“I thought I was on the right, road dear, but now I’m not, so, sure.”

The uh-oh’s of English What is a comma splice, anyway? How to fix the flaws There is, something fishy about this sentence.

A comma splice is simply an inappropriately placed comma. A comma is like a yield sign, telling the reader to slow down and then resume a normal pace. Inappropriately placed commas can steer readers away from the true meaning of the sentence, somewhat like a fork in the road.

Let us begin with a sample sentence to slowly ease into the aches and pains that are comma slices. (Oops! I meant splices.) There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. Don’t freak out. There are many steps we can take to solve this nasty problem. Onward, and away!

There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, | it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. The vertical line indicates the issue. Two main clauses have been incorrectly joined. We have 4 options, with a fifth thrown in as an added bonus. Let’s get started! + =

There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, | it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. Simply place a period in between the two main clauses rather than a comma and the problem is magically solved! There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland. It seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. You may notice that while this does fix the problem, it is still a bit choppy. Sometimes this tactic is not the best one to use.

There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, | it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. Place a semicolon in between the two main clauses. There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland; it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. Hmm. Notice anything? Though it works, it still doesn’t seem like a smooth transition. We need something more. Let’s investigate.

There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, | it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. There are two approaches we could take, depending on the transitional word we use. Always note that the word however must be preceded by a semicolon. There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland; however, it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, yet it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote.

There are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, | it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote. The first sentence can be easily made into a dependent (or subordinate) clause. Although there are many people who would prefer Knott’s Berry Farm over Disneyland, it seems that when it comes to favorite theme parks, Disneyland normally wins the popular vote.

For this example, the previous sentence does not quite work. Instead, take the following sentence into consideration: Comma splices are commas that incorrectly separate two or more sentences, they have been the source of countless grammatical errors. A good thing to do here would be to turn part of one of the clauses into a phrase. How do we do this? It’s easy! Comma splices—commas that incorrectly separate two or more sentences—have been the source of countless grammatical errors.

Again, do not rely on your computer’s spellchecker. It’s tiring to give this warning each time, but it would be more tiring for you to constantly find that your spellchecker is making mistakes after you get your paper back. The message for this particular guide is, “DO NOT USE A COMMA AS A PERIOD.”

May the force (and good grammar) be with you. Ooh! Shiny!