What's a comma splice? How can they be avoided?



The comma is often misused, and a comma splice is one of the most common mistakes made. A comma splice is when a comma is wrongly used to separate two independent clauses There are many simple methods that can be used to avoid this mistake.



The unicorn liked the fairy, she was kind.

The two clauses in the above sentence are independent and can form stand alone sentences. They do not need to be connected by a comma.

The unicorn liked the fairy. She was kind.

The above method of separating two independent clauses using a full stop is the simplest, but there are other ways to do it.

A semi colon can be used, but take care to not overuse them in your work.

The unicorn liked the fairy; she was kind.

A semi colon shows that the two independent clauses are linked.

A conjunction can be used to connect two independent clauses.

The unicorn likes the fairy as she is nice.




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