Run-on Sentences: What Are They and How to Fix

RUN - ON SENTENCES - The #1 Offender

                                                                                                            male student writing with running pages

The #1 error that English/ESL students make when writing their papers is Run-On Sentences. The #2 error is Fragments (which we discussed in an earlier Module), and #3 is generally Verb Tense errors.

This page deals with Run-On Sentences.  As you are writing and re-writing your Essay #2, you will want to check your paragraphs for any run-on sentences. 

 

What is a Run-on Sentence? Two or more sentences joined together with improper punctuation between them.

 

There are Two (2) kinds of Run-on sentences: 

  • Fused Sentences - two complete sentences brought together with no punctuation
  • Comma Splices - two complete sentences connected only by a comma 

 

There are Four (4) ways to correct Run-On sentences (as shown in the video below).

  • Put a period in between the sentences and start the new sentence with a capital letter.
  • Insert a comma and a Coordinating Conjunction in between the two sentences (FANBOYS) - For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, or So.
  • Put a semicolon in between the sentences (if the thoughts are close in meaning); after the semicolon - no capital letter with first word.
  • Make one sentence into a Subordinating (or Dependent) clause, starting with a Subordinating Conjunction.

 

Click on the LINK below for an excellent five-minute lesson in Run-on Sentences and How to Correct them.

Click on the RED LINK, not the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR2O4yeqE_w Links to an external site.