Comma splice Jr. advises using a semicolon, not a comma, to join two grammatically complete clauses, except when the clauses are "very short" and "similar in form", for example: Comma splices are similar to run-on sentences, which join two independent clauses without any punctuation and without a conjunction such as "and", "but" "for", etc. Sometimes the two types of sentences are treated differently based on the presence or absence of a comma, but most writers consider the comma splice as a special type of run-on sentence. According to "Garner's Modern English Usage": Comma splices often arise when writers use conjunctive adverbs (such
Punctuation to be more prominent) by using not differing height but rather a differing number of marks—aligned horizontally (or sometimes triangularly)—to signify a pause's value: one mark for a minor pause, two for a medium one, and three for a major. Most common were the "punctus", a comma-shaped mark, and a 7-shaped mark ("comma positura"), often used in combination. The same marks could be used in the margin to mark off quotations. In the late 8th century a different system emerged in France under the Carolingian dynasty. Originally indicating how the voice should be modulated when chanting the liturgy, the "positurae"