Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Commas are tricky because there are so many different ways you can use them, but one of the most common ways to use commas is to separate two main clauses that are connected by a coordinating conjunction. D. Elena Mares grammar Greetings Grammar Girl: I'm taking a proofreading class. Reading rule after rule...is boring! I realize that proper communication techniques are very important. Any tips on making rule reading not so mundane? Thanks Girl! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=19783#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=19783#Comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:16:59 GMT Martha grammar While the "corrections" are correct, they are not necessarily literary, especially in terms of creating voice. It's one thing if you're writing a dissertation, quite another when you're writing fiction or creative non-fiction. In the examples here, I'd vote to leave them as the author intended. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=19524#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=19524#Comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:27:35 GMT Leslie grammar I see sentanaces in published books with two complete sentances with a conjunction and no comma. What's that about? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=19430#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=19430#Comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:28:14 GMT Michael Novick grammar I would use "as" as a subordinating conjunction, maybe complicating matters by beginning "It was," as in "It was obviously Sara who named that one, as she was a sucker for those old 'Happy Days' reruns." PS it's funny reading the answers before the comments in the reverse chronological scroll down. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=17959#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=17959#Comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:23:10 GMT Misty grammar This was a very good example by using actual sentences from his book. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=17604#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=17604#Comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:52:16 GMT Beverly grammar I was confused about something while reading this. In the example, "Squiggly ran to the forest, and aardvark chased the pet peeves," is "aardvark" the name of the character? If so, shouldn't it be capitalized? If not, is there a need for an article before it, like "the"? These ways were what I thought were correct. If it's acceptable another way, I'd like to know. Thanks! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=17497#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=17497#Comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:25:07 GMT Rosemarie grammar THanks, I understand it better now. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=16576#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=16576#Comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:40:16 GMT Shanetta James grammar Dear Grammar Girl, Your story showed my how to use commas the right way thank u so much. GO GG GO GG GO GG http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=15955#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=15955#Comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:08:42 GMT Mike grammar Wouldn't "It turns out that Scott and I have a mutual friend, and Scott asked me if I'd like a review copy of his book and if I'd take a look at his grammar. " be better as, "It turns out that Scott and I have a mutual friend. Scott asked me whether I'd like a review copy of the friend's book and whether I would take a look at the grammar used in the book." http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=15719#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=15719#Comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:47:55 GMT Teairra grammar I tend to use commas alot! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=15451#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx?commentid=15451#Comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:13:13 GMT Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:16:59 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us