Comma Splice

You can find many examples of comma splice usage in the Harry Potter series and other famous novels. Although editors consider style and flow first when editing a manuscript, most will change this punctuation error.

Writers usually place a comma between two independent clauses without a conjunction, period, or semi-colon. Look at the following example:

The historic house was beautiful, I went inside to take the tour.

Corrected, it would read as follows:

The historic house was beautiful, so I went inside to take the tour.

or

The historic house was beautiful; I went inside to take the tour.

or

The historic house was beautiful. I went inside to take the tour.

The general rule is that if two sentences can stand by themselves, or if they are independent clauses, there should be a conjunction, semi-colon, or period between them.

Comma Splice to English Tips

Outside the Box Writing Tips