Run-On Sentences
From a Guide to Grammar and Writing (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/)
A RUN-ON SENTENCE has at least two parts, either one of which can stand by itself (called “independent
clauses”), but the two parts have been smooshed together instead of being properly connected. Sometimes the two
are separated by a comma, but when you use a comma to connect two independent clauses, it must be accompanied
by a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so).
It is important to realize that the length of a sentence really has nothing to do with whether a sentence is a runon or not; being a run-on is a structural flaw that can plague even a very short sentence:
The sun is high, put on some sunblock.
Correction: The sun is high, so put on some sunscreen.
An extremely long sentence, on the other hand, might ramble, but it can be otherwise sound, structurally.
Here are some typical run-on sentences:
This computer doesn't make sense to me, it came without a manual. (This type of run-on occurs when the
second of two independent clauses contains a pronoun that connects it to the first independent clause.)
Mr. Nguyen has sent his four children to Ivy-league colleges, however, he has sacrificed his health
working day and night in that dusty bakery. (When two independent clauses are connected by a transitional
expression such as however, moreover, nevertheless.)
This next chapter has a lot of difficult information in it, you should start studying right away. (When an
independent clause gives an order based on what was said in the prior independent clause.)
The easiest way to correct a run-on sentence is to use a period and start a new sentence.
This computer doesn't make sense to me. It came without a manual
However, more skilled writers use several strategies to combine independent clauses.
1. Comma + a cute little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so):
My grandmother refuses to go to bed early, and I'm afraid she's going to catch a bad cold.
2. Semicolon by itself. Where you have used a semicolon, you could have used a period, but the semicolon, you
felt, is better (probably because the independent clauses are so closely related and nicely balanced).
In spite of her cold, my grandmother refuses to go to bed early; she is afraid she will miss something.
3. Semicolon + big ugly conjunction or other transitional expression(however, moreover, nevertheless, therefore, as
a result, consequently . . . ) followed by a comma.
My grandmother has stayed up late four nights in a row; as a result, she cannot seem to get well.
Run-On Sentence Exercise
Correct the run-ons; mark other sentences “correct.”
1. Entrepreneurship is the study of small businesses, college students are embracing it enthusiastically.
2. The show begins at 7:30 make sure you're there before 7:15.
3. The airport is about to shut down because of the snow and if the plane doesn't land soon it will have to go on
to Boston.
4. Even though the semester is almost over, the teacher does not know my name, she confuses me with other
students.
5. My father is chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, he also heads the Warrant Commission.
6. All over the country, people sell products over the Internet, and these people are making impressive profits.
7. One person had been exporting farm equipment, in fact he exports over 30,000 pieces of machinery a year.
8. After the sixth inning, I went home, but my family stayed.
9. Formal courses at the graduate level are now being taken by many elderly citizens, some schools even offer
them special programs.
10. I believe that the teacher has been grading me unfairly, all she does is look for minor mistakes.
11. Having prepared himself well for the realtor exams and having exhausted everyone in the family with his
requests that someone help him with the true-and-false drills, Jeffrey, who had never been a particularly
good student in high school, knew he was ready to take on the greatest challenge of his life.
There are more than 5 comma splice errors in this essay. Find all of them and correct them
Throughout the world, mountains and valleys that are exposed on the surface also provide evidence of a
worldwide flood. These mountains and valleys are always covered with sedimentary layers of sandstone, limestone, and shale
which were clearly deposited by moving water. These layers continue in every direction for many miles, some of them are
only inches thick while others are many feet thick. For the most part, our entire Earth is overlaid by up to several miles of
layer after layer of sedimentary rock. With a massive upheaval such as the flood described in the Bible, we would expect to
see vast sedimentation on a global scale, even the uppermost parts of Mount Everest are composed of water deposited layers,
(Ham). It would seem that the evidence for a worldwide flood is compelling.
What evidence would one expect from a global watery cataclysm that drowned the animals, birds, and people not on
the ark? All around the world, in rock layer after rock layer, billions of dead things are found buried in water-carried mud and
sand. Their state of preservation frequently tells of rapid burial and fossilization, that is what one would expect in such a
flood. There is abundant evidence that many of the rock strata were laid down quickly, one after the other, without significant
time breaks between them. Preservation of animal tracks, ripple marks, and even raindrop marks, testifies to rapid covering of
these features to enable their preservation. Polystrate fossils (ones which traverse many strata) speak of very quick deposition
of the strata. The scarcity of erosion, soil formation, animal burrows, and roots between layers also shows they must have
been deposited in quick succession. The radical deformation of thick layers of sediment without evidence of cracking or
melting also shows how all the layers must have been still soft when they were bent and contained much water (Ham).
Another stumbling block to accepting a worldwide flood often comes from wondering how one family could have
survived on a boat let alone also saved all the animals. The Bible is specific in giving the dimensions of the ark, these
dimensions would not only have been the most stable from a modern engineering point of view, but also would have produced
a huge amount of space. The ark would have had a volume of 1.52 million cubic feet or enough room for 522 standard
railroad cars, each of which can hold 240 sheep. Figuring a generous amount of room for the possible 16,000 kinds of land
animals and birds, the animals would have only occupied 14.4 of the cars, even insects would have only needed another 12
cars of space. It is estimated that food for everyone would take about 15% of the ark’s space and water another 10%. This
would have left not only enough room for everyone and everything, but perhaps room for animals to have “range” space as
well (Ham). Accommodations aboard the ark may not have been easy or luxurious, but they were certainly livable.
Another argument for accepting the story of the worldwide flood comes from the people who survived it. The
judgment of God that destroyed the earth was not to be forgotten by those who experienced it or by their children who were
taught about it. It is interesting to note that the traditions of the flood are universal in regard to man, every race has its own
legend of an ancient flood where all perished. Even remote Miao tribes in China have ancient legends, which existed long
before the arrival of the first missionary) whereby all men perished in a flood except eight souls saved by a hero in a boat
(Bible Study Fellowship). These beliefs have survived perhaps 5000 years. It would seem mankind has not forgotten the
flood that destroyed the world.