Discover

A 'comma splice' occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma with no conjunction. For example:
:''It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.''
It is usually considered an error in both British and American English. It is condemned in ''The Elements of Style''.^[1]
Simply removing the comma does not correct the error, but results in a run-on sentence. There are several acceptable ways to correct this:

★ Change the comma to a semicolon:
:''It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.''

★ Write the two clauses as two separate sentences:
:''It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.''

★ Insert a coordinating conjunction following the comma:
:''It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.''
:''It is nearly half past five, so we cannot reach town before dark.''

★ Make one clause dependent on the other:
:''As it is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.''
Comma splices are sometimes acceptable when the clauses are short and alike in form, such as:
:''The gate swung apart, the bridge fell, the portcullis was drawn up.''
(Examples adapted from the online 1918 edition of ''The Elements of Style''.)

Contents

External links

References

External links

★ Rules governing comma usage

★ ''The Elements of Style'': full text of Strunk's 1918 edition

References

1.
The Elements of Style, , , , , 1918,