How to fix a comma splice, Bootylicious-style

HOW TO FIX A COMMA SPLICE
with apologies to Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, and bootyliciousness in general

1. HOW TO FIX A
COMMA SPLICE

with apologies to
Destiny’s Child,
Beyoncé, and
bootyliciousness in
general

2. I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

3. I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

This is a run- on sentence.

4. I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

This is a run- on sentence.
Run-on sentence: when two or more independent clauses are not joined
correctly.
Independent clause: a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence
Sentence: a set of words that is complete in itself, usually with at least a
subject (noun) and a predicate (verb form); conveys question , statement,
command; may contain one or more clauses, subordinate or independent.

5. How to fix a
comma splice?

6. A comma?

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

This is still a run- on sentence.

7. A comma?

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

This is a comma splice.

8. Comma splice:
It’s particular variety of run-on sentence.
It occurs when a comma is used in a
place where something stronger should
be used.
In a comma splice, we’re asking the
comma to do too much work.

9. To review:
Sentence: a set of words that is complete
in itself, usually with at least a subject
(noun) and a predicate (verb form);
conveys question, statement, command;
may contain one or more clauses,
subordinate or independent

10. How to fix
a comma splice?
There a number of
possible solutions.

11. Most obvious and
straightforward: make it two
sentences.


I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly.
My body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

May not flow as well as we want to?

12. Another, if the first independent clause
introduces the next: the colon

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly:
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe


Might not make sense here.

13. If the first independent clause leads to
the next logically, subordinately:
use an em-dash , or long dash.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly—
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

Maybe this works?

14. If we have two independent clauses are
closely related, parallel to each other,
close in thought, we can use a semicolon.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly;
my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe

A bit snooty? Also, it’s not the case that these
sentences or independent clauses are merely parallel
to each other. There is a relationship.

15. We have other options. We can keep
these two independent clauses
together with a comma, but if—an d
only if—we add a co njunction after that
comma.

16. What’s a conjunction? They establish
relationships with clauses and phrases.
They do it in different ways:
coordinating or subordinating.

17. Coordinating conjunctions connect
clauses and phrases.
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
FANBOYS!

18. I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
for my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
and my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
nor my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
or my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
yet my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
so my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

19. Subordinating conjunctions connect
dependent clauses and main clauses. They
may indicate the relation of these clauses
through time relations , comparison, cause,
conditional relations, and place.

20. than, rather than, whether, as much as, whereas, that, whatever,
which, whichever, after, as soon as, as long as, before, by the
time, now that, once, since, till, until, when, whenever, while,
though, although, even though, who, whoever, whom,
whomever, whose, where, wherever, if, only if, unless,
provided that, assuming that, even if, in case (that), lest, how, as
though, as if, because, since, so that, in order (that), that, as …
than, rather than, whether, as much as, whereas, that, whatever,
which, whichever, after, as soon as, as long as, before, by the
time, now that, once, since, till, until, when, whenever, while,
though, although, even though, who, whoever, whom,
whomever, whose, where, wherever, if, only if, unless,
provided that, assuming that, even if, in case (that), lest, how, as
though, as if, because, since, so that, in order (that), that, as …

21. I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
because my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

22. I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,
’cause my body’s too bootylicious for ya babe.

Because/’cause is a subordinating
conjunction . The is a relationship
between these two independent
clauses. This works best, and it is
now not a comma spli ce.