Commas can be challenging because there are several ways to use them. If you aren’t sick of hearing about commas after reading this article, you can read Nine Comma Pitfalls to Avoid. Ironically, you’ll have to hear about the dreaded comma splice again—albeit briefly.

Comma splices are evil!

Okay, comma splices aren’t really evil. Well, maybe after discovering several pesky comma splices in a manuscript, an author might think comma splices are evil, but don’t worry. Any editor will tell you comma splices are the most common error with commas and can be fixed easily.

A comma splice is created by connecting two independent clauses (a.k.a. complete sentences or main clauses) with a comma alone.

Mary wanted to cook a gourmet dinner for Bob, she signed up for cooking lessons.

The two independent clauses (complete sentences) are:

1. Mary wanted to cook a gourmet dinner for Bob.
2. She signed up for cooking lessons.

How to Fix a Comma Splice

There are several ways to fix a comma splice. Five methods are listed below, beginning with the easiest and/or quickest.

Method 1: Use a coordinating conjunction
A coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) can be placed after the comma to connect the two independent clauses (complete sentences).

Mary wanted to cook a gourmet dinner for Bob, so she signed up for cooking lessons.

Method 2: Separate into two sentences
Replace the comma with a period, and capitalize the first word of the new sentence.

Mary wanted to cook a gourmet dinner for Bob. She signed up for cooking lessons.