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Q: Grammer ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Grammer
Category: Reference, Education and News > Homework Help
Asked by: fully-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 05 Apr 2005 21:22 PDT
Expires: 05 May 2005 21:22 PDT
Question ID: 505569
Which one of the following sentences is a comma splice?
a. While a lawyer prepared the case, her assistant checked the report
she found no mistakes.
b. Because all the members were early, the meeting got underway ahead of schedule.
c. Dr. Matheson, speaking as head of the hospital's medical council.
d. The secretary handed the report to the supervisor, he read it quickly.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Grammer
Answered By: leapinglizard-ga on 05 Apr 2005 22:57 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Dear fully,

The comma splice occurs in sentence d. Each clause in this sentence
can and should stand on its own. We render it correctly as two
sentences, thus.

  The secretary handed the report to the supervisor. He read it quickly.

In comparison, the comma in each of the sentences a, b, and c does not
join a pair of independent clauses. Instead, in each case, there is a
dependent clause that cannot form a complete sentence without its
partner.

In sentence a, the dependent clause is "While a lawyer prepared the
case." This would be a sentence fragment, and therefore a grammatical
error, if left on its own.

In sentence b, the dependent clause is "Because all the members were early."

In c, both "Dr. Matheson" and "speaking as head of the hospital's
medical council" are dependent clauses. In fact, the entire sentence
is incomplete: what exactly did Dr. Matheson do in his capacity as
head of the hospital's medical council?

And in sentence d, as we mentioned before, there is no dependent
clause. The clauses are both independent and therefore ought to stand
on their own. It is an error to splice them together with a comma.

Regards,

leapinglizard
fully-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Thank you so very much.  I understood your whole message.  Again, Thanks

Comments  
Subject: Re: Grammer
From: archae0pteryx-ga on 05 Apr 2005 23:32 PDT
 
Grammar.
Subject: Re: Grammer
From: myoarin-ga on 06 Apr 2005 19:47 PDT
 
Tryx,
Correct spelling is just a social convention.  The great minds
understand what is meant.  I won't reflect on the great German
spelling reform, but that reminds me of the story about the young
Harvard grad in New York, who found a girl sobbing in the lobby of a
hotel and tried to comfort her, asking what was wrong.
"He called me an haitch!" Sob!  He thought a moment and then replied: 
"I think you mean a double-u."

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