Insert a period to separate 2 independent clauses.The sentence can easily be rescued by employing one of the five corrective methods outlined below. In this way, by addressing one error (the run-on sentence), the hard-working writer has inadvertently created another (a comma splice)! The problem is that a comma is not strong enough on its own to separate complete sentences. Many times writers who spot a run-on sentence will attempt to correct the run-on sentence by just adding a comma, like so… Here, the first independent clause (“Bob overslept”) runs right into the second independent clause (“Bob was late for work”) with no dividing punctuation whatsoever. Take the following example of a run-on sentence: Simply described, a comma splice is a kind of run-on sentence that uses a comma to try to separate two (or more) complete sentences.Ī run-on sentence-that is, two or more independent clauses connected with no punctuation at all-is more easily identified by many writers. The grammatical equivalent of a hit-and-run, this nefarious collision of clauses happens when one sentence crashes right into another one, leaves its mark (a comma) at the scene of the crime, and never once stops to properly address the damage.Īnd how exactly can writers salvage a sentence from such wreckage and bring this runaway to justice?įirst, we must identify just what this mechanical miscreant looks like. This sneaky little fugitive hides out in the writing of students and professionals alike, smashing up sentences and taking liberties with punctuation. Of the mechanical misdeeds common to writing, the comma splice may be the most insidious.
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