Sophie, A full stop is not necessarily "essential." The two sentences appear to be related enough to warrent an em dash or a semicolon. > ---------- > From: Sophie Johnson > Reply To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar > Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2001 6:45 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: A comma-splice? > > The comma cannot splice two independent sentences. A full stop between > them is essential: > > It doesn't matter what we have in common. We will always have > something to talk about. > > But that is the least of this student's problems. The more severe one > is in his non-sequitor. I should want to refer his `sentence' back to > him with a question something like: Did you intend to say: `Whether or > not we have anything in common, we will always have something to talk > about' ? (Authorial intent has to be established before the > punctuation of its statement can become an issue!) > > (Ed ... are you indulging a spot of leg pulling here?) > > Sophie > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Ed Vavra > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2001 7:43 PM > Subject: A comma-splice? > > I'd appreciate your comments about the last sentence in the > following. In particular, I would like to know if you consider it a > comma-splice, and, if so, what you would do about it (if anything) in > a student's writing? > > With all these people I have at least one thing in common, > either hair or eye color, or even disliking or liking the same people. > It doesn't matter what we have in common, we will always have > something to talk about. > > Thanks, > Ed V. > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/