One of the most common errors I see in manuscripts is comma splicing (also called run-on sentences)—a grammatical no-no. Comma splicing is the use of a comma to join two independent, complete sentences that can stand on their own. (I wrote a sentence, I used a comma splice, it became a run-on sentence.)
Here’s an example of a run-on sentence, along with four ways to fix it:
Joann bought a one-way ticket to San Diego, she vowed to leave her crazy family far behind.
First, you could break it up into two sentences:
Joann bought a one-way ticket to San Diego. She vowed to leave her crazy family far behind.
Or use a semicolon:
Joann bought a one-way ticket to San Diego; she vowed to leave her crazy family far behind.
Or use a coordinating conjunction:
Joann bought a one-way ticket to San Diego, and she vowed to leave her crazy family far behind.
Or use a subordinate clause (rendering the second complete sentence as an incomplete sentence or clause):
Joann bought a one-way ticket to San Diego, vowing to leave her crazy family far behind.
Remember, a comma just isn’t tough enough to take on two full, complete sentences. You’ll need the power of more industrial-strength punctuation if you want to avoid run-on sentences.
0 Comments