Business Grammar: Fused Sentences
This statement contains a business grammar error. Find and correct it:
Hi David,
It is 9pm, I am still at work. My supplies still have not arrived here at my office. Is it possible they were shipped to my apartment by mistake?
Correction:
Hi David,
It is 9pm. I am still at work. My supplies still have not arrived here at my office. Is it possible they were shipped to my apartment by mistake?
(There should be a full stop – a period – after “9pm” indicating two separate sentences.)
Explanation:
Fused sentences and comma splices were, by far, the most common business writing grammar we saw in client writing last year. This particular error is increasing. A fused sentence, also called a comma splice error, incorrectly merges independent clauses with a comma.
Solution:
Do not merge two independent clauses together with only a comma. Each thought, “It is 9pm.” and “I am still at work.” should be its own sentence.
