Which sentence properly uses a semicolon to join two independent clauses without a conjunction?

• A. The sun was shining; it was a beautiful day.
• B. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day.
• C. The sun was shining; and it was a beautiful day.
• D. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day.

Answer: (A)

Using a semicolon to join two independent clauses means you connect two complete sentences that could stand alone, without using a conjunction. The semicolon signals that the second clause is closely related to the first.

In this example, both parts—“The sun was shining” and “it was a beautiful day”—are complete thoughts. They could each be a separate sentence, but they're tied together, so a semicolon works perfectly to join them without any conjunction.

The other sentences don’t fit that pattern. One uses just a comma to link two independent clauses, which creates a comma splice—that’s not acceptable. Another keeps a coordinating conjunction after a semicolon, which isn’t how semicolons function. And the one with a comma plus a conjunction correctly joins the clauses, but it uses a conjunction, which the question specifies to avoid.