Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirty Harry
Can we have a lesson about comma splices Mr. Abomination?
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Comma splices are easy to catch and fix. Essentially a comma splice is another name for a run on sentence. Every sentence has a main clause. We use commas to attach a dependent clause onto a main clause.
For example: Harry read his essay, thinking of how to make it better.
Harry read his essay is a independent (main) clause, because it can stand alone. You could easily put a period after essay. "thinking of how to make it better" is a dependent clause, because it's not a stand alone sentence - there's no subject.
A common splice is when you attach two independent clauses:
Harry sipped his drink and looked around, he had always been a messy eater and today was no different.
It's a splice because both clauses are independent. The way to fix a splice is with a period, a semi colon, a dash, parenthesis, or with a coordinating conjunction. A coordinating conjunction is a word that connects two ideas. Like this:
Harry took a bite of his apple and wiped his mouth with a napkin,
for he had always been a messy eater.
Coordinating conjunctions are connecting words: for, but, yet, as, or, so, and so on.