Comma

Splices
and

Fused
Sentences
 Know how to identify
these two major errors.

A comma splice looks like this:

Main clause +,+ main clause.

A fused sentence looks like this:

Main clause +Ø+ main clause.
 A main clause
follows
this pattern:
subject + verb =
complete thought.
 In academic writing,
comma splices and fused sentences =

D E A T H ! ! !
 Read this sample sentence …

The error
Grandma still rides her Harley
is here!

motorcycle her toy poodle

balances in a basket between
the handlebars.

Adding a comma won’t help,

sweetheart. It will just make
a comma splice, an
equally terrible error.
 Come on,
Princess,
let’s take a
ride to the
solutions!
Option 1: Use a period
and a capital letter.

Grandma still rides her Harley

motorcycle her
motorcycle. Hertoytoy
poodle
poodle
balances in a basket between
the handlebars.
 Let’s fix the
errors that
follow! Use a
period and a
capital
letter.
1. While Oreo gnawed the
corner of a shoe, Skeeter
shredded a roll of toilet
paper, the
paper. Thedogs
dogslove
lovewhen
when
we have forgotten to close
the master bedroom door.
2. A bucket catches water
under the leaky ceiling,
ceiling.
Annette wishes
Annette wishesshe
shehad
had
trimmed the big oak tree
before the rotten limb
crashed through the roof.
3. Freddie’s car is a mess,
mess. she
has
She overdue library
has overdue books
library
piled
bookson the on
piled front
theseat,
frontand
she uses
seat, and the
shefloor
usesas a floor
the
trashcan
as for her
a trashcan forfrequent
her
lunches
frequent at fast food
lunches at fast food
restaurants.
4. On a busy Saturday night,
Andre sweated in the hot
restaurant kitchen
kitchen.asAs
hehe
assembled pizzas, he
dreamed of one day having
his own cooking show on
the Food Network.
Option 2: Use a comma
and a coordinating
conjunction: and, but, for,
nor, or, so, or yet.

Grandma still rides her Harley

motorcycle
motorcycle,her
andtoyher
poodle
toy poodle
balances in a basket between
the handlebars.
 Let’s try some!
Use and, but,
for, nor, or, so,
or yet to fix the
errors that follow.
1. Darren scooped seven
tablespoons of sugar into his
coffee, then
coffee, and he splashed
then he
cream intocream
splashed the cup
intoand
the cup
stirred
and the concoction.
stirred the concoction.
2. We suspected that Tahoe
had tipped over the trash
trash,
for he flattened
he flattened his ears
his ears andand
curled his tail between his
legs as we cleaned the
kitchen floor.
3. Butterflies never visited the
backyard,
backyard,Lawana planted
so Lawana
an assortment
planted of flowers
an assortment of to
entice them
flowers with them
to entice sweetwith
nectar.nectar.
sweet
4. Serena searched every
corner of her bedroom
bedroom,
she she
but couldcould
not find
not her
find
mathmath
her bookbook
to study for
to study
the the
for finalfinal
exam.
exam.
 Option 3: Use a semicolon
(;).
• Use sparingly—three or four times
per essay.
• Don’t capitalize after the semicolon
unless the word is a proper noun,
one that is always capitalized.
• When you are writing by hand,
make sure that the semicolon has
good posture. Locate the dot right
above the comma.
 Look at our sample …

Grandma still rides her Harley

motorcycle
motorcycle;her
hertoytoy
poodle
poodle
balances in a basket between
the handlebars.
 Fix the errors
that follow—this
time with
semicolons!
1. Smoke billowed from the hot
grill thick
grill; thick
pork
pork
chops
chops
laylay
on
a plate,
on a plate,
waiting
waiting
for for
Uncle
Uncle
Rick to cook them.
2. Laurie flashed a big smile
smile;
we cringed at the spinach
stuck to her front tooth.
3. Jiggling his foot, Carlos sat
in the waiting room,
room;he
he
dreaded the shot of
Novocain required to fill his
cavity.
4. Pushing and grunting,
Tyrone tried to budge the
heavy refrigerator;
refrigerator, finally
finally,
he decided just to paint
around it, leaving a
rectangle of dirty beige
behind the appliance.
 Option 4: Use a
subordinate conjunction.
• after • so (that implied),
• although so that
• as • than
• because • that
• before • though
• even though • unless
• if, even if • when, whenever
• in order that • where, wherever,
• once whereas
• provided that • whether
• since • while
 Look at our sample …

Grandma rides her

When Grandma Harley
rides her
motorcycle
motorcycle while
her toy her
Harley motorcycle, hertoy
poodletoy
poodle balances
balances in a between
in a basket basket
between the handlebars.
the handlebars.
Know these general
punctuation rules when
using subordination.

Subordinate clause +,+ main clause.

Main clause +Ø+ subordinate clause.

For exceptions to these

rules, see Comma Tip 5 !
 Look at our sample …

When Grandma rides her Harley

motorcycle, her toy poodle balances in a
basket between the handlebars.

Grandma rides her Harley motorcycle

while her toy poodle balances in a
basket between the handlebars.
 Let’s try fixing
some with
subordinate
conjunctions!
1. Jeff licked the soft serve
cone, as
cone he he
tried to keep
tried up up
to keep
with the melting ice cream.

Main clause +Ø+ subordinate clause.

2. Nathan
Since Nathan rudely the
rudely slurped
slurped the spicy
spicy soup, soup,
Maybelle began
Maybelle began loudly
loudly crunching tortilla
crunching
chips. tortilla chips.

Subordinate clause +,+ main clause.

3. Harold held his hand under
the cold water
water he burnt
after he his
fingershis
burnt trying to remove
fingers trying tothe
browniesthe
remove without an oven
brownies without
mitt.oven mitt.
an

Main clause +Ø+ subordinate clause.

4. The
While the flowers
flowers waitedwaited
for rainfor
rain orcool
or the the cool
sprayspray
fromfrom
the
the sprinklers,
sprinklers, theythey wilted
wilted in
in the
the
hot hot
sun.sun.

Subordinate clause +,+ main clause.

 Quick Test
Directions: Find and fix all of the
comma splices and fused
sentences in the items that follow.
1. I went into the bathroom last
night,
night;because
night
night.
night, Ifor
IIheard
heard
heard someone
someone
I heard
I heard
someone
someone
someone
singing in singing
Spanish.in Spanish.
2. Surprised, I turned on the
lights, what
lights. Whatidiot
idiotwas
was
making noise in my
bathroom so late at night?
3. I looked everywhere—
behind the door, in the
closet, under the bathroom
sink—but I couldn't find the
source of the music,
music, the
and
singing
the singing
waswas
really
really
weird.
weird.
4. I listened closely,
closely.the
The
singing seemed to be
coming from the window
above the bathtub, so I
stuck my head around the
shower curtain and looked in
all of the corners.
5. It was unbelievable,
unbelievable.there
There
was a spider spinning a
web behind my shampoo
bottles;allallthe
bottles the
while
while,
sheshe
was singing Spanish love
songs.