Evaluating Sentences for Errors

Abc

Read each sentence and determine if it is an example of a comma splice or a fused sentence, or if it is

grammatically correct as written. Choose the answers from the drop-down menus

Lucia walks on the beach every morning, today she saw two turtles headed for the ocean.

Lucia loves turtles, and she invited her friend Lena to walk with her.

Lena joined Lucia the next day she was hoping the turtles would appear again.

The girls didn't see any turtles, but they did see a leaping dolphin

Answer and Explanation:

A comma splice is the use of a comma alone to join sentences that were originally independent. It is a common mistake, but it should be avoided. Notice how that happens in sentence 1:

Lucia walks on the beach every morning, today she saw two turtles headed for the ocean.

Notice how the comma breaks the sentence in a strange manner. One way to correct that would be by adding the conjunctions "and" or "but" after the comma.

A fused sentence happens when we put together two independent clauses with no punctuation or conjunction to connect them at all. That is what happens in sentence 3:

Lena joined Lucia the next day she was hoping the turtles would appear again.

This can be correct by adding a semicolon or a comma plus a conjunction.

Sentences 2 and 4 are correct as they are. They use commas and conjunctions to connect the independent sentences:

Lucia loves turtles, and she invited her friend Lena to walk with her.

The girls didn't see any turtles, but they did see a leaping dolphin.