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Presentation
is ©2014 by
Robin L. Simmons.
All Rights Reserved.
For Celia
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.
Recognize a main
clause when you
see one:
subject + verb =
complete thought.
In an important piece of writing, comma
splices and fused sentences =
D E A T H ! ! !
Read this sample sentence:
The error is
here!
Grandma still rides her Harley
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: Fix the error with a
period and a capital letter.
Grandma still rides her Harley
motorcycle her
motorcycle.
Her
toytoy
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,
paper. the
Thedogs
dogs
love when we have forgotten
to close the master bedroom
door.
2. A bucket catches water under
the leaky ceiling,
ceiling.Annette
Annette
wishes she had trimmed the
big oak tree before the rotten
limb crashed through the roof.
3. Freddie’s car is a mess,
mess. she
She
has overdue library books piled
on the front seat, and she uses
the floor as a trashcan for her
frequent 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: Fix the error with a
comma and a coordinating
conjunction: and, but, for, nor,
or, so, or yet.
Grandma still rides her Harley
motorcycle her
motorcycle,
and
toyher
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
then
splashed
he splashed
cream into the cup and stirred
the concoction.
2. We suspected that Tahoe had
tipped over the trash
trash,he
for he
flattened his ears and curled
his tail between his legs as we
cleaned the kitchen floor.
3. Butterflies never visited the
backyard, Lawana
backyard,
so Lawana
planted
planted
an assortment of flowers to
entice them with sweet nectar.
4. Serena searched every corner
of her bedroom
bedroom,she
butcould
she
not find
could
not
her
find
math
her book
math to
book
study
to
study
forfor
thethe
final
final
exam.
exam.
Option 3: Fix the error
with 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 her
motorcycle;
her
toytoy
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
grill;thick
thick
pork
pork
chops
chops
lay on a plate, waiting for
Uncle Rick to cook them.
2. Laurie flashed a big
smile we
smile;
wecringed
cringedatatthe
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: Fix the error with a
subordinate conjunction.










after
although
as
because
before
even though
if, even if
in order that
once
provided that










since
so [that implied], so that
than
that
though
unless
when, whenever
where, wherever, whereas
whether
while
Look at our sample:
Grandma
When
Grandma
rides her
rides
Harley
her Harley
motorcycle her
motorcycle
motorcycle,
while
her
toytoy
her
poodle
poodle
toy poodle
balances in a basket between
the handlebars.
Know these general
punctuation rules when using
subordination.
+,+
Subordinate clause
Main clause
+Ø+
main clause.
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
tried
to keep
to keep
up up
with the melting ice cream.
Main clause
+Ø+
subordinate clause.
2. Since
NathanNathan
rudely rudely
slurpedslurped
the spicy soup, Maybelle
began loudly crunching tortilla
chips.
Subordinate clause
+,+
main clause.
3. Harold held his hand under
the cold water
water he
after
burnt
he burnt
his fingers trying to remove
the brownies without an
oven mitt.
Main clause
+Ø+
subordinate clause.
4. As
Thethe
flowers
flowers
waited
waited
for for
rainrain
or the cool spray from the
sprinklers, they wilted in the
hot 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, because
night.
night,
night;
night
Ifor
Iheard
heard
I heard
someone
someone
I heard
someone
singing in singing
someone
Spanish.
in Spanish.
2. Surprised, I turned on the
lights, what
lights.
Whatidiot
idiotwas
wasmaking
noise in noise
making
my bathroom
in my bathroom
so late
at night?
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, the
music,
andsinging
the singing
was was
really 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 allall
bottles;
the
the
while
while,
sheshe
was singing Spanish love
songs.
6. When the spider saw me
staring at her, she said,
"Yeek," I Iwasn't
"Yeek!"
wasn'tused
usedtoto Yeek!
spiders squeaking in surprise
at me in my own bathroom.
7. When the spider realized I
was a human being, she
crouched further behind the
shampoo bottle
bottle.I,I,on
onthe
the
other hand, went to get a
can of Raid.
8. When I returned with the
can of Raid, I pointed it at
the poor spider, wishing
for her death,
death. she,
She,as
asaa
result, started singing even
more beautifully.
9. Did I really want to hurt this
poor creature who sang
such beautiful Spanish love
songs, did
songs?
Did
I really
I really
want
want
to to
poison her and cause her
to die a slow death behind
the shampoo bottle?
10.This spider was frightful looking,
for she had long hairy legs,
bulging eyes, and terrible
Correct!
pinching jaws, but I decided that
if she would continue singing in
her beautiful manner, I would let
her live on the bathroom window
ledge.
Correct
again!
11. Every morning since that
surprising evening, I listen
to my singing spider, who
continues
¡Azucar!
to live behind the
shampoo bottle.
12. I brush my teeth to the melodic
voice of a very talented
arachnid, my
arachnid
while
spider
my spider
eats eats
whatever unlucky flies get
trapped in the house,
house. I've
I've
learned to think before I
spray Raid.
The End.
Be kind
to
spiders!
Or we’ll
crawl
into your
pants
and bite
your
thighs!