Comma Splices

If I were to have a nightmare, I’m pretty sure that it would be about commas. There are so many rules about how to use this little punctuation mark correctly that it can drive a person insane. Some of these rules are easy to remember though.

What is a comma splice? Splice means to join together or unite two things. So a comma splice is when you use a comma to join together two sentences. These types of sentences are also called run-on sentences or fused sentences. Sentences are not meant to be smooshed together in such a way. How do you keep from writing these?

First, you need to be able to recognize an independent clause. An independent clause has a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. It is able to stand alone as a sentence. When two or more independent clauses are joined only with a comma, the result is a comma splice or run-on sentence. The comma does not have the job of separating complete sentences, so this is something you want to avoid. If you find that you have written one though, it is easy to correct.

Example 1: Her old lady scent of arthritis cream mingled with her overly sweet perfume choked me, my eyes watered. I screamed for Dad and tried to back away from her, she wouldn’t let go of me.

The above sentences are from my book Softly and Tenderly, but they are punctuated correctly in the book. Let’s examine the above sentences.

Sentence one: Her old lady scent of arthritis cream mingled with her overly sweet perfume choked me, and my eyes watered. The simple addition of and between the two independent clauses does away with the comma splice.

Sentence two: The second sentence should be two sentences. I screamed for Dad and tried to back away from her. She wouldn’t let go of me.

Example 2: This example is from my soon-to-be-published short story “Dance for Me.” The cover of the book it will be in is pictured to the right. A piece of broken gutter rested on the old cracked sidewalk along with splintered boards and other debris that had fallen over the years, a broken window would hardly be noticed.

This run-on sentence or comma splice can be corrected by placing a period in the appropriate place. A piece of broken gutter rested on the old cracked sidewalk along with splintered boards and other debris that had fallen over the years. A broken window would hardly be noticed.

Semicolon

One of the semicolon’s jobs is to connect independent clauses that are closely related. So, in some instances, you can avoid a comma splice by using a semicolon.

Her old lady scent of arthritis cream mingled with her overly sweet perfume choked me; my eyes watered.This would also be considered a correct sentence. To me though, this sentence sounds so much better when the two independent clauses are joined by using a comma and a conjunction.

Recommended Articles:
Conjunctions and Commas
Single Quotation Marks vs. Regular Quotation Marks vs. Italics
The Classy Colon & the Sassy Semicolon
Dialogue Tags
That Troublesome Apostrophe

Amazon Link: Softly and Tenderly