In today’s lesson, we’re going to teach you about run-on sentences, how to identify run-on sentences, and how to fix them.
What is a run-on sentence?
Run-on sentences happen when two or more complete sentences are combined without using proper punctuation or conjunctions.
Examples:
- I’m exhausted I can’t study anymore.
- Let’s go to the cinema I want to see the new Marvel movie.
- My boyfriend took me out for dinner we ate sushi.
All three of these sentences are run-on sentences. They are incorrect. We need to use proper punctuation or conjunctions to fix these sentences.
Types of run-on sentences
There are two types of run-on sentences: fused sentences and comma splices.
Fused sentences
A fused sentence happens when independent clauses are combined without any punctuation or conjunctions to separate them.
Fused sentence example:
- My teacher marked my paper she said it was great.
Here we have two independent clauses.
Independent clause 1: My teacher marked my paper.
Independent clause 2: She said it was great.
These are two sentences that function separately and function on their own, so we can’t just combine them without adding proper punctuation, or a conjunction.
Comma splices
The other type of run-on sentence is a comma splice. And a comma splice happens when two or more independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a comma.
Comma splice example:
- Mom went shopping, she needed to get coffee and milk.
Many people will add a comma here instead of a period. And this is a mistake.
How can you identify a run-on sentence?
The best way to identify a run-on sentence is to check if there is more than one independent clause in the same sentence without punctuation or a conjunction.
Example 1: Roger needs us in the conference room the meeting is in an hour.
Example 2: Roger needs us in the conference room, the meeting is in an hour.
The sentence from the first example is a fused sentence. And in the second example with the comma, this would be a comma splice. And both of these are incorrect.
How to fix run-on sentences?
There are four different ways we can fix run-on sentences:
1. Make separate sentences.
- Roger needs us in the conference room. The meeting is in an hour.
The full stop indicates the end of the sentence. So now we have separated these into two independent clauses and this is correct.
2. Add a coordinating conjunction. (and, or, but, so, for, nor, yet)
Of course, make sure the coordinating conjunction makes sense in the sentence. You could say:
- Roger needs us in the conference room, and the meeting is in an hour.
Note: Remember to place a comma before the conjunction when joining two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction.
3. Add a semicolon if the sentences are closely related.
- Roger needs us in the conference room; the meeting is in an hour.
The reason Roger needs everyone in the conference room is because they’re having a meeting. So these sentences are closely related, and we can use a semicolon.
Note: When you use a semicolon, you do not capitalize the next word, just keep that in lowercase. Unless of course, it’s a word that always begins with a capital letter.
4. Add a subordinating conjunction.
- Roger needs us in the conference room because the meeting is in an hour.
Subordinating conjunctions are a bit more powerful than coordinating conjunctions. And we do not need to use a comma in this case.
More run-on sentence examples
Let’s look at our other examples from earlier and see how we can fix them.
Incorrect: I’m exhausted I can’t study anymore.
Correct: I’m exhausted; I can’t study anymore.
Incorrect: Let’s go to the cinema I want to see the new Marvel movie.
Correct: Let’s go to the cinema. I want to see the new Marvel movie.
Incorrect: The dog barked loudly and I covered my ears.
Correct: The dog barked loudly, and I covered my ears.
Ready to put your run-on sentence knowledge to the test? Take our run-on sentences quiz now and see how well you do!