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It's certainly poor style, if not actually wrong, to join independent clauses with a comma when a semicolon or other punctuation would have sufficed. But interjections are usually offset from other clauses by commas, as in:

Dang, what do we do now?

It seems to me that this naturally applies to certain longer phrases, such as:

I don't know, what do we do?

In which "I don't know" functions as a single interjectory unit. According to usual style, that comma ought to be replaced, but to replace it subtly changes the pacing of the sentence, doesn't it? So, does a comma used in this fashion count as a splice or not?

Valid examples:

  • I'm sorry, who are you?
  • What the heck, you only live once.
  • You're welcome, it was my pleasure.

Invalid examples:

  • I'm sorry about that, what can I do?
  • What the heck is going on, these zombies are ruining my earlier example.
  • You are of course very welcome, I'd be happy to lend you my shotgun.
RegDwigнt
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Jon Purdy
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    I'm sorry, I don't understand your question. – Andy Nov 01 '10 at 05:34
  • You know, is it an error or not? – Jon Purdy Nov 01 '10 at 05:48
  • I think the last valid example is not. – Claudiu Nov 01 '10 at 14:11
  • @Claudiu: What makes you say that? I'll admit it seems perhaps a bit more awkward than the other two, but what I'm getting at with this question is why? What phrases are subject to this effect, if it is an effect at all? – Jon Purdy Nov 01 '10 at 17:58
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    @Jon: I think the reason is that "You're welcome" is a complete sentence - "You are welcome." "It was my pleasure" is also a complete sentence. Putting the two together with a comma seems exactly like a spliced comma. – Claudiu Nov 01 '10 at 20:09
  • @Claudiu: That can't be the only reason. "I am sorry" and "what the heck" are both totally valid complete sentences. – Jon Purdy Nov 01 '10 at 20:36
  • @Jon: Hmm.. maybe the sample sentence you gave just makes it sound wrong. For example, saying "You're welcome, who are you again?" sounds a bit better. we'll need someone else to chime in here – Claudiu Nov 01 '10 at 20:55
  • @Jon: "You're welcome" doesn't sound like an interjection to me - it sounds like a complete thought. (Yes, an interjection can be a complete thought, but "you're welcome" doesn't have that staccato, bursty, interjectiony feel.) I'd use a period there. – J.T. Grimes Nov 05 '10 at 16:38
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    Related: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3429/a-phrase-as-an-interjection – Marthaª Nov 09 '10 at 18:46
  • @Martha: Thanks for the link. It would seem no truly satisfactory answer exists for either of us. – Jon Purdy Nov 10 '10 at 07:49
  • Not to pick nits, but if style is (by definition?) subjective, can it be correctly described as "poor" or merely as "deviating from that which is most commonly encountered"? – MickeyfAgain_BeforeExitOfSO Dec 01 '11 at 14:42

5 Answers5

3

The basic statement that independent sentences are not to be connected by commas is disputed. Fowler, of all stylists, calls it superstition; he mentions several factors that may or may not be enough to warrant comma splices: short sentences, a strong link in thought, and the use of certain conjunctions that allow comma linking more than others. Perhaps there were other factors too.

Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
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Depending on the sentence, you could separate it into two sentences or use a colon, semi-colon, or (my favorite) a dash.

  • I'm sorry -- who are you?
  • What the heck? You only live once.
  • You're welcome; it was my pleasure.
Joshua Karstendick
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2

I think that technically speaking, these are indeed comma splices:

I'm sorry, who are you?

You're welcome, it was my pleasure.

This, however, is not:

What the heck, you only live once.

(Because "what the heck" is not a complete sentence.)

That said, I don't think using a comma with any of these is incorrect. Trying to punctuate them with something other than a comma would inevitably change their meaning, which would be way more incorrect than just living with a slight run-on sentence.

Community
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Marthaª
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Ahh the humble and under-used em dash (note the line utilized in "under-used" this is an "en" dash, ~half the width than the em (—) dash you require). This is the most appropriate way to punctuate independent clauses requiring the subtle pause of a comma, where greater emphasis needs to be placed on the subsequent component; however, don't overuse this crafty hyphen, it has a horrid reputation for being misplaced, changing the tempo or meaning of your sentence.

Adam FG
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  • A hyphen is not the same as an en dash, but yeah, an em dash usually works in this situation. – Jon Purdy Nov 05 '10 at 20:14
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    I think a dash of any sort changes the meaning. The difference is very subtle--I certainly can't articulate it--but it's there nonetheless. – Marthaª Nov 05 '10 at 21:34
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I'd argue that all of your examples are interjection phrases that should be punctuated as you have them in your examples. Consider the phrase "I'm sorry" in your first example. In context it isn't an independent clause. Alone, the sentence "I'm sorry" mean that you are remorseful; however, in the context of the example sentence, "I'm sorry" means something like I may be speaking out of line, but.... This is a dependent clause! In your second example, you could equivalently say: hell, you only live once. The punctuation is obvious when writing it like this. The last example is an exchange of pleasantries, such as: hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. That "you're welcome" is three words shouldn't change how you'd punctuate the sentence.

Jeff
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