Yes, it's a common mistake to link two independent clauses with a comma. That is called 'comma splice' or 'comma fault'.

You can use a period/full stop, a semicolon, or a comma with a coordinating conjunction to connect two independent clauses:

(comma splice/fault) "I went for a walk, she cooked a meal."

(correct) "I went for a walk. She cooked a meal."

(correct) "I went for a walk; she cooked a meal."

(correct) "I went for a walk, and she cooked a meal."

(correct) "When I went for a walk, she cooked a meal."

Note that, in the last sentence, 'When I went for a walk' is no longer an independent clause because you have used the conjunction 'when' - in other words, you've changed the independent clause 'I went for a walk' to a dependent clause 'when I went for a walk'. 

Sure, there are other ways you can use to join two independent clauses. Also, you may have noticed some people linked two short parallel clauses with a comma, for example, "It's cool, it's wonderful." ('deliberate splice')

So, don't misuse the useful comma,,,

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Comments

  • Thank you, Rajesh, dara, Onee, Evangelina!

  • "It is so noisy. I cannot sleep."

    "It's so noisy, so I cannot sleep."

    "Because it is so noisy, I cannot sleep."

    "Grammar is always interesting for me. However, master it needs miles to go."

    "Thanks for your useful blog, teacher Expector." :)

  • Xie xie admin. Smith. Educational as usual. Thanks for sharing!
  • You made it easy. :)

  • Many thanks, LUCI, almira, RK, Shoba!

  • I had some doubts about commas, and they are clear now.

    When we use commas, we have to be careful.

    Thank you for this post, Sir Expector.  :) 

  • Thanks Expector.. Its a very useful tip..

  • When I checked the blogs, I saw a post by Expector! I checked it, and it was really useful! Thank you for sharing this..Blog Guru :)
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