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**A Visit with the Comma Splice **
Once you've started the podcast, you can minimize the screen and read the text below as you listen.

To listen to the lesson, click on [|Comma Splice Podcast.mp3]

Follow the text here:

I’d like you to think back to a moment when someone pointed out a grammatical error in your writing. Try to remember what you learned about that error. Do you remember why it was an error, or how to correct it?

If you’re like me, you may continue to make the same mistake in your writing. I figured out that I continue to make grammatical errors in my writing when I don't fully understand the error. I had to teach myself to recognize the error, and then I worked at understanding why it was an error. It was only after I truly studied the rules of the grammatical error that I could grasp its impact on my writing.

One of the errors I’ve studied recently is the comma splice. This is a common error amongst writers of all levels—so you may want to take note.

Once you get the hang of it, the comma splice is a simple error to recognize. A comma splice occurs when two complete sentences are written and separated by a comma. Since we aren’t suppose to join two sentences with a comma—we end up calling this error a comma splice. Get it? We’re splicing two independent sentences together with a comma.

Let’s try an example. Check this out….

After Thanksgiving, I’m going out to lunch with friends, we are meeting at the Olive Garden.

If you look at this sentence, you’ll see that each part is independent—meaning each part is a complete sentence. Listen again.

After Thanksgiving, I’m going out to lunch with friends, we are meeting at the Olive Garden.

These are both independent sentences. Did you notice how reading aloud helped me see and hear a distinct pause between each part? Of course, we know that when we pause as readers, we should include a comma. Yet we need to look closer at each part of a sentence. If each part of a sentence has its own subject and predicate, then it is a complete sentence and we need to separate the sentences by more than just a comma.

Now, let’s correct the sentence.

After Thanksgiving, I’m going out to lunch with friends. We are meeting at the Olive Garden .

Notice that we corrected this error by placing a period at the end of each sentence. But we could combine the two sentences with a comma and conjunction such as: and, or, but, for, so, or yet.

Let’s try one.

After Thanksgiving, I’m going out to lunch with friends, and we are meeting at the Olive Garden.

This corrects the sentence as well.

Another way to correct a comma splice is by using a semi-colon. A semi-colon allows us to link two sentences when they are closely related.

Let’s try it.

After Thanksgiving, I’m going out to lunch with friends ; we are meeting at the Olive Garden.

Usually, the sentence following the semi-colon expands upon the first sentence. In this case, we learn a bit more detail about where I am meeting my friends for lunch. Below are a few more examples to practice recognizing and correcting the comma splice. Play around with the sentences and correct them using one of the methods we’ve discussed:


 * end each sentence with a period
 * add a comma and a conjunction (and, but, yet, or, for, so )
 * join the sentences with a semi-colon

After you’ve completed a few of the examples, sit with a partner and read through a sample of your own writing. Help one another look for comma splices, and then play around with approaches you might use to correct the error. Examples of the comma splice for you to correct:


 * Brittany works at the Co-Op, she gets off work at 10pm.
 * Feed the dog, take out the trash.
 * My English teacher, Ms. White, is interested in more than just her subject area, she also enjoys Algebra and Biology.
 * Every Wednesday, after school, I walk to the store, I buy a Snickers bar and eat it on my walk home.
 * A comma splice occurs when we separate two sentences by a comma, basic grammar rules teach us that two sentences cannot be joined by a comma.

Please visit the following links for further information on grammar.

Andrea Lundsford's //The Everyday Writer []//

Grammar Girl podcasts on grammar []