When do you use a semicolon and comma?

Great response, Juliyahna! I'd also suggest you take a gander at the semicolon and comma tutorials, Izabella: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-colon-semicolon-and-more/introduction-to-semicolons/v/introduction-to-the-semicolon-the-colon-and-semicolon-punctuation-khan-academy https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-comma-and-the-apostrophe/introduction-to-commas/v/meet-the-comma-the-comma-punctuation-khan-academy

how is semicolon stronger than comma?

1) Visually it's stronger because it includes a dot. 2) Grammatically it implies a greater separation between the elements on either side than does a comma, and it can be used to link parts of a sentence, not merely to separate them. 3) Historically the existence of a semi-colon (instead of a comma) in the act admitting the Republic of Texas into the United States introduces the possibility that Texas could divide into several different states and thereby gain seats in the US senate if it so desired.

Why does Rosie sound so sad?

Because you are questioning her voice. That would make me sad too.

How is this sentence a run-on, and _*not*_ a sentence? _The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles, it lives in freshwater streams and lakes._ Thx, ~ GuardianGirl

It contains two distinct ideas: "_The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles_" and "_it lives in freshwater streams and lakes_". The sentence is a run-on because the two phrases are not joined by a conjunction. The sentence can be rewritten as follows: "The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles, _*and*_ it lives in freshwater streams and lakes." "The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles. _*It*_ lives in freshwater streams and lakes." "The dwarf caiman, _*which lives in freshwater streams and lakes*_, is the smallest of all crocodiles."

Is a semicolon BETTER to use than a comma?

Well, it depends on what would be grammatically correct in the sentence. Since you asked this question on a video about comma splices... INCORRECT: My sister is tall, she's terrible at limbo. CORRECT: My sister is tall; she's terrible at limbo. CORRECT: My sister is tall, so she's terrible at limbo. CORRECT: My sister is tall. She's terrible at limbo. Again, it depends on the rules which apply to the sentence's grammar. Here's an example where a comma's better than a semicolon: INCORRECT: I like cake; chocolate; and cookies. CORRECT: I like cake, chocolate, and cookies. Hope this helped!

So "I love spring I love summer" would be a run-on sentence and "I love spring and summer" is the fixed version?

Yes, there is not a proper form of punctuation or conjunction between the two clauses in your first example. Your second example is correct.

Can you use semi-comma and comma in the same paragraph

You can use semi-colons and commas in the same paragraph, and even in the same sentence - as long as your sentences follow conventions and make sense.

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Course: Grammar > Unit 9

Lesson 2: Fragments and run-ons

Run-ons and comma splices

Name: Run-ons and comma splices
Uploaded: 2016-08-23T18:57:02Z
Description: A run-on sentence doesn’t separate any of its independent clauses with the punctuation that it needs, and a comma splice incorrectly separates two independent clauses with a comma, instead of a comma-and-coordinating-conjunction.

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A run-on sentence doesn’t separate any of its independent clauses with the punctuation that it needs, and a comma splice incorrectly separates two independent clauses with a comma, instead of a comma-and-coordinating-conjunction.

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Izabella Sotelo
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Izabella Sotelo's post “When do you use a semicol...”
When do you use a semicolon and comma?
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(10 votes)
Answer
- David Rheinstrom
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to David Rheinstrom's post “Great response, Juliyahna...”
  Great response, Juliyahna!
  
  I'd also suggest you take a gander at the semicolon and comma tutorials, Izabella:
  
  https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-colon-semicolon-and-more/introduction-to-semicolons/v/introduction-to-the-semicolon-the-colon-and-semicolon-punctuation-khan-academy
  
  https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/punctuation-the-comma-and-the-apostrophe/introduction-to-commas/v/meet-the-comma-the-comma-punctuation-khan-academy
  Comment on David Rheinstrom's post “Great response, Juliyahna...”
  (31 votes)
pirwitz1
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to pirwitz1's post “I have two questions! :) ...”
I have two questions! :)

1. When doing a run on sentence why can't you use the word 'and' in it?

2. When you did 'we bought nails, we bought hammers' cant you do 'we bought nails, we also bought hammers'?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on pirwitz1's post “I have two questions! :) ...”
(10 votes)
Answer
- logan katcher🇺🇸✝️
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to logan katcher🇺🇸✝️'s post “they could of said "we bo...”
  they could of said "we bought nails and A hammer
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  (1 vote)
GuardianGirl5
Posted a year ago. Direct link to GuardianGirl5's post “How is this sentence a ru...”
How is this sentence a run-on, and not a sentence?

The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles, it lives in freshwater streams and lakes.

Thx,
~ GuardianGirl
Button navigates to signup pageComment on GuardianGirl5's post “How is this sentence a ru...”
(6 votes)
Answer
- 🅻🅸🅶🅷🆃BENDER
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to 🅻🅸🅶🅷🆃BENDER's post “It contains two distinct ...”
  It contains two distinct ideas: "The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles" and "it lives in freshwater streams and lakes". The sentence is a run-on because the two phrases are not joined by a conjunction.
  
  The sentence can be rewritten as follows:
  
  "The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles, and it lives in freshwater streams and lakes."
  
  "The dwarf caiman is the smallest of all crocodiles. It lives in freshwater streams and lakes."
  
  "The dwarf caiman, which lives in freshwater streams and lakes, is the smallest of all crocodiles."
  Comment on 🅻🅸🅶🅷🆃BENDER's post “It contains two distinct ...”
  (11 votes)
Arushi Reisha
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Arushi Reisha's post “how is semicolon stronger...”
how is semicolon stronger than comma?
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(10 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “1) Visually it's stronger...”
  1) Visually it's stronger because it includes a dot.
  2) Grammatically it implies a greater separation between the elements on either side than does a comma, and it can be used to link parts of a sentence, not merely to separate them.
  3) Historically the existence of a semi-colon (instead of a comma) in the act admitting the Republic of Texas into the United States introduces the possibility that Texas could divide into several different states and thereby gain seats in the US senate if it so desired.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (4 votes)
Giselle
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Giselle's post “Is a semicolon BETTER to ...”
Is a semicolon BETTER to use than a comma?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(5 votes)
Answer
- Johanna
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Johanna's post “Well, it depends on what ...”
  Well, it depends on what would be grammatically correct in the sentence. Since you asked this question on a video about comma splices...
  
  INCORRECT: My sister is tall, she's terrible at limbo.
  CORRECT: My sister is tall; she's terrible at limbo.
  CORRECT: My sister is tall, so she's terrible at limbo.
  CORRECT: My sister is tall. She's terrible at limbo.
  
  Again, it depends on the rules which apply to the sentence's grammar. Here's an example where a comma's better than a semicolon:
  INCORRECT: I like cake; chocolate; and cookies.
  CORRECT: I like cake, chocolate, and cookies.
  
  Hope this helped!
  Button navigates to signup page
  (13 votes)
Saltedmashedpotato
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Saltedmashedpotato's post “Is there any way that a s...”
Is there any way that a sentence can start with *because. Without adding anything to separate the sentence.
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(7 votes)
Answer
Hawwa Hans
Posted 10 months ago. Direct link to Hawwa Hans's post “So "I love spring I love ...”
So
"I love spring I love summer"
would be a run-on sentence and
"I love spring and summer"
is the fixed version?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Hawwa Hans's post “So "I love spring I love ...”
(5 votes)
Answer
- Rishik
  Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to Rishik's post “Yes, there is not a prope...”
  Yes, there is not a proper form of punctuation or conjunction between the two clauses in your first example. Your second example is correct.
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  (3 votes)
liuzixin2022
Posted 7 months ago. Direct link to liuzixin2022's post “Why does Rosie sound so s...”
Why does Rosie sound so sad?
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(7 votes)
Answer
- EnderBlade
  Posted 2 months ago. Direct link to EnderBlade's post “Because you are questioni...”
  Because you are questioning her voice. That would make me sad too.
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  (2 votes)
agutierr0808
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to agutierr0808's post “Can you use semi-comma an...”
Can you use semi-comma and comma in the same paragraph
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(3 votes)
Answer
- kemi
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to kemi's post “You can use semi-colons a...”
  You can use semi-colons and commas in the same paragraph, and even in the same sentence - as long as your sentences follow conventions and make sense.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (7 votes)
TeenJinxy
Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to TeenJinxy's post “XD two seconds before Da...”
XD two seconds before David said or you can use a semicolon i said "Or you can use a semicolon". We are in perfect sync!!
Button navigates to signup pageComment on TeenJinxy's post “XD two seconds before Da...”
(6 votes)
Answer

Video transcript

preciou- [Voiceover] Hello grammarians, hello Rosie! - [Voiceover] Hi David! - [Voiceover] How are you? - [Voiceover] Good, how are you? - [Voiceover] Good, today we are going to talk about run-ons and comma splices. So a run-on sentence is what happens when two independent clauses are put together in one sentence without any punctuation or coordinating conjunctions like and, but, or. So Rosie what is a good example of a run-on sentence? - [Voiceover] We bought nails we bought a hammer. - [Voiceover] Yeah, so we can see that this sentence contains two individual, independent clauses. So we've got number one, we bought nails, number two, we bought a hammer. Now there are a couple of different ways we could make this a legal sentence, but right now as it stands this is a run-on, right? - [Voiceover] So there are a couple of ways we could fix this sentence. One way would be just to add a semicolon in there. So you've got two independent clauses. - [Voiceover] We bought nails, semicolon, we bought a hammer. - [Voiceover] Right. Another way you could do that would be to just add a comma and then the conjunction and, so you're connecting those two clauses. - [Voiceover] So this is a run-on sentence without this and, and this comma, and it's called that because it's sort of like a runaway train, you know, it doesn't have enough stoppage in it is how I would put it. So that's what a run-on sentence is, and now I wanna talk about comma splicing. And the word splice, not a super-common term if you are neither a sailor or a film editor. But splicing is a word that originally meant to take two ropes, untangle them, and weave them back together. It's a sailor's term related to rope lines. In our case for grammar, a splice, a comma splice is an inappropriate joining of two independent clauses by using a comma. So Rosie, this is Li'l Tony, Crime Fighting Pony. - [Voiceover] Right. - [Voiceover] So for example, in this sentence, I love Li'l Tony 2: Pony Up 2 the Streets, it's my favorite movie in the Li'l Tony franchise, a very fine series of non-existent films. The problem with this sentence is that right now it's got this comma in the middle of it, and this comma inappropriately joins these two independent clauses. Oh, and this whole time I forgot to say two independent clauses inappropriately joined by a comma. So okay, so we've got independent clause number one, remember this thing could stand on its own as a sentence, I love the name of this movie. I love Li'l Tony 2: Pony Up 2 the Streets. That could be its own sentence on its own, end it with a period, period. It's my favorite movie in the Li'l Tony franchise, period. But we have these two independent clauses, right? We cannot join them with just a comma. We could say I love Li'l Tony 2: Pony Up 2 the Streets, comma, and it's my favorite movie in the Li'l Tony franchise or as we did in the previous example, we could also throw in a semicolon, which is I think what I would rather do. I love Li'l Tony 2: Pony Up 2 the Streets; semicolon, it's my favorite movie in the Li'l Tony franchise. And Rosie, you will notice that I have underlined these titles. - [Voiceover] Oh yes. - [Voiceover] Because these are the names of published works, even though we made them up. - [Voiceover] Right, exactly. - [Voiceover] But okay, but for real I would love to see like a Li'l Tony, Crime Fighting Pony series. - [Voiceover] Totally. - [Voiceover] So to review, when you're looking at a run-on, you're looking at two independent clauses that are together in one sentence, that are joined inappropriately without punctuation or conjunctions. So, we bought nails we bought a hammer. There's not really a place to know where the division between clauses is in that, and so the thing to do is either to add some kind of, is to add a comma and a conjunction, or to combine them using a semicolon. The same deal with a comma splice, it's just that a comma splice is a run-on that hasn't been fixed all the way. - [Voiceover] Right, the comma's being used but we need some bigger punctuation in place of the comma, something like a semicolon, in order to make a distinction between those two independent clauses. - [Voiceover] So that is how you identify and fix run-ons and comma splices. You can learn anything, David out. - [Voiceover] Rosie out.