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Run On Sentences (/Run+On+Sentences)

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Sentence Basics and

Running Away From Run-On Sentences
Look at the following sentence:
I saw a teacher who cares.
The author may have wanted to write:
I saw a teacher. Who cares?
Using periods (and other forms of punctuation) and knowing when to end a sentence are very important. If
you don't end a sentence appropriately, the intended meaning can be changed, or it can be misunderstood.
Sometimes the meaning is simply incomprehensible.
When a person learns to write English sentences and compositions, one common problem is writing
sentences that are too long. When a sentence ends too quickly, it is called a sentence fragment . When a
sentence has too many ideas and runs on too long, it is called a run-on sentence. If you have this problem,
don't worry. It is quite easy to x.
The rst thing you need to do is identify when a sentence is a run-on. A run-on (or run-on sentence) is a
sentence that really has TWO sentences (or complete ideas) INCORRECTLY combined into one. It is okay
to combine two sentences into one, but you must follow some rules.
You might be wondering: "What is a sentence?" A sentence consists of 3 things:
1 subject

theperson,place,orthingperformingordoingtheaction

2 verb

theaction

3 completeideathereaderisn'tleftwaitingforanotherword

Take a look at this sentence:

Ihittheball.
||

Subject=I

Verb=hit
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Is it a complete idea? Yes.
presentations!
Therefore, this is a good sentence.

The ball is a direct object.

Not all sentences require a direct object. For example
Birdsfly.
||

Subject=birds
Verb=y
Is it a complete idea? Yes.
There is no direct object here; however, it is still a complete idea and a good sentence.
Here's another example.
Itake.
||

Subject=I
Verb=take
Is it a complete idea? No.
This sentence requires a direct object. (This sentence is called a sentence fragment )
Here's one more example.
MurraytakesthetraintoschoolMomridesthebus.
||

Subject=Murray AND Mom

Verb=takes AND rides
Is it a complete idea? It is TWO complete ideas.
This last example is a run-on sentence: Two complete sentences (ideas) incorrectly combined. This sentence
lacks signal words which tell the reader when to stop or pause. A part of a sentence that can be a sentence by
itself is called an independent clause. This last example has TWO independent clauses.

Summary
If you put two sentences (or independent clauses) together without a sufcient amount of signals (commas,
semicolons, or connecting words), you have created a run-on.

How do you x run-ons?

There are four common ways to x a run-on. Each method is explained below.

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Method
Make the
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Write the two independent clauses as separate sentences using periods.to create interactive lessons and
presentations!
INCORRECT CarmenlovedtravelinginItalyshefeltRomewastoohot.
CORRECT

CarmenlovedtravelinginItaly.ShefeltRomewastoohot.

Method #2
Use a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses.
INCORRECT CarmenlovedtravelinginItalyshefeltRomewastoohot.
CORRECT

CarmenlovedtravelinginItalyshefeltRomewastoohot.

Method #3
Use a comma and any one of the following connecting words:
for*andnorbut
oryetso
*when for means because
when so means as a result
INCORRECT CarmenlovedtravelinginItalyshefeltRomewastoohot.
CORRECT

CarmenlovedtravelinginItaly,butshefeltRomewastoohot.

Method #4
Use a semicolon and one of the following words:
therefore,thus,however,consequently,
furthermore,also,nevertheless,
NOTE: If you use any of these connecting words with method #4, a comma must follow it.
INCORRECT CarmenlovedtravelinginItalyshefeltRomewastoohot.
CORRECT

CarmenlovedtravelinginItalyhowever,shefeltRomewastoohot.

NOTE: When using semicolons, the two independent clauses must share a related or common idea.
You cannot write the following sentence:
Christine loves hot chocolate; I am watching TV.
These two clauses are completely unrelated.

Practice:
Directions: The following sentences are all run-ons. Correct them using any of the four methods. There may
be more than one correct answer. Write your corrected sentences on a separate piece of paper.

 Make the most out of any wiki by using our free sister product, Blendspace by TES
1. The girls played basketball the boys played tennis.
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2. Einstein is famous for E=mc Edison is famous for the invention of the light bulb.

3. Titanic is my favorite movie I love eating popcorn.

4. Americans shake hands when they meet the Japanese bow.
5. Mother's Day is always on a Sunday Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday.
6. William loved visiting Montreal Sally preferred just to stay in Quebec.
7. My car broke down I need to buy a new one.
8. At one time few people had enough money to buy books few people could read books.
9. I want to learn Korean Trudy wants to learn Turkish.
10. People love peace they hate war.

Things To Remember!
1.Theabovesentencesareallexamplesoftwoindependentclausesformingrunon
sentences.Sometimesthreeormoreindependentclausesareinappropriatelywritten
together,andtheresultisaverylongrunonsentence.Wesuggestthatinthese
typesofsituationsuseacombinationoftheabovemethods.Takealookatthe
examplebelow.
OrvilleandWilburWrighthadabicyclemakingbusinessinOhiotheyloved
experimentingwithflyingmachinestheybuilttheWrightFlyerin1903.
Thissentenceisarunonwiththreeindependentclauses.Wecanusevarious
combinationsoftheabovemethodstofixtheproblem.Byapplyingmethods4and1,
weget:
OrvilleandWilburWrighthadabicyclemakingbusinessinOhiohowever,theyloved
experimentingwithflyingmachines.TheybuilttheWrightFlyerin1903.
2. Don'tstringseveralindependentclausestogetherwithsemicolons.Thefollowing
exampleisusuallynotwritten,soDONTdoit:
OrvilleandWilburWrighthadabicyclemakingbusinessinOhiotheyloved
experimentingwithflyingmachinestheybuilttheWrightFlyerin1903.
3.Somepeoplemayask,"Whichoftheabovemethodsisbest?"Thatanswerisnotso
simple.Sometimesanyofthemethodsareequallycorrectatothertimes,onlyoneor
twomethodsmaytrulybeappropriateforasituation.Thisknowledgewillcomeasthe
writerreadsavarietyofEnglishmaterial.
Also,don'toveruseanyonemethod.Correctlyusingdifferentmethodsoftenshows
goodwriting.Whenapersonfirstlearnstowrite,he/sheusesmethod1extensively.
Itisimportantforthewritertogobeyondmethod1andusetheothermethods.This
willshowmaturityintheauthor'swriting.

Answers:

1.Thegirlsplayedbasketballtheboysplayedtennis.
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Answers:
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Thegirlsplayedbasketball.Theboysplayedtennis.
Thegirlsplayedbasketballtheboysplayedtennis.
Thegirlsplayedbasketball,buttheboysplayedtennis.
Thegirlsplayedbasketballhowever,theboysplayedtennis.
2.EinsteinisfamousforE=mcEdisonisfamousfortheinventionofthelightbulb.
Answers:

EinsteinisfamousforE=mc.Edisonisfamousfortheinventionofthelightbulb.
EinsteinisfamousforE=mcEdisonisfamousfortheinventionofthelightbulb.
EinsteinisfamousforE=mc,butEdisonisfamousfortheinventionofthelightbulb.
EinsteinisfamousforE=mchowever,Edisonisfamousfortheinventionofthelightbulb.
3.TitanicismyfavoritemovieIloveeatingpopcorn.
Answers:
Titanicismyfavoritemovie.Iloveeatingpopcorn.
Thissentencecannotbefixedwiththeothermethodsbecausethetwoindependentclausesdonot
sharesimilarorrelatedideas.
4.AmericansshakehandswhentheymeettheJapanesebow.
Answers:
Americansshakehandswhentheymeet.TheJapanesebow.
AmericansshakehandswhentheymeettheJapanesebow.
Americansshakehandswhentheymeet,buttheJapanesebow.
Americansshakehandswhentheymeethowever,theJapanesebow.
5.Mother'sDayisalwaysonaSundayThanksgivingisalwaysonaThursday.
Answers:
Mother'sDayisalwaysonaSunday.ThanksgivingisalwaysonaThursday.
Mother'sDayisalwaysonaSundayThanksgivingisalwaysonaThursday.
Mother'sDayisalwaysonaSunday,andThanksgivingisalwaysonaThursday.
Mother'sDayisalwaysonaSundayhowever,ThanksgivingisalwaysonaThursday.
6.WilliamlovedvisitingMontrealSallypreferredjusttostayinQuebec.
Answers:
WilliamlovedvisitingMontreal.SallypreferredjusttostayinQuebec.
WilliamlovedvisitingMontrealSallypreferredjusttostayinQuebec.
WilliamlovedvisitingMontreal,butSallypreferredjusttostayinQuebec.
WilliamlovedvisitingMontrealnevertheless,SallypreferredjusttostayinQuebec.
7.MycarbrokedownIneedtobuyanewone.
Answers:
Mycarbrokedown.Ineedtobuyanewone.
MycarbrokedownIneedtobuyanewone.
Mycarbrokedown,soIneedtobuyanewone.
MycarbrokedownthereforeIneedtobuyanewone.
8.Atonetimefewpeoplehadenoughmoneytobuybooksfewpeoplecouldreadbooks.
Answers:
Atonetimefewpeoplehadenoughmoneytobuybooks.Fewpeoplecouldreadbooks.

 MakeAtonetimefewpeoplehadenoughmoneytobuybooksfewpeoplecouldreadbooks.
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Atonetimefewpeoplehadenoughmoneytobuybooksalso,fewpeoplecouldreadbooks.

9.IwanttolearnKoreanTrudywantstolearnTurkish.
Answers:
IwanttolearnKorean.TrudywantstolearnTurkish.
IwanttolearnKoreanTrudywantstolearnTurkish.
IwanttolearnKorean,andTrudywantstolearnTurkish.
IwanttolearnKoreanhowever,TrudywantstolearnTurkish.
10.Peoplelovepeacetheyhatewar.
Answers:
Peoplelovepeace.Theyhatewar.
Peoplelovepeacetheyhatewar.
Peoplelovepeace,buttheyhatewar.
Peoplelovepeacehowever,theyhatewar.

Adapted from: MyEnglishTeacher.net.

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