranges were ripe.
• B. She bought apples; and oranges were ripe.
• C. She bought apples, oranges were ripe.
• D. She bought apples and; oranges were ripe.

Answer: (A)

A semicolon links two independent clauses that are closely related without using a coordinating conjunction. Here, both parts—“She bought apples” and “oranges were ripe”—are complete sentences that share a related idea about the fruit. The semicolon correctly ties them together, signaling a direct, seamless connection between the two thoughts.

Using a semicolon before “and” isn’t standard when joining two independent clauses; you’d either drop the semicolon and use a comma with the conjunction ("She bought apples, and oranges were ripe"), or omit the conjunction and use a semicolon ("She bought apples; oranges were ripe"). A comma alone would create a comma splice, and placing the semicolon after the conjunction (“and;”) is not valid punctuation.

So the sentence with the semicolon between the two independent clauses is the proper choice.