Can someone clear this up please?

Ambergold said:

Should this be written:

But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different, it was ingrained in his flint eyes.

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Hi Amber. You can place a semi-colon or period between "different" and "it."

Also, am I correct in thinking that a comma is only used with 'and' when there are two complete sentences either side?

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That's not the "only" use, though it's a great way to separate two complete sentences joined by "and."

As an aside, what are "flint eyes?" Did you mean "flinty?"

My take on this: they are all wrong.

Edited:
But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different; it was ingrained in his flinty eyes.

Edited:

It saddened her; her father had no idea she wasn’t strong. She was just a good pretender

Use semi-colon or period to avoid comma splice. "It saddened her" and "It was ingrained in his flinty eyes" are both complete, independent sentences. You want to use a comma, you must add a conjunction such as "and" after it.

Eh... ya'll beat me to the punch! What they said, Ambergold.

Hi ambergold,

I'm new at this, but I checked a grammar book I've been going through and I wonder if a colon or semicolon might be appropriate?

But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different: It was ingrained in his flint eyes.

According to the book I'm reading, in this type of sentence the structure permits (requires?) a full colon. But if I'm wrong and a comma is appropriate, then perhaps a semicolon would help set off the ending statement a little better?

But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different; it was ingrained in his flint eyes.

Best I can do right now, ambergold. (Anyone else?)

(By the way, the book is called "Grammatically Correct." It's written by Anne Stilman, and I picked it up at the library. It's touted as "The writer's essential guide to punctuation, spelling, style, usage and grammar." It seems very readable, although I've only given a cursory look at it so far).

All the best...

What Eryll said.

But kill the "But," and do you really mean "ingrained"? Think about it.

Faithful[COLOR=blue said:

But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different; it was ingrained in his flint eyes[/color]

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I'm faithful to Faithful's example.

So where ya been, Faithful? You should come around more often to keep us honest.

Medievalist said:

What Eryll said.

But kill the "But," and do you really mean "ingrained"? Think about it.

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Yes, the "but" sounds awkward, but still we don't know what precedes the sentence. The "but" may give the sentence a sense of continuity.

ErylRavenwell said:

My take on this: they are all wrong.

Edited:
But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different; it was ingrained in his flinty eyes.

Edited:

It saddened her; her father had no idea she wasn’t strong. She was just a good pretender

Use semi-colon or period to avoid comma splice. "It saddened her" and "It was ingrained in his flinty eyes" are both complete, independent sentences. You want to use a comma, you must add a conjunction such as "and" after it.

Click to expand...

I'm more partial to use a dash in place of the semi-colon. But then, I could be wrong.

I'd use a period. "But the moment he strode through the door, Faye could see that something was different. It was ingrained in his flint eyes." I have problems with ingrained and flint. Flint doesn't actually have a grain. To me, it's a mixed metaphor.

And here I'd use a semi-colon. "It saddened her; her father had no idea she wasn’t strong. She was just good a good pretender."

But that's just my opinion.