In most cases, don’t use a comma between an independent clause and a dependent clause:
There are a lot of ways to use commas in English, and sometimes they can be tricky. Well ,if you really want pancakes ,I guess I can make them.I really wanted cereal this morning ,but I didn’t have any milk.The pet store has cats ,dogs ,hamsters ,fish, and turtles.Here are some examples of the ways we use them: Without them, sentences would just be messy!Īlmost all sentences that aren’t a single independent clause have commas. In fact, the comma is one of the most important and commonly used types of punctuation. They also let us connect words, phrases, and clauses together to make longer sentences. Commas separate ideas, add pauses, and help you to list things clearly. A fragment will be missing a subject or a verb or both.A comma (,) is a punctuation mark that is frequently used in sentences. It must end with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.Ī comma splice, fragment, and run on do not meet the criteria for a complete, correct sentence.Ī fragment is an incomplete sentence.Native speakers of English will usually recognize an independent clause by itself as a complete sentence.Ī complete sentence must meet five simple criteria: Remember, an independent clause is a unit of meaning with a subject and a verb that can be punctuated as a complete sentence.
It’s important to understand how to write complete sentences and fix errors related to making complete sentences (fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences). The most common sentence errors have one thing in common: they are mistakes about sentence boundaries and what punctuation to use.
39 Identifying Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices