Does 'I do not like you, I like Monika.' need a conjunction word or need to be broken into two sentences?

Question

I do not like you, I like Monika.

Is the sentence above okay? My concern is that there is no conjunction word between the two clauses.

Or should it instead be broken into two separate sentences?

I do not like you. I like Monika.

Answer 1

The quote is just fine with the comma. It's really up to you, but as Clare mentioned, it's OK or even preferable to use a comma when both phrases are short and meant to be read without much of a pause between the two.

If you use periods instead of a comma, it implies that there is more of a pause between the sentences.

You could use periods for dramatic effect in casual writing:

Best. Party. Ever.

A famous Latin quote can be written as follows:

He came, he saw, he conquered.

You could also use an emdash. This might be more typical in fiction-writing or casual writing. The emdash is very flexible and useful in situations like this:

I don't like you -- I like Monika.

A more formal or old-fashioned style would be to use a semicolon:

I don't like you; I like Monika.