what is wrong with my sentence structure?
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'With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.’ My gut feeling tells me that there is something wrong with this sentence. It looks like the sentence is too long. Can you tell me how I could make the sentence flow better? or help me figure out why it's wrong?
grammar sentence sentence-patterns
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
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'With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.’ My gut feeling tells me that there is something wrong with this sentence. It looks like the sentence is too long. Can you tell me how I could make the sentence flow better? or help me figure out why it's wrong?
grammar sentence sentence-patterns
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
'With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.’ My gut feeling tells me that there is something wrong with this sentence. It looks like the sentence is too long. Can you tell me how I could make the sentence flow better? or help me figure out why it's wrong?
grammar sentence sentence-patterns
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
'With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.’ My gut feeling tells me that there is something wrong with this sentence. It looks like the sentence is too long. Can you tell me how I could make the sentence flow better? or help me figure out why it's wrong?
grammar sentence sentence-patterns
grammar sentence sentence-patterns
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
asked Dec 7 at 9:01
grammarmess18
62
62
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Your sentence is an example of a runon or comma splice, which is probably why you feel that there is something wrong with it. In English classes in schools, students learn how to recognise and avoid such problematic syntax.
Basically a comma splice is two independent clauses, each with its own subject and predicate, joined by a comma. A simple example is:
?I love Paris, it's a beautiful city.
In your case, the two independent clauses are:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle
(subject: I)
Tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill
(subject: Tilting the pot way too much)
The way to fix a comma splice is to replace the comma with a full-stop or semi-colon. Alternatively, you can sometimes insert a conjunction. For example, but might just about fit here:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, but
tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.
Note that comma splices are not always considered wrong. There is a good short article on the topic on ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-comma-splice-1689897
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
Your sentence is an example of a runon or comma splice, which is probably why you feel that there is something wrong with it. In English classes in schools, students learn how to recognise and avoid such problematic syntax.
Basically a comma splice is two independent clauses, each with its own subject and predicate, joined by a comma. A simple example is:
?I love Paris, it's a beautiful city.
In your case, the two independent clauses are:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle
(subject: I)
Tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill
(subject: Tilting the pot way too much)
The way to fix a comma splice is to replace the comma with a full-stop or semi-colon. Alternatively, you can sometimes insert a conjunction. For example, but might just about fit here:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, but
tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.
Note that comma splices are not always considered wrong. There is a good short article on the topic on ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-comma-splice-1689897
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
Your sentence is an example of a runon or comma splice, which is probably why you feel that there is something wrong with it. In English classes in schools, students learn how to recognise and avoid such problematic syntax.
Basically a comma splice is two independent clauses, each with its own subject and predicate, joined by a comma. A simple example is:
?I love Paris, it's a beautiful city.
In your case, the two independent clauses are:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle
(subject: I)
Tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill
(subject: Tilting the pot way too much)
The way to fix a comma splice is to replace the comma with a full-stop or semi-colon. Alternatively, you can sometimes insert a conjunction. For example, but might just about fit here:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, but
tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.
Note that comma splices are not always considered wrong. There is a good short article on the topic on ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-comma-splice-1689897
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Your sentence is an example of a runon or comma splice, which is probably why you feel that there is something wrong with it. In English classes in schools, students learn how to recognise and avoid such problematic syntax.
Basically a comma splice is two independent clauses, each with its own subject and predicate, joined by a comma. A simple example is:
?I love Paris, it's a beautiful city.
In your case, the two independent clauses are:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle
(subject: I)
Tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill
(subject: Tilting the pot way too much)
The way to fix a comma splice is to replace the comma with a full-stop or semi-colon. Alternatively, you can sometimes insert a conjunction. For example, but might just about fit here:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, but
tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.
Note that comma splices are not always considered wrong. There is a good short article on the topic on ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-comma-splice-1689897
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
Your sentence is an example of a runon or comma splice, which is probably why you feel that there is something wrong with it. In English classes in schools, students learn how to recognise and avoid such problematic syntax.
Basically a comma splice is two independent clauses, each with its own subject and predicate, joined by a comma. A simple example is:
?I love Paris, it's a beautiful city.
In your case, the two independent clauses are:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle
(subject: I)
Tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill
(subject: Tilting the pot way too much)
The way to fix a comma splice is to replace the comma with a full-stop or semi-colon. Alternatively, you can sometimes insert a conjunction. For example, but might just about fit here:
With my brother standing by my side, I reached for the pot handle, but
tilting the pot way too much caused the boiling water to spill.
Note that comma splices are not always considered wrong. There is a good short article on the topic on ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-comma-splice-1689897
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
answered Dec 7 at 9:45
Shoe
24.9k43684
24.9k43684
add a comment |
add a comment |
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