This question already has an answer here:

I need help with the following sentence that I've encountered on the Wikipedia page titled "Literal and figurative language."


Another example (from engVid Youtube video):

I have one idea, I have another idea, but they are very much connected.

Can somebody please support or disprove such an exception to the comma splice rule (when you list ideas or something like that).

PS If you say that "his nose like a cherry" is not an independent clause, then if the first sentence were to be written as follows:

His cheeks were like roses, his nose was like a cherry...

would the comma still be acceptable/correct?

marked as duplicate by Edwin Ashworth, Drew, Community Oct 14 '15 at 12:28


  • Although note that the question title is misleading. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 13 '15 at 23:15
  • @Edwin That's the best I was able to come up with based on the data I had. You can edit it if you wish. And by the way, while the answer to the question "Is it grammatically correct to combine 2 phrases into 1 sentence?" is what I was looking for, the title of the question is misleading, not helpful and ambiguous. Both "You're welcome" and "have a nice day ahead" are independent clauses. You could also call them phrases in the sense "idiomatic or short, pithy expressions." – Siegfried Zaytsev Oct 14 '15 at 12:46
  • However, another meaning of phrase is "a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause." Ambiguous and unhelpful title. And misleading. Should have been edited a long time ago. – Siegfried Zaytsev Oct 14 '15 at 12:46

That's incorrect. Two independent clauses can have period. His cheeks were like roses. His nose was like a cherry.

If we want to connect them by 'and', we can use comma. His cheeks were like roses, and his nose was like a cherry.

  • So 'I came, I saw, I conquered' is wrong? This has been answered here before, and more accurately. I'll wait before downvoting. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 13 '15 at 22:56
  • @ Edwin Ashworth. Some grammatical rules are flexible for lyrics and poetry. That is called 'Poetic license'. – aswaaks Oct 13 '15 at 23:23
  • In the answer given previously is 'Strunk & White notes that splices are sometimes acceptable when the clauses are short and alike in form, such as: The gate swung apart, the bridge fell, the portcullis was drawn up.' This is prose (though emphatic in style). 'Two independent clauses must not be joined by a comma' is a useful rule-of-thumb, but no more than that. Author Lynne Truss observes: "So many highly respected writers observe the splice comma that a rather unfair rule emerges on this one: only do it if you're famous." She cites Samuel Beckett, E. M. Forster, and Somerset Maugham. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 14 '15 at 15:20
