Grammatically, it’s cringeworthy, but it’s much more realistic in terms of dialogue, and therefore a better stylistic choice. “Mom, there was this dog at the playground, he had a skateboard, and he was all over the place, everyone was cheering for him, he kept going all afternoon!” Right? People (especially children) talk more like this: But does it sound like anyone, ever? Not anyone who’s normal, anyway. He was on a skateboard, and he was very popular. “Mother, there was a dog at the playground today. Think of any child who’s excited about something that happened to them, and picture this: We speak in fragments, run-on sentences, and everything in between. When we speak, we don’t always use full sentences, and we don’t always speak with precise grammatical correctness. Why is that okay? Well, it’s because that’s what reflects realistic dialogue. Here’s the thing about comma splices: if you’re a fiction writer whose story includes a lot of dialogue, you’re bound to use commas when it’s questionable. They’re just not always wrong stylistically. How can that be? Either something is wrong or it’s not, and comma splices must certainly fall on one side of the fence or the other.īut let me clarify: comma splices are always wrong grammatically. Very, very wrong.īut you may be surprised-full disclosure: as I was, long ago-to find that they’re not always wrong. And in formal writing or in a nonfiction setting like a textbook, they are wrong. I will be the first to admit that comma splices make me grind my teeth. The dog was riding a skateboard, he was the most popular dog on the playground. ✔Ī comma splice occurs when the comma is present but the conjunction is missing: The dog was riding a skateboard, and he was the most popular dog on the playground. Whenever you place two full sentences (independent clauses) together, if there’s a comma present, it’s usually accompanied by a conjunction: He was the most popular dog on the playground. To go back to basics, an independent clause is a group of words (subject and verb) that can stand alone as a complete thought. The easiest definition for this type of error is the joining of two independent clauses with a comma. Is there a reason behind it and is there a simple rule or way I can recognize and correct it before it gets to my editor?įirst, let me define what, exactly, a comma splice is. For some reason, they just continuously appear in my work. They’re the bane of every English teacher and easy fodder for internet trolls, while at the same time being invisible to those who write them, as this writer addresses:ĭear Lynda, My most frequent grammatical error when writing is the comma splice. These days, comma splices are so common that they aren’t too hard to spot, even for an amateur. A1: Is there a comma in the sentence? Then it’s possible.Ī2: This answer is complicated and completely easy at the same time, which makes it complicated to explain.
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