(no subject)

[randomness]

Can a comma splice always be fixed by replacing the comma with a semicolon?

(I am not asking a rhetorical question.)

Comments

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia says the main fixes are replacing with semicolon, making the two clauses into two sentences instead, adding a suitable conjunction after the comma, or making one clause dependent on the other.

This response brought to you by my having to look up what the hell a comma splice _was_.

[redbird]

If that's just a general question, then yes, technically, but it's not always the right thing to do. I'm willing to look at any specific examples, if only because I suspect that an actual sentence that raised this question would be interesting, at least structurally.

[st-rev.livejournal.com]

You couldn't use a semicolon to fix a sentence with two comma splices, because you can't have two semicolons in one sentence.

[jendaviswilson.livejournal.com]

From my junior-high grammar drilling, I would say yes, however, the sentences should be related to each other. Also, stylistically I think semicolons should be used very, very sparingly. Two sentences is almost always best.

[cerebralpaladin.livejournal.com]

Some grammarians say that you should always follow a semicolon with what Wikipedia calls a transitional phrase or conjunctive adverb. That's what I was taught in high school. According to that standard, replacing a comma in a comma splice with a bare semicolon would still be improper. That said, I think that most people reject that standard, including various people who hold themselves out as authoritative prescriptive grammarians.

[drwex]

It depends to some degree on the bits you're splicing together. Semicolons, colons, and dashes all have their uses depending on the surrounding text. I agree with others that if you're going to use a semicolon it almost always wants a transitional word showing how the two halves are related.