ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

Comma Splices 5450 Views


Share It!

Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

">

Description:

Want even more deets on Comma Splices? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Comma splices, a la Shmoop. Sundance the German shepherd is a very smart

00:09

dog. She knows how to make a mean latte… comma…

00:12

she also can solve basic math problems.

00:18

While that last sentence about Sundance the coffee-making, math-loving dog may sound okay…

00:22

…it doesn’t look okay when written out, because it’s been struck by an errant comma

00:28

splice. A comma splice occurs when a comma is used

00:32

to put two independent clauses without a conjunction… together.

00:37

The independent clauses “She knows how to make a mean latte”…

00:40

…and “She can also solve basic math problems”…

00:43

…are actually two separate sentences. They don’t need a comma to join them…

00:47

…which is why the sentence “She knows how to make a mean latte…comma…she also

00:49

can solve basic math problems”, is grammatically incorrect.

00:52

Comma splices are very easy to fix. Say we have the grammatically messed-up sentence,

00:58

“Sundance went to the park…comma…she gave tax advice to the other dogs.”

01:04

If we nix the comma for a period, so that we have two sentences…

01:08

…“Sundance went to the park…period”…

01:09

…and “She gave tax advice to the other dogs…period”…

01:13

…then our comma splice problem is solved. There’s another way to fix a comma splice.

01:22

If the two independent clauses in a spliced sentence are closely related to each other…

01:27

…then we can ditch the comma, not for a period, but for a semicolon…

01:32

…because the purpose of a semicolon is to bring two complete sentences together when

01:35

no coordinating conjunction is present. So, for example, say we have a comma-spliced

01:41

sentence like, “Sundance’s owner makes Sundance breakfast every morning…comma…the

01:46

dog likes her eggs scrambled.”

01:48

The two independent clauses in this sentence deal with the same subject: Sundance’s breakfast.

01:56

If we replace the comma in this sentence with a semicolon, we end up with, “Sundance’s

02:00

owner makes Sundance breakfast every morning…semicolon…the dog likes her eggs scrambled.”

02:06

The comma splice is gone, replaced with an artfully deployed semicolon.

02:12

Or what if we have the comma-spliced sentence, “Sundance likes long walks on the beach…comma…she

02:18

always searches for seashells to add to her collection.”

02:20

Again, we have two independent clauses that are closely related to each other.

02:26

If we replace the comma in this sentence with a semicolon, we get, “Sundance likes long

02:31

walks on the beach…semicolon…she always searches for seashells to add to her collection.”

02:36

The comma splice is no more, eradicated by the grammatically correct semicolon.

02:44

Comma splices are easy to avoid. If a sentence contains two independent clauses…

02:48

…but has no conjunction to bring the clauses together…

02:51

…then a period or a semicolon is needed, not a comma.

02:54

Now, Sundance would like to know how we take our coffee. And would we care for a biscuit?

Up Next

Affect vs. Effect
10817 Views

This video explains the difference between affect and effect and provide tips for remembering which is which and when to use each one. If you suffe...

Related Videos

Question Marks
3730 Views

Want even more deets on Question Marks? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

Long vs. Short Sentences
2852 Views

Want even more deets on grammar? Click here for all the goods.

Your vs. You're
4154 Views

Want even more deets on Your vs. You're? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

Its vs. It's
5811 Views

What’s the difference between its and it’s (spoiler alert: it’s more than just an apostrophe). This video covers the use of both of these wor...