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Do not link two independent clauses
with a comma (unless you also use a coordinating conjunction: and,
or, but, for,
nor, so, yet).
Instead use a period or semicolon, or rewrite the sentence. |
| Comma
splice |
How
to fix it |
| In
1952 Japan's gross national product was one third that of
France, by the late 1970s it was larger than the GNPs of France
and Britain combined. |
In
1952 Japan's gross national product was one third that of
France. By the late 1970s it was larger than the GNPs of France
and Britain combined. |
Diseased coronary arteries are often surgically
bypassed, however half of all bypass grafts fail within
ten years.
|
Diseased
coronary arteries are often surgically bypassed; however, half
of all bypass grafts fail within ten years. |
For more information on commas see Commas:
Punctuating Restrictive and Non-restrictive Modifiers and Punctuating
Coordinating Conjunctions and Sentence Adverbs, or take one
of the free grammar,
style, and style classes offered by the Writing Center.
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