comma splices

1. 34
Writing MattersWriting Matters
by Rebecca Moore Howardby Rebecca Moore Howard
Avoiding Comma SplicesAvoiding Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1
35

2. Two independent clauses joinedTwo independent clauses joined
in a compound sentence need ain a compound sentence need a
proper coupling mechanism.proper coupling mechanism.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2

3. Correctly JoiningCorrectly Joining
Independent ClausesIndependent Clauses
• Independent clauses
–Clauses that stand as complete
sentences
Example:
I was not hungry. I had already eaten.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3

4. Correctly JoiningCorrectly Joining
Independent ClausesIndependent Clauses
• Independent clauses
–Clauses that stand as complete
sentences
–Can be combined for compound
sentences
• Using a comma and coordinating
conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)
Example:
I was not hungry, yet I ate all the French fries!
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4

5. Correctly JoiningCorrectly Joining
Independent ClausesIndependent Clauses
• Independent clauses
–Clauses that stand as complete
sentences
–Can be combined for compound
sentences
• Using a semicolon
Example:
I was not hungry; I did not plan to eat again.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5

6. Correctly JoiningCorrectly Joining
Independent ClausesIndependent Clauses
• Independent clauses
–Clauses that stand as complete
sentences
–Can be combined for compound
sentences
• Using a colon or a dash
Example:
I was not hungry: I had eaten earlier.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6

7. Indentifying Incorrectly JoinedIndentifying Incorrectly Joined
Independent ClausesIndependent Clauses
• Comma splices
–Two independent clauses combined
with a comma alone
Example:
I had not eaten, I had eaten earlier.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7

8. Indentifying Incorrectly JoinedIndentifying Incorrectly Joined
Independent ClausesIndependent Clauses
• Fused sentences
–Two independent clauses combined
with no punctuation
Example:
I had not eaten I had eaten earlier.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8

9. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
1. Conjunctive adverb (for example, however,
therefore) leading the second clause
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9
Example:
In the first two Harry Potter movies, Richard Harris
played Dumbledore, however, since Harris’s death
in 2002, Michael Gambon has played the role.

10. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
1. Conjunctive adverb (for example, however,
therefore) leading the second clause
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10
Example:
In the first two Harry Potter movies, Richard Harris
played Dumbledore, however, since Harris’s death
in 2002, Michael Gambon has played the role.
In the first two Harry Potter movies, Richard Harris
played Dumbledore; however, since Harris’s death
in 2002, Michael Gambon has played the role.

11. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
2. Subject of second clause is
antecedent of subject of first clause
Example:
Ronald Reagan was originally an actor, he
turned to politics in the 1960s.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11

12. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
2. Subject of second clause is
antecedent of subject of first clause
Example:
Ronald Reagan was originally an actor, he
turned to politics in the 1960s.
Ronald Reagan was originally an actor, but he
turned to politics in the 1960s.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12

13. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
3. When first clause introduces second
Example:
Politics and acting have something in common
they both require a willingness to perform in
public.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13

14. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
3. When first clause introduces second
Example:
Politics and acting have something in common
they both require a willingness to perform in
public.
Politics and acting have something in common:
they both require a willingness to perform in
public.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14

15. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
4. When one clause is positive and one
is negative
Example:
We were not upset that the exam was
postponed, we were relieved.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15

16. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Watch for these situations:
4. When one clause is positive and one
is negative
Example:
We were not upset that the exam was
postponed, we were relieved.
We were not upset that the exam was
postponed; we were relieved.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16

17. Recognizing When Comma SplicesRecognizing When Comma Splices
and Fused Sentences Tend to Occurand Fused Sentences Tend to Occur
Use the Quick Reference box on p.Use the Quick Reference box on p.
613 in613 in Writing MattersWriting Matters to helpto help
identify comma splices and fusedidentify comma splices and fused
sentences.sentences.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17

18. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
1. Separate sentences
– Use a period
– Works especially well with long
independent clauses
Example:
My friends and I began our long-anticipated trip to Peru
in early July we arrived in Lima on Saturday morning and
flew to Cuzco that same day.
My friends and I began our long-anticipated trip to Peru in
early July. We arrived in Lima on Saturday morning and flew
to Cuzco that same day.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18

19. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
1. Separate sentences
– Use a period
– Works especially well with long
independent clauses
Example:
My friends and I began our long-anticipated trip to Peru
in early July we arrived in Lima on Saturday morning and
flew to Cuzco that same day.
My friends and I began our long-anticipated trip to Peru
in early July. We arrived in Lima on Saturday morning and
flew to Cuzco that same day.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19

20. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
1. Separate sentences
2. Coordinating conjunction
– Use a comma
Example:
We needed to adjust to the altitude before we began
hiking in the Andes we spent three days sightseeing in
Cuzco.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20

21. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
1. Separate sentences
2. Coordinating conjunction
– Use a comma
Example:
We needed to adjust to the altitude before we began
hiking in the Andes we spent three days sightseeing in
Cuzco.
We needed to adjust to the altitude before we began
hiking in the Andes, so we spent three days sightseeing
in Cuzco.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21

22. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
1. Separate sentences
2. Coordinating conjunction
3. Semicolon
– Join two independent clauses
– Should be a clear logical relationship
– Use a conjunctive adverb to help explain
relationship, when needed
Example:
Most languages spoken in Europe belong to the Indo-
European language family, a few, such as Basque,
Finnish, and Hungarian, do not.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22

23. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
1. Separate sentences
2. Coordinating conjunction
3. Semicolon
– Join two independent clauses
– Should be a clear logical relationship
– Use a conjunctive adverb to help explain
relationship, when needed
Example:
Most languages spoken in Europe belong to the Indo-
European language family; a few, such as Basque,
Finnish, and Hungarian, do not.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23

24. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
4. Colon or dash
– First clause introduces second
– Second clause elaborates on the first
Example:
The message is clear, smoking kills.
The message is clear: smoking kills.
The message is clear—smoking kills.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 24

25. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
4. Colon or dash
– First clause introduces second
– Second clause elaborates on the first
Example:
The message is clear, smoking kills.
The message is clear: smoking kills.
The message is clear—smoking kills.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 25

26. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
4. Colon or dash
5. Modifying subordinate clause or
phrase
– Turn one of the independent clauses into a
subordinate clause
Example:
Spanish, like French and Italian, is a Romance language,
it derives from Latin, the language of the Romans.
Spanish, like French and Italian, is a Romance language, it derives
from Latin, the language of the Romans.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 26

27. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
4. Colon or dash
5. Modifying subordinate clause or
phrase
– Turn one of the independent clauses into a
subordinate clause
Example:
Spanish, like French and Italian, is a Romance language, it
derives from Latin, the language of the Romans.
Spanish, like French and Italian, is a Romance language
because it derives from Latin, the language of the Romans.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 27

28. Correcting Comma SplicesCorrecting Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
Refer to the Quick Reference box onRefer to the Quick Reference box on
p. 616 when revising or correctingp. 616 when revising or correcting
comma splices and fusedcomma splices and fused
sentences.sentences.
©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 28

29. 34
Writing MattersWriting Matters
by Rebecca Moore Howardby Rebecca Moore Howard
Avoiding Comma SplicesAvoiding Comma Splices
and Fused Sentencesand Fused Sentences
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 29
35