Welcome!
Welcome to the Learning Commons Quick Start Guide on run-on sentences!
Run-on sentences are commonly found in inexperienced academic writing. They seem to make a given paper appear more “technical,” but really all they do is obscure meaning. This Guide will explain:
- What run-on sentences are
- How to fix run-on sentences (both fused sentences and comma splices)
Course Information
Course Level: Beginner
Time to Complete: 15 mins
Perfect for: Students in WRTG100/101, ENGL103, or anyone who needs a refresher.
Guide Creator: Alice Wu
Run-on Sentences 101
This video is a primer on what makes for a run-on sentence:
- Two independent clauses are put together without being connected correctly. They are missing either:
- The proper punctuation between them, or
- A conjunction connecting them.
In this mini-course, we explore this in more detail:
- Spotting Run-ons
- Specific types of run-on: fused sentences
- Specific types of run-on: comma splices
- Correcting run-on sentences
Topic 1: Spotting a Run-on Sentence
Run-on sentences are made up of two independent clauses that have been connected incorrectly. But what makes a clause independent?
An independent clause is a complete thought. It should contain a subject and a verb. In some instances, the verb will also require an object.
- Subject: Who and what the sentence is referring to. This is usually a noun or a pronoun.
- Noun: a person, place, thing, or idea.
- Pronoun: Substitutes for nouns – he, she, it, I, you.
- Verb: What the subject of the sentence does or is. This can be an action verb or non-action verb.
- Action verbs: Jump, shout, run, dance.
- Non-action verbs: is, are, was, were, am.
- Object: A person or thing affected by the action of the verb.
This chart demonstrates the parts of an independent clause:
Subject
Verb
Object
I
bought
textbooks.
What a run-on sentence is:
Now that we know what independent clauses are, we are ready to address run-ons themselves. As we mentioned on the previous page, run-on sentences result from two or more independent clauses being connected together without the proper punctuation between them.
There are two main types of run-on sentences: Fused sentences and comma splices.
Fused sentences occur when there are two or more independent clauses joined together without any punctuation.
- Example: Jane Austen published novels anonymously Jane Austen wrote six novels in her lifetime.
There are two complete sentences in the example above!
- Sentence #1: Jane Austen published novels anonymously.
- Sentence #2: Jane Austen wrote six novels in her lifetime.
A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are attached with only a comma.
- Example: Jane Austen published novels anonymously, she wrote six novels in her lifetime.
Again, there are two sentences in this example.
- Sentence #1: Jane Austen published novels anonymously.
- Sentence #2: She wrote six novels in her lifetime.
Your Turn: Test Your Understanding
That was a lot of information! Think you have a grasp of it? Test yourself!
Topic 2: Correcting Run-ons
It is pretty clear (we hope) that there is something wrong when you spot a run-on sentence. However, it is important to know how to fix the run-ons when you find them.