Identify a Run-on Sentence

The Talker

We all have that friend or acquaintance who just talks and talks and talks and seems to never stop to breathe. While that style of communication is hard to listen to, it is even harder to read. In conversation a person should pause periodically, allowing time for the listener to process and respond. In writing, we have a variety of punctuation and tactics for connecting ideas. In this lesson we will explore how to identify and avoid the run-on sentence, which is the written version of that person who won't stop talking.

What Is a Run-on Sentence?

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined together without the proper connection. Remember, an independent clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought.

The best way to identify run-on sentences is to look at the many categories in which sentences can go wrong. While we're looking at the problems, we will also fix a few run-on sentences for practice (after all, what's the use of finding one if we aren't going to fix it?).

Fixing a Run-on Sentence

Separate It

The first category of run-on sentences is often a result of a typographical error. Simply put, the author forgot to end the first sentence with a punctuation mark and begin the next sentence with a capital letter. The answer is to separate the two sentences. Let's try it.

The problem: Damian got a ticket he ran a red light in town.

Note the two clauses: 1) Damian got a ticket and 2) he ran a red light in town. Each clause could stand alone as a sentence, if properly punctuated.

The solution: Damian got a ticket. He ran a red light in town.

Make a Compound Sentence

The next category of run-on sentences consists of two related clauses that belong together, but have been pushed together with no punctuation or connecting words. The answer to this problem is to make a compound sentence of two independent clauses joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. A coordinating conjunction joins two equal clauses. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, which you can remember with the helpful acronym FANBOYS.

The problem: Damian told his son he didn't tell his wife.

The two clauses are 1) Damian told his son and 2) he didn't tell his wife. The topics of these two sentences are similar and the structures are parallel. It would make sense to join them. The coordinating conjunction of choice is ''but'' since there is a contrast. We can't forget the comma, which goes after the first clause and before the ''but.''

The solution: Damian told his son, but he didn't tell his wife.

Make a Complex Sentence

If the two clauses in a run-on sentence are not equal or parallel, it would be better as a complex sentence. A complex sentence has one independent clause, and the other clause is subordinate. A subordinate clause has a subject and verb but can't stand alone as a complete sentence. The subordinate clause can be joined to the independent clause with a subordinating conjunction (examples: while, since, because, when, if, as, although, between, after). Let's make this run-on a complex sentence.

The problem: Damian told his wife about the ticket he bought her flowers first.

The two clauses are 1) Damian told his wife about the ticket and 2) he bought her flowers first. Let's make the first thought subordinate and attach it to the second thought.

The solution: Before Damian told his wife about the ticket, he bought her flowers.

Reword the Sentence

This last category of run-ons is for sentences that are overly repetitive. They have too many words, and can actually be simplified into only one clause by rearranging some words.

The problem: Damian's dog ate the flowers the dog was hungry.

The two clauses are 1) Damian's dog ate the flowers and 2) the dog was hungry. We can rearrange the sentence so we only have to say ''dog'' once. If we move the description of ''hungry,'' we can also take out the verb ''was.''

The solution: Damian's hungry dog ate the flowers.