University of Houston-Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, TX 77901

Understanding and Avoiding Comma Splices

A comma splice is a type of run-on sentence.  It is a fairly common run-on error, which can be avoided if you know what to look for.  Before we discuss what a comma splice is and how to avoid one, let’s look at some definitions.

Independent clause – A group of words that have a subject and a predicate and can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Comma splice – A type of run-on caused by trying to use a comma alone to join two independent clauses or sentences, or by trying to use a comma and a word other than a coordinating conjunction to join two independent clauses.

Ex. Historically, population numbers had been very cyclical throughout Europe, frequently large segments of the states’ populations would be subject to catastrophe from crop failure, war, or diseases.

In this example, the subjects are bolded and the verbs are italicized.  If you’ll notice, both sections have a subject and verb, and both can stand alone as independent sentences.  So by using a comma only to connect them, I have created a comma splice.  Below is an example of the second kind of comma splice.

Ex. The reason that it is not immediately obvious, according to Dawidowicz, is that he was censored by societal conventions from speaking directly, therefore, he had to use language that was ambiguous and full of rhetorical devices.

The comma that comes between the words directly and therefore is the one that makes this sentence incorrect.  This is probably the most common type of comma splice error.  What happens is that many people think that conjunctive adverbs (therefore, however, nevertheless, etc.) and subordinate conjunctions (although, because, etc.) can be used in the same way as coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, so, yet, or, nor), but they cannot.  Only those in the coordinating conjunction category can be used with a comma to join independent clauses.  The other way to join independent clauses is to use a semi-colon between them, but this option can be used only if the sentences are closely related.

To avoid writing comma splices, you need to identify your subject and verb.  If there are more than one in the sentence, look at the complete clauses to verify if they are two independent clauses or if one is a subordinate clause by asking if each could stand alone as a sentence.  Should you have two independent clauses, check to see how they are connected. If it is with a comma alone, the sentences will need to be revised.  For ways to connect the sentences appropriately, refer to our handout on comma splices and fused sentences at http://www.uhv.edu/ac/grammar/commas.asp.

Test Your Knowledge

Check your understanding of this subject by deciding if the sentences below contain comma splices. If they do, correct by writing two sentences, using a semicolon, or using a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

1. Not until the 1960s publication of The President’s Report on Women did the inequalities faced by women as workers garner serious government attention, it would be years later that these inequalities were corrected, despite legislative attempts to level the playing field.

2. Literature, art, and theater celebrated Mexican national heritage, and Chicano studies programs began to appear at institutions of higher learning.

3. The court was one of the hallmarks of Athenian democracy, however, it fails horribly in that it has no interest in upholding the truth, which is the very essence of the law.

4. The Church of England also figures prominently in explanations of the American Revolution as part of the larger problem with crown authority over the colonies, this revolt against the church was largely due to the division over the appointment of an American bishop which also coincided with rising anticlericalism in some areas.
    

Answers

Note that there is often more than one way that the sentence could be corrected.

1. Not until the 1960s publication of The President’s Report on Women did the inequalities faced by women as workers garner serious government attention, and it would be years later that these inequalities were corrected, despite legislative attempts to level the playing field.
   
   The original version of this question contained a comma splice. To correct it, I used a comma and a coordinating conjunction because I wanted the thoughts connected, and the coordinating conjunction not only does that but also adds emphasis.
    

2. Literature, art, and theater celebrated Mexican national heritage, and Chicano studies programs began to appear at institutions of higher learning.
   
   This sentence needed no correction because the two independent clauses were already correctly joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
    

3. The court was one of the hallmarks of Athenian democracy; however, it fails horribly in that it has no interest in upholding the truth, which is the very essence of the law.
   
   I elected to correct the comma splice here with a semicolon because I wanted the clauses to stay linked in the reader’s mind, but felt that the contrasting however was more effective in providing emphasis than a coordinating conjunction and a comma would be.
    

4. The Church of England also figures prominently in explanations of the American Revolution as part of the larger problem with crown authority over the colonies. This revolt against the church was largely due to the division over the appointment of an American bishop which also coincided with rising anticlericalism in some areas.
   
   These two sentences have some relation, so could be connected. I felt it was clearer to write them as two distinct sentences.
    

Suggested Resources

Related Academic Center Resources
 

The Academic Center has a handout on Comma Use, and several issues of Grammatically Correct have discussed comma use. Specifically, Candice Chovanec Melzow wrote about Using Commas with Multiple Descriptive Adjectives (6/13/06); Dinah Crockett provided advice on Punctuating Parenthetical Expressions Using Commas (8/29/06); and David Felts discussed how to use Commas [to] Separate Words, Phrases, and Clauses in a Series (9/28/04).

Additionally, the center has an audio presentation by Candice Chovanec Melzow on sentence errors that includes information on run-on sentences.  It's available at http://www.uhv.edu/ac/workshops/sentenceerrors/index.htm.
 

Recommended Grammar Website of the Week
 

In addition to our own website, this week we recommend English Works! which can be found at http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/grammar/main/index.htm. This site contains a variety of helpful grammar sections as well as links to other grammar sites.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archive