COMMA ABUSE . COMMA SPLICE

What's a comma splice?  Incorrect use of a comma to connect two independent sentences.

 

When you want to join two independent clauses, you need a conjunction or a semicolon. A comma alone isn’t strong enough to join them. This kind of mistake is called a comma splice.

INCORRECT: We were out of milk, I went to the store.

INCORRECT: The experiment was unsuccessful, the temperature was not controlled sufficiently.

INCORRECT: The opening paragraph was incredibly moving, it touches on the common fear of losing a loved one.

INCORRECT: Money is not the only motivating factor for people to work, self-worth and the need for more social interaction can also be reasons for working.

>> There are three ways to correct comma splices:

1. Replace the comma with a conjunction:

 CORRECT: We were out of milk, so I went to the store. 

CORRECT: The experiment was unsuccessful because the temperature was not controlled sufficiently.

2. Replace the comma with a semi-colon:

CORRECT: The opening paragraph was incredibly moving; it touches on the common fear of losing a loved one.

CORRECT: We were out of milk; I went to the store.

3. Replace the comma with a full stop:

CORRECT: We were out of milk. I went to the store.

CORRECT: Money is not the only motivating factor for people to work. Self-worth and the need for more social interaction can also be reasons for working.

The method you choose will depend on your particular sentence and how closely you want the two clauses to be associated.

(grammarly 1) (University of Hull)