Many of us have seen a run-on sentence or what we thought might be one. Even if we couldn’t explain technically why it was a run-on, we intuited that such a sentence included elements that were either improperly joined or insufficiently separated.<\/p>\n
In this discussion, we’ll further review run-on sentences as well as different ways to correct them.<\/p>\n
A run-on sentence is one in which two or more complete, independent clauses are joined without a word or punctuation mark that identifies them as complete.<\/p>\n
The primary culprits of a run-on sentence are the comma splice and the fused sentence. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses<\/a> are connected (spliced together) with only a comma. A fused sentence “fuses” independent clauses with no punctuation.<\/p>\n Comma splice: <\/strong>The boy runs especially fast, he is also able to change direction quickly.<\/em><\/p>\n Fused sentence: <\/strong>The train schedule is being revised commuters will now have more express-route options.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you have seen sentences like these before and called them out as being run-ons, you were correct. As we’ve touched on, the problem here is that independent clauses need markers that identify them as such when two or more appear in a sentence. Such indicators might be a coordinating<\/a> or subordinating<\/a> conjunction or a punctuation mark that helps acknowledge the clauses as independent.<\/p>\n In our first example, we have the following two independent clauses:<\/p>\n The boy runs especially fast.<\/em><\/p>\n He is also able to change direction quickly.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n To avoid a run-on sentence with a comma splice, we might treat the clauses in the following ways.<\/p>\n Comma with coordinating conjunction:<\/strong> The boy runs especially fast,<\/u> and<\/u> he is able to change direction quickly.<\/em><\/p>\n Period:<\/strong> The boy runs especially fast.<\/u> He is also able to change direction quickly.<\/em><\/p>\n Semicolon:<\/strong> The boy runs especially fast;<\/u> he is also able to change direction quickly.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Our second example also has two independent clauses:<\/p>\n The train schedule is being revised.<\/em><\/p>\n Commuters will now have more express-route options.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n With this example, we have even more ways we might join the clauses grammatically.<\/p>\n Comma with coordinating conjunction:<\/strong> The train schedule is being revised,<\/u> so<\/u> commuters will now have more express-route options.<\/p>\n Subordinating conjunction:<\/strong> Because<\/u> the train schedule is being revised, commuters will now have more express-route options. (The conjunction because<\/em> makes its clause dependent.)<\/p>\n Period:<\/strong> The train schedule is being revised.<\/u> Commuters will now have more express-route options.<\/p>\n Semicolon:<\/strong> The train schedule is being revised;<\/u> commuters will now have more express-route options.<\/p>\n Colon:<\/strong> The train schedule is being revised:<\/u> Commuters will now have more express-route options.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As precise and eloquent writers, we also want to be mindful of comma splices that can sneak into quotations and make them run-on sentences.<\/p>\n Comma splice in run-on quotation:<\/strong> “The guests will be here at seven p.m.,” Bartholomew said, “please be sure your quarters are orderly before they arrive.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The two clauses in this quotation are both independent, so we need to properly punctuate them.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Revised:<\/strong> “The guests will be here at seven p.m.,” Bartholomew said. “Please be sure your quarters are orderly before they arrive.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n When we are correcting a comma splice or a fused sentence, we want to be sure we apply a remedy that makes grammatical sense.<\/p>\n For example, consider the following sentence:<\/p>\n I don’t think I’ll go to the presentation tonight, it always bores me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here we have two independent clauses ungrammatically spliced by a comma. One way to fix it could be to separate the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Let’s try that:<\/p>\n I don’t think I’ll go to the presentation tonight,<\/u> and<\/u> it always bores me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n We’ve resolved the comma splice, but does the revised sentence make sense? Not really. However, we can see the two clauses still have a relation that we can connect. Let’s try other methods we’ve mentioned:<\/p>\n Subordination: <\/strong>I don’t think I’ll go to the presentation tonight, because it always bores me.<\/p>\n Period: <\/strong>I don’t think I’ll go to the presentation tonight. It always bores me.<\/p>\n Semicolon: <\/strong>I don’t think I’ll go to the presentation tonight; it always bores me.<\/p>\n Colon: <\/strong>I don’t think I’ll go to the presentation tonight: It always bores me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n All four are viable alternatives for expressing the two independent clauses as connected with logical and grammatically correct interrelation.<\/p>\n There will be times when a comma splice is acceptable within a particular expression or construction. In many cases, the splice will be used to achieve a certain rhythm or creative effect, especially in fiction or narrative reporting:<\/p>\n She was bold, she was fierce, she was proud.<\/em><\/p>\n He lived, he loved, he even dared to hope.<\/em><\/p>\n The higher they climb, the farther they fall.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The key to such usage is knowing which grammatical rule is being broken and why. When properly placed and sparingly applied, such phrasing can add to vibrant writing.<\/p>\n Commas with Independent Clauses<\/a> Determine if each of the following is a complete sentence or a run-on sentence. If it is a run-on sentence, identify the problem (comma splice or fused sentence) and suggest a proper revision.<\/p>\n 1. A cat is in the yard let’s give it something to eat.<\/p>\n 2. The driveway is a sheet of ice, please spread some salt on it.<\/p>\n 3. The filming will begin tomorrow; Uri will be the director.<\/p>\n 4. The clowns are in the car I want to see them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. A cat is in the yard let’s give it something to eat. run-on sentence (fused)<\/strong> 2. The driveway is a sheet of ice, please spread some salt on it. run-on sentence (comma splice)<\/strong> 3. The filming will begin tomorrow; Uri will be the director. complete sentence<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. The clowns are in the car I want to see them. run-on sentence (fused)<\/strong> Many of us have seen a run-on sentence or what we thought might be one. Even if we couldn’t explain technically why it was a run-on, we intuited that such a sentence included elements that were either improperly joined or insufficiently separated. In this discussion, we’ll further review run-on sentences as well as different ways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clauses-sentences","category-commas"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5749"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5752,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions\/5752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Correcting a Run-On Sentence: Determine the Context<\/h2>\n
When a Comma Splice Is OK<\/h2>\n
Related Topics<\/h3>\n
\nConnecting Sentences with Commas and Semicolons<\/a><\/p>\nPop Quiz<\/h2>\n
Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n
\nSome possible revisions:<\/em>
\nA cat is in the yard, so let’s give it something to eat.<\/em>
\nA cat is in the yard. Let’s give it something to eat.<\/em>
\nA cat is in the yard; let’s give it something to eat.<\/em>
\nA cat is in the yard: Let’s give it something to eat.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nSome possible revisions:<\/em>
\nThe driveway is a sheet of ice, so please spread some salt on it.<\/em>
\nThe driveway is a sheet of ice. Please spread some salt on it.<\/em>
\nThe driveway is a sheet of ice; please spread some salt on it.<\/em>
\nThe driveway is a sheet of ice: Please spread some salt on it.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nSome possible revisions:<\/em>
\nThe clowns are in the car, and I want to see them.<\/em>
\nThe clowns are in the car. I want to see them.<\/em>
\nThe clowns are in the car; I want to see them.<\/em>
\nThe clowns are in the car: I want to see them.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"