Breaking the Rules (1)
Grammar freaks have a saying:
- If you know the rules of grammar, you are allowed to break them.
In this lesson we will break a rule of grammar on purpose.
A Series of Very Short Clauses
Consider this famous sentence:
- I came, I saw, I conquered.
Is that sentence punctuated correctly? Absolutely not! By now you know that independent clauses cannot be joined by a comma. The correct punctuation is:
- I came; I saw; I conquered.
Nonetheless, many professional writers would agree that in this particular case, it is "acceptable" to join the clauses with commas, because the clauses are very short, and the sentence does seem to flow nicely when it's punctuated with commas instead of semicolons.
Here are some more examples:
- We danced, we laughed, we cried.
- The birds sang, the crickets chirped, the frogs croaked.
- The sun rose, the ice melted, the leaves dripped.
- I jumped, I skipped, I ran.
In this lesson, you will write a compound sentence with three independent clauses. Splice the clauses with commas.
Make sure the clauses are very short. Intransitive clauses with nothing but a subject and a verb work best.
Note: Keep in mind that you are writing a sentence that is grammatically incorrect! And you should probably never do it again—unless you become a professional writer. Only after you have mastered the rules of grammar are you allowed to break them! |
Instructions for the Quiz
Write a compound sentence with three short clauses. Splice your clauses with commas, as in this example:
- We laughed, we danced, we cried.
Caution: If the subject of your clauses is the same, you must repeat the subject each time! Study the following examples:
- Wrong: I ran, dribbled, and scored!
- Correct: I ran, I dribbled, I scored!