Correct usage not/then.

Question

1. She forces him to help steal the money, then she blackmails him and takes it for herself.

2. He'd lost all his money on the pools, not that he cared about losing anyway.

Are the first and second examples comma splices? Then and not. When is the usage with then,that, not dependent and when should it start a new sentence ?

You can have not starting a sentence, right.

Not winning the lottery was his only goal.

not that he cared about losing anyway.

She applied for the position and got the job. Then later found out she'd won the lottery.

then she blackmails him and takes it for herself.

same thing right ?

Englishmaven · Accepted Answer

There are no comma splices except in the following:

She applied for the position and got the job. Then later found out she'd won the lottery. (This is a fragment.)

then she blackmails him and takes it for herself. (Capitalize the first letter of a sentence.)

Nel0506 · Answer

This site has a list of words that usually signal a dependent clause.

https://www.aims.edu/student/online-writing-lab/grammar/independent-vs-dependent

In response to your questions:

1. You will see that "that" is listed in the link above, and "not that" is basically the same thing. It is a clue to a dependent clause.

2. In school, I was taught that we have to put a semicolon or comma before "then" + independent clause. Maybe seeing "Then" at the beginning of a sentence caused you confusion.

Regards

Correct usage not/then.

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