Comma Splice

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yellowho: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 233; Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:51 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 7 times

by yellowho » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:23 am

What "words" can break/cure comma splice problems? Does anyone have an a list of items?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:23 am

Adam@Knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 132; Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pmFollowed by: 37 members; Location: New York City; Thanked: 68 times; GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:22 pm

yellowho wrote:What "words" can break/cure comma splice problems? Does anyone have an a list of items?

There are three categories of ways to cure a comma splice, which is defined as two independent clauses joined only by a comma.

1) Add a semicolon instead of a comma (self-explanatory)

2) Add a coordinating conjunction after the comma. There are 7 such conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. They are remembered by the mnemonic acronym "FANBOYS."

3) Turn one of the two clauses into a dependent clause. There are too many ways of doing this to list, but the most common solution you'll see among the answer choices involves a subordinating conjunction, such as: Because, Although, As, While, Since, When, etc.

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prachich1987: Legendary Member; Posts: 752; Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 2:47 amFollowed by: 10 members; Thanked: 20 times; GMAT Score:700

by prachich1987 » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:53 pm

Thanks Adam for your brief post above!

Can you please advise whether I am correct in marking correct/incorrect beside below statements.

Jane cleaned the room and washed her clothes.-----Correct
Jane cleaned the room, and washed her clothes.----Correct

Jane cleaned the room and she washed her clothes.----- Incorrect
Jane cleaned the room, and she washed her clothes----- Correct

Thanks!
Prachi

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Adam@Knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 132; Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pmFollowed by: 37 members; Location: New York City; Thanked: 68 times; GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:40 am

prachich1987 wrote:Thanks Adam for your brief post above!

Can you please advise whether I am correct in marking correct/incorrect beside below statements.

Jane cleaned the room and washed her clothes.-----Correct Yes
Jane cleaned the room, and washed her clothes.----Correct Incorrect - single comma should not separate two items in a series, in this case, compound verb "cleaned and washed"

Jane cleaned the room and she washed her clothes.----- Incorrect Could be correct because both independent clauses are so short, but if they were longer you would need a comma
Jane cleaned the room, and she washed her clothes----- Correct Generally, yes, although again, because both clauses are so short and share a subject, you'd rarely see a comma in standard written English here.

First of all, none of the above are comma splices. Just to be clear, a comma splice is:

Jane cleaned the room, she washed her clothes.----Incorrect (2 independent clauses joined by a comma)

More importantly, the GMAT does not test punctuation, including comma usage, so none of this is relevant to the test.

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yellowho: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 233; Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:51 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 7 times

by yellowho » Sun Feb 06, 2011 10:41 pm

Adam,

I guess what is the definition of a run-on sentence then? So as long as you have a coordinating conjunction the sentence is not a comma splice error but it still can be a run-on sentence right?

[quote="AdamKnewton"][quote="prachich1987"]Thanks Adam for your brief post above!

Can you please advise whether I am correct in marking correct/incorrect beside below statements.

Jane cleaned the room and washed her clothes.-----Correct [color=green]Yes[/color]
Jane cleaned the room, and washed her clothes.----Correct [color=darkred]Incorrect - single comma should not separate two items in a series, in this case, compound verb "cleaned and washed"[/color]

Jane cleaned the room and she washed her clothes.----- Incorrect [color=darkred]Could be correct because both independent clauses are so short, but if they were longer you would need a comma[/color]
Jane cleaned the room, and she washed her clothes----- Correct [color=green]Generally, yes, although again, because both clauses are so short and share a subject, you'd rarely see a comma in standard written English here.[/color][/quote]

First of all, none of the above are comma splices. Just to be clear, a comma splice is:

Jane cleaned the room, she washed her clothes.----Incorrect (2 independent clauses joined by a comma)

More importantly, [b]the GMAT does not test punctuation, including comma usage[/b], so none of this is relevant to the test.[/quote]

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Adam@Knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 132; Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pmFollowed by: 37 members; Location: New York City; Thanked: 68 times; GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:14 am

yellowho wrote:Adam,

I guess what is the definition of a run-on sentence then? So as long as you have a coordinating conjunction the sentence is not a comma splice error but it still can be a run-on sentence right?

The phrases "run-on sentence" and "comma splice" are almost identical in meaning and usually interchangeable. You can have a run on that isn't a comma splice if you just drop the comma altogether:

"My mother is always annoying me I am never calling her again."

However, the definition of a run-on sentence is irrespective of the presence or absence of a comma: it's a sentence with more than one independent clause, improperly joined.

Keep in mind that you can have a coordinating conjunction but still have a run-on sentence, as it's possible to have 3 clauses (or more) with only 1 proper connector. This is actually not uncommon on the GMAT. Look at this crazy example:

I went to buy a new car, which admittedly I desperately needed, from a new dealership in town; after I researched all of the recently-opened businesses that had begun to propagate throughout the area where I lived, I settled on one that was clearly the best, and I went there in the afternoon to make my purchase, I was extremely happy.

There are lots and lots of verbs in there, but only one of them -- [spoiler]the "was" at the end[/spoiler] -- is added on without being in a dependent clause OR being connected acceptably. Thus, it is a run-on sentence; without those final 4 words, it is completely acceptable.

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prachich1987: Legendary Member; Posts: 752; Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 2:47 amFollowed by: 10 members; Thanked: 20 times; GMAT Score:700

by prachich1987 » Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:06 am

Thanks Adam
Just wanted to make sure you mean to say that the below will be a correct sentence.

I went to buy a new car, which admittedly I desperately needed, from a new dealership in town; after I researched all of the recently-opened businesses that had begun to propagate throughout the area where I lived, I settled on one that was clearly the best, and I went there in the afternoon to make my purchase

Thanks!
Prachi

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Adam@Knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 132; Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pmFollowed by: 37 members; Location: New York City; Thanked: 68 times; GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:33 am

prachich1987 wrote:Thanks Adam
Just wanted to make sure you mean to say that the below will be a correct sentence.

I went to buy a new car, which admittedly I desperately needed, from a new dealership in town; after I researched all of the recently-opened businesses that had begun to propagate throughout the area where I lived, I settled on one that was clearly the best, and I went there in the afternoon to make my purchase

Yes! The three blue verbs are in Independent Clauses, conjoined by green connectors; the other, olive-colored verbs are subordinated by either relative pronouns or subordinating conjunctions, in red. It is a correct sentence, and not at all a "run-on"!

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