A comma splice is only a little error, easily fixed. If you gave me a manuscript full of run-on sentences caused by them, it would be an easy edit.
But—the “world’s top* grammarian,” this short article from Business Insider tells us, “fears that this punctuation error is becoming standard English.” This makes me sad, because—as simple as they are to edit out—the presence of comma splices indicate an inattention to detail that serious writers should have long left behind.
Does this sentence read OK to you?
It’s the way I’m wired, I’m not about to change.
If you said no, you’re right. It’s a kind of run-on sentence or “run-together sentence.” It’s an example of a comma splice.
Read this article—it’s simple and straightforward, and should put you on the right path. For something with a little more personality, read Ben Yagoda’s “Splice Girl” here.
* Bryan A. Garner is the author of Garner’s Modern American Usage (Oxford University Press).
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