Hi, Grammatically you're right. But if you imagine a spoken language, "Je tiens à lui, je ne veux pas le perdre." is a way to translate the "fluidity" of the spoken language : to translate the link between the two sentences, there will be nearly no pause between them. So actually these sentence doesn't seem incorrect, to my mind. Also : the semi-colon in less employed in today's French. (sorry for my pretty bad English)

Hi Thomas, thank you for your answer. I totally agree with and ultimatly come to the same conclusion. And by the way, I am also sorry for my English. How I wish it was better.... I have been thinking about your sentence In French, but I think it is pretty much the same thing in English, the semicolon marks a more important break than the comma. Unlike the point, the voice does not fall completely between both proposals. Here, it would make perfect sense to “push aside” the grammatical rules. Indeed, the semi-colon would break the rhythm of the sentence. Your sentence, in French, is beautiful and you have to read it aloud to be aware of that. Here it would be interesting to have a longer extract of the text. The author definitely wants to convey something. Some authors are well-known for using these techniques of unconventional writing style, especially in poetry. I think here about Albert Camus, whose punctuation is sometimes surprising (to say the least) and Paul Eluard. Here is an example where Paul Eluard drops the punctuation. Notre vie tu l'as faite elle est ensevelie Aurore d'une ville un beau matin de mai Sur laquelle la terre a refermé son poing Aurore en moi dix-sept années toujours plus claires Et la mort entre en moi comme dans un moulin Paul ÉLUARD. (1947) « Notre vie » Having said that, it is one thing for an author to break the grammatical rule when it comes to literature and style. It is another matter for the “man in the street” to do so.

You can find an explanation of this in French, here: http://correspo.ccdmd.qc.ca/Corr8-1/Virgule.html As far as I can understand it, your sentence seems to be incorrect in French. I cannot find a question which enables me to answer by this sentence. So, even in French, it should have been a semi-colon. Having said that, you can see that the case of the comma seems to be much more difficult in French than in English. Please note that grammar is not my field of expertise. I hope a French teacher will soon answer your question.

Good morning, I told you about Albert Camus in French and his very challenging way to use punctuation and sentence structure. I happen to put out a text on my blog today and I thought you might be interested in. You can find the French version, the English translation (done by a professional translator, not me) at the end of the post, as well as an audio recording of French text. Here is the link: http://frenchwithfabrice.over-blog.com/2015/07/litterature-francaise-extraits-lettre-d-albert-camus-a-son-instituteur.html I hope you are having a nice summer time. Sincerely yours, Fabrice

there is a different between how you put an English sentence and a frensh sentence .