Don't know about Clarissa, but good Catholic kids couldn't read Pamela back then. My guess is 'cause Sam Richardson started the 1750s London bobbies to saying, "We got the suspects narrow'd down to the rich countess and the butler."
What Is Up With the Rampant Use of Comma Splices..
- Thread starter cyanideenid
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Don't know about Clarissa, but good Catholic kids couldn't read Pamela back then. My guess is 'cause Sam Richardson started the 1750s London bobbies to saying, "We got the suspects narrow'd down to the rich countess and the butler."
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What drives me nuts is when I accidentally switch languages on my autocorrect and my prose becomes sprinkled with Dutch words.
I've seen tons a comma splices recently, too, in the articles I edit for a couple of small-time magazines. In fact, I've seen so many that I had to go back and make sure the rules hadn't changed, that I wasn't crazy. I don't know why. Maybe sentence structure isn't taught very well anymore.
Now regarding mistakes in blogs, I'm positive I'm guilty of those. For one of my freelance clients I have to post blog content three times a week. My posts are usually between 600 and 1000 words. It's a lot of content to generate that frequently (within a pretty narrow overarching topic), and when you add in the turnaround time for my client to review the posts before I put them up, it doesn't leave much time for editing. I do the best I can, but when you're churning out posts at a fast rate, it's easy to miss things.
Now regarding mistakes in blogs, I'm positive I'm guilty of those. For one of my freelance clients I have to post blog content three times a week. My posts are usually between 600 and 1000 words. It's a lot of content to generate that frequently (within a pretty narrow overarching topic), and when you add in the turnaround time for my client to review the posts before I put them up, it doesn't leave much time for editing. I do the best I can, but when you're churning out posts at a fast rate, it's easy to miss things.
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I feel so much better for seeing this thread.
'You missed a comma.'
'Seriously, another one?'
'I would like to introduce you to the semi-colon.'
'JUST USE SHORTER SENTENCES.'
SIZE=3]I am not alone!
[/SIZE]
Isn't it squee-worthy??? I feel so relieved.
Hanson, I will have to keep my eye on you.
It's so hard to judge inflection and sarcasm, even 15 years or so into using the internet.[
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aus10phile:
Yes, it's all very upsetting! I feel like it's our (the GOOD writers) job to carry the torch of good writing.
I think the end times truly are upon us.
Yes, it's all very upsetting! I feel like it's our (the GOOD writers) job to carry the torch of good writing.
I think the end times truly are upon us.
in so many articles (blog and otherwise) on the damned internet?? Even my editor uses them in her emails.
It makes me feel like I'm going batsh*& insane so I wanted to post this so I could get some moral support.
And not only comma splices, but using semi-colons in place of commas to separate a main clause from a supporting clause. I see that a lot, and in published books, too. Hair-tearing, it is.
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Oh my goodness.
What on earth is a comma splice and could somebody please give me some examples?
What on earth is a comma splice; could somebody please give me some examples?
What on earth is a comma splice, could somebody please give me some examples?
Which is correct?
What on earth is a comma splice and could somebody please give me some examples?
What on earth is a comma splice; could somebody please give me some examples?
What on earth is a comma splice, could somebody please give me some examples?
Which is correct?
The bolded sample is the comma splice. The one with a semicolon is grammatically correct.
Get thee to PURDUE OWL (google being your friend here, for once), the best grammar/punctuation/style reference available, free, on-line.
They will tell you that a comma splice is a misuse of punctuation, by which you combine two things that should be separate stand-alone sentences, with a comma. You could use a semicolon, a period or a conjunction in place of the comma, but the comma is simply incorrect.
It's the single most common punctuational error I encounter in my English composition classes. I'm not a stickler for "right v. wrong" with very many things in the matter of composition, but a comma splice is never never never, as in never ever, the antithesis of always, correct. Plus it's wrong, erroneous and a punctuational mistake.
caw
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Awesome resource!
Comma use or misuse has become an absolute NIGHTMARE. I feel like I have to re-learn English from scratch! Punctuation's usually something you don't think of, you just do it naturally, because rhythm - which punctuation basically is about - has something instinctive...
Now I hate this little Nike-reminder, sentence-killer nothing with all my heart. I've even come to dread using it in every single sentence I frame...
Comma use or misuse has become an absolute NIGHTMARE. I feel like I have to re-learn English from scratch! Punctuation's usually something you don't think of, you just do it naturally, because rhythm - which punctuation basically is about - has something instinctive...
Now I hate this little Nike-reminder, sentence-killer nothing with all my heart. I've even come to dread using it in every single sentence I frame...
The thing is, I don't think we want to see semicolons turning up everywhere, either. I'd rather it be a period or a conjuction, generally.
Could it be that people think of the comma as a substitute for "and"?
Could it be that people think of the comma as a substitute for "and"?
I like semicolons. When I find a comma splice - which is a common occurrence - I just switch the comma for a semicolon and go on my happy way. (Later I often end up splitting many of those sentences into two.) Also, I honestly didn't know what a comma splice was until about a year ago so grammar isn't exactly my strong point.
I'm not sure there's agreement but I've read in a writing book or two that the comma splice is acceptable in dialogue, that it makes the sentences sound more urgent. Maybe that has trickled into non-dialogue type expressions too?
I'm going to post this now and hope there aren't too many grammar mistakes in it...
I'm not sure there's agreement but I've read in a writing book or two that the comma splice is acceptable in dialogue, that it makes the sentences sound more urgent. Maybe that has trickled into non-dialogue type expressions too?
I'm going to post this now and hope there aren't too many grammar mistakes in it...
None is correct. Should be
What on earth is a comma splice, and could somebody please give me some examples? (Note insertion of comma,)
or
What on earth is a comma splice? Could somebody please give me some examples? (Don't think a semicolon replaces a question mark.)
Not sure which would be correct on planets other than earth.
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The comma splice is never acceptable. It's an easy error to make since we see it so frequently (says she who has been known to use commas as if seasoning with pepper) but it is never acceptable.
What makes them so intolerable? It isn't like getting two, too, and to mixed up; it simply leads to strange sentences.
. . . strange and often confusing sentences. Therein lies the rub and why comma splices are intolerable.
Surely everyone will disagree with me, and perhaps with good reason, but I see no good reason why comma splices are intolerable, erroneous, unacceptable, incorrect, and so on. Changing the comma to a semicolon would eliminate the error, and the only difference is that dot above the comma. A comma splice is a small bit of negligence; that's all.
I see your point but am one of those who respectfully disagree. Most of our punctuation is made up of arrangements of dots and straight or curved lines. Their number and placement in recognizable fashion facilitates reading.
For me, proper punctuation signals sentence structure. Poorly and wrongly punctuated prose drags reading to a crawl, whereas the same words, phrases, and clauses with proper punctuation usually makes sense without tedious re-reading.
Personally, I don't think that a sentence like this does all that much to hinder comprehension, maybe that's just me, though.
a sentence like this on the other hand i can totally agree with in terms of it being a real pain in the eyeball to read it takes on a weird breathless quality and personally i hear the voice of one of my friends reading it aloud because he has a habit of foregoing grammar entirely
The comma splice isn't as bad as run-on (fused) sentences, but it does cause me, as reader, to flinch, which isn't good for the reading experience. Punctuation conventions have evolved for a damn good reason: to facilitate communication from writer to reader. As such, they are no different than spelling conventions, paragraph formatting conventions, etc. The comma splice is easily avoidable. It should be avoided.
caw
caw
I agree. One comma splice or run-on can be overlooked, skimmed through. The problem is when they happen again and again, and poor punctuation is but the tip of an iceberg of mechanical problems.
I've just read this thread and it made me smile. The exact same problem occurs in France. I think that the only countries where it doesn't are the ones without punctuation...