The Complete Guide to Run-On Sentences

Post #1 Written by J.D. (A/F Bell) A run-on sentence is a written sequence of two or more independent clauses that are not properly connected. It is important to know that each of the two independent clauses can stand by themselves. Example: The sun is high, put on some sunblock. It is also essential to know that the length of the sentence has nothing to do with determining if it is run-on or not. There are, in fact, many ways to fix a run-on sentence. You could add a semicolon: The sun is high; put on some sunblock. You could add a comma and conjunction: The sun is high, so put on some sunblock. You could also add a period at the end of the first clause and capitalize the beginning of the second: The sun is high. Put on some sunblock. The example sentence above is also a certain kind of run-on sentence. It is called a comma splice. This is when two independent clauses are connected only by a comma without a conjunction. You can fix a comma splice the same way you fix a run-on sentence. To support my point that length doesn’t have much to do with the sentence, I have included a sentence that is 239 words long but is structurally correct. I found this very interesting because I cannot see how one can write one sentence this long! “Knowing that millions of people around the world would be watching in person and on television and expecting great things from him — at least one more gold medal for America, if not another world record — during this, his fourth and surely his last appearance in the World Olympics, and realizing that his legs could no longer carry him down the runway with the same blazing speed and confidence in making a huge, eye-popping leap that they were capable of a few years ago when he set world records in the 100-meter dash and in the 400-meter relay and won a silver medal in the long jump, the renowned sprinter and track-and-field personality Carl Lewis, who had known pressure from fans and media before but never, even as a professional runner, this kind of pressure, made only a few appearances in races during the few months before the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, partly because he was afraid of raising expectations even higher and he did not want to be distracted by interviews and adoring fans who would follow him into stores and restaurants demanding autographs and photo-opportunities, but mostly because he wanted to conserve his energies and concentrate, like a martial arts expert, on the job at hand: winning his favorite competition, the long jump, and bringing home another Gold Medal for the United States, the most fitting conclusion to his brilliant career in track and field.” Sources: “Run-on Sentences, Comma Splices.” Guide to Grammar & Writing. 2004. Web. 16 Nov. 2012.