Readers: In our previous segment, we talked about commas. We’re not done. People regularly trip over the comma splice. Every one of these sentences is wrong, and could be fixed by changing the comma to a period.
• I love going to the movies, it's so fun.
• She took the boy's cookies away, that was mean.
• The teacher was angry, the students were too loud.
• I think he's in love, he acts so weird now.
• We went to the store, we bought milk.
• I often walk the dogs on the beach, they love splashing in the waves.
• I can't wait to go on vacation, it will be hot and sunny.
• Thank you, your order has been placed. (Extra credit if you can identify the popular online seller that uses this mistake every time you buy something. Yeah. That one.)
Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/uRLzHIdMJjg
Next time: Everyone doesn’t like bad grammar. Who do?
Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we properly can credit you. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!