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What Are Run On Sentence1

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12 views7 pages

What Are Run On Sentence1

Uploaded by

Bella Shye
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What are run-on sentences?

To understand run-on sentences, you first have to understand independent and dependent clauses. A clause is a basic
unit of language that includes a subject and a predicate (which requires at least one verb). A single clause alone, with
proper punctua on, is a complete sentence.

 I fell asleep.
 The TV woke me up.

If you want to connect two or more clauses together in English, you need to use the right grammar. Usually, you can
connect clauses correctly by adding a comma with a conjunc on or adding a semicolon to the sentence.

 I fell asleep, but the TV woke me up.


 I fell asleep; the TV woke me up.

If you don’t connect the clauses with a semicolon or comma with a conjunc on, the sentence is incorrect. These
mistakes are called run-on sentences.

Incorrect - I fell asleep the TV woke me up.

Likewise, if you use too many conjunc ons or use them incorrectly (for example, without the comma), that’s also a run-
on sentence.

Incorrect - I fell asleep but the TV woke me up and now I want to sleep again but I can’t.
3 ways to fix a run-on sentence
A fused sentence, also known as a run-on sentence, occurs when two independent clauses are connected in a sentence
without the presence of appropriate punctua on, such as a semicolon or a period1. Let’s break it down:

1. Independent Clauses: These are complete thoughts that can stand alone as sentences. They contain both a
subject and a verb. For example:

o “Sheila bought the stuff for the party.”

o “The barn smelled of hay and horses.”

2. Fused Sentence Example 1:

o Original: “The barn was very large it smelled of hay and horses.”

o Fix 1: “The barn was very large; it smelled of hay and horses.”

o Fix 2: “The barn was very large, and it smelled of hay and horses.”

3. Fused Sentence Example 2:

o Original: “You can only be young once you can be immature always.”

o Fix: “You can only be young once, but you can be immature always.”

4. Repair Strategies:

o Use a semicolon between the independent clauses.

o Insert a comma and a coordina ng conjunc on (such as “and,” “but,” “for,” or “yet”)

o Break the line into two separate sentences.

o Use a semicolon followed by a conjunc ve adverb (e.g., “therefore,” “however”).

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