What this lesson covers
- The one test: subject, verb, stands alone
- The three combinations, and the joins each one allows
- Why a comma splice sounds completely fine out loud
- A practice question with the clock running
Worked examples
The questions the video works, written out: the setup, each step, the answer and the trap.
0:17Example 1
Volunteers cleared the trail in a single ___ bridge repairs will take most of the summer. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A) weekend; the B) weekend, the C) weekend the D) weekend; and the
- Ignore the four marks and test side one: Volunteers cleared the trail in a single weekend. Subject, Volunteers. Verb, cleared. It stands alone, so it is a complete sentence.
- Test side two: the bridge repairs will take most of the summer. Subject, repairs. Verb, will take. It also stands alone, so it is complete.
- Complete plus complete allows exactly three joins: a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so). A comma by itself is not on the list.
- Match the choices to the list. Only A, the semicolon on its own, is a legal join for two complete sentences.
Answer: A) weekend; the
Two complete sentences can share a semicolon, so A is correct. B is the comma splice, and it is the trap because it sounds completely natural read aloud: a comma cannot hold two sentences on its own. C fuses the two sentences with no mark at all, and D stacks a semicolon and the word and, when the semicolon has already done the joining.
2:15Example 2
The archive digitized ten thousand negatives last ___ fewer than half have been catalogued. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A) year, but B) year, C) year but D) year; but
- Side one: The archive digitized ten thousand negatives last year. Subject, archive. Verb, digitized. Complete.
- Side two: fewer than half have been catalogued. Subject, fewer than half. Verb, have been catalogued. Complete.
- Complete plus complete again, so the legal joins are a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction. Every choice keeps the word year and changes only the mark after it, so check which mark is on the list.
- A is comma plus but, a coordinating conjunction: legal. B is a comma alone. C is but with no comma. D is a semicolon followed by but.
Answer: A) year, but
The conjunction but earns the comma, so comma plus but is the one legal join offered. B is the splice again. C is the trap for students who know a comma splice is wrong and overcorrect by deleting the comma: a coordinating conjunction joining two complete sentences needs the comma in front of it. D repeats the double join from the first question, a semicolon that does not want a conjunction after it.
Chapters
- 0:04Is each side a sentence?
- 0:17The setup
- 0:49Test both sides
- 1:45The three combinations
- 2:15Your turn
- 2:49Three ways this goes wrong
- 3:19Subject, verb, stands alone
Lesson transcript
The narration of the video, word for word, under its chapter headings.
0:17The setup
Every punctuation question starts with one test. Is each side of the boundary a sentence on its own? Subject, verb, stands alone. That is it.
0:49Test both sides
Side one. Volunteers cleared the trail in a single weekend. Subject, volunteers. Verb, cleared. It stands alone, so it is complete. Side two. The bridge repairs will take most of the summer. Subject, repairs. Verb, will take. Also complete. Two complete sentences. That combination takes a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus and, but, or so. A comma by itself is a splice. So the answer is the semicolon. Now the wrong answers. B is that comma by itself, the splice, and it is the most common error on the whole test. C runs the two sentences together with no punctuation at all. D puts a semicolon and the word and side by side. The semicolon already does the joining, so the conjunction has nothing left to do.
1:45The three combinations
Three combinations, and only three. Complete plus complete needs a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction. Complete plus fragment takes a comma. Fragment plus complete takes a comma. Learn those and the marks stop being a guess.
2:15Your turn
Your turn. Test both sides, then pick the join. Ten seconds. A. Both sides are complete, so a comma by itself will not hold them. Comma plus but is the legal join. C drops the comma. D uses a semicolon that does not want a conjunction after it.
2:49Three ways this goes wrong
Three ways this goes wrong. Trusting your ear, because a splice sounds fine out loud. Treating a long clause as a fragment, when length is not the test. And reading however as a conjunction. It is not one.
3:19Subject, verb, stands alone
Test each side. Subject, verb, stands alone.
Read the written version: the Boundaries (Punctuation) strategy guide, then try 25 hard Boundaries (Punctuation) questions with full explanations. Both are free, no account needed.