Writing 101: Common Errors With Commas

Whenever I’m giving writing tips, I always stress the importance of putting commas and full stops in the right place. So here are some tips to avoid common errors with commas.


Here’s something that I call the ‘Comma Splice’. I hope you find it useful.

A comma splice is when a comma is used between two main clauses where really a comma is not enough. Take a look at this example:

      It was great to see you last week, thanks for your hospitality.

This is not correct. What we have here are two full sentences, two complete thoughts, so that comma in the middle should be a full stop:

      It was great to see you last week. Thanks for your hospitality.

Another clue here is the word ‘Thanks’, which will always be the first word of a sentence. Unless it follows a conjunction like ‘and’, ‘so’, ‘but’, etc, as we see here:

      It was great to see you last week, and thanks for your hospitality.

Here are some more examples of this comma splice and how they should be corrected:

Wrong:  I ordered more disks, they will be delivered next week.

Right:    I ordered more disks, and they will be delivered next week.

Or:        I ordered more disks. They will be delivered next week.

Wrong:  Please look into this immediately, I need your report
by 28 November.

Right:    Please look into this immediately. I need your report
by 28 November.

Or:        Please look into this immediately and let me have your report
by 28 November.

Wrong:  We have removed clause 9, this is because of current market
conditions.

Right:     We have removed clause 9 because of current market
conditions.

Or:         We have removed clause 9. This is because of current market
conditions.

Tip: Read sentences out loud to hear the pace and rhythm.  This will help you get the punctuation in the right place.

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Shirley Taylor

Shirley Taylor is a popular keynote speaker and communication skills trainer. She delivers motivational and success keynotes like ‘Rock Your Role In Our High-Tech World’ and ‘Grow Your Business By Connecting Your Dots’. She is author of 12 books, including Model Business Letters, Emails and Other Business Documents seventh edition, which has been translated into 16 languages and sold over half a million copies worldwide.

Shirley is a high-energy and high-content speaker who engages with audiences quickly, and shows them how the strategies she teaches can easily be applied both personally and in the workplace. Her aim is to educate, inspire, inform and motivate individuals and teams to make a difference in the workplace and to communicate and lead with heart. Shirley was President of Asia Professional Speakers Singapore, and currently serves as 2017-18 President of the Global Speakers Federation.

Check out Shirley's popular signature business writing programme.

This post was originally published on Shirley Taylor blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author.
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