17 Run-on Sentences

Now, I know this will probably sound like typical whining from an English teacher, but I find this type of writing very frustrating. There’s potentially a juicy story in here about Trevor. I wonder what happened? Did he find himself jogging next to his ex on the treadmills? Did his dad join the gym and insist that Trevor spot him every time he lifted weights? Was Trevor asked to leave because he was constantly grunting and dropping weights on the ground after a set?

But I can’t really concentrate on the mystery of Trevor’s mysterious cancellation because I had to read that “sentence” three or four times to make sense of it. Is the part that says “I don’t know why he was there all the time” one idea or two? How many ideas are even in here?

When you write, you are asking someone else to read your work. That’s what writing is: a silent request that someone looks at your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc.

And if you’re asking someone to read your work, it’s your obligation to make it as easy to navigate as possible.^[1] “Sentences” like the one above don’t make things easy; they make them more difficult.

The specific term we use for the type of writing at the top of the chapter is run-on sentence. Many people think of a run-on sentence as a sentence that is too long and, therefore, hard for a reader to follow. Long sentences that are hard to follow can be a problem, but run-on sentences are not simply long sentences. In fact, many run-on sentences are quite short. Here’s an example:

I can’t eat, I’m too full.

This is a run-on sentence because it contains more than one clause and those clauses are not connected properly. In other words, a run-on is an error in coordination.

There are two types of run-on sentence: fused sentences and comma splices. We want to eliminate both from our writing.

Fused Sentences

A fused sentence happens when a writer connects two independent clauses using no punctuation at all. The writer just mashes two ideas together in one sentence and hopes the reader will understand. Here’s an example:

Mary Jane sprained her ankle it’s going to be sore for a while.

There are two separate ideas between the capital letter and the period, each of which is expressed completely as an independent clause:

• Mary Jane sprained her ankle (IC)
• it’s going to be sore for a while (IC)

Now, in the previous chapter we learned that there are only a few ways to connect two ICs if you want them to be part of the same sentence.

1. You can separate them with a semicolon.
2. You can use a semicolon AND a conjunctive adverb.
3. You can use a comma AND a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS).

So, if you find a fused sentence like the one above, choose one of those methods. They are all correct; you can just choose the one that sounds best to you. Here are my solutions:

1. Mary Jane sprained her ankle; it’s going to be sore for a while.
2. Mary Jane sprained her ankle; therefore, it’s going to be sore for a while.
3. Mary Jane sprained her ankle, so it’s going to be sore for a while.

All of those are now correct. I like #1 and #3 the best, but I can choose any of them.

Locating Fused Sentences

I think the best way to find fused sentences is to read your work out loud. Don’t rush; read at a reasonable pace, and don’t speed up or skim. Don’t read what you meant to write; read what’s on the page. Use punctuation to tell you when to pause and stop.

When you read like this, you’re replicating what it’s like for someone else to read your work. I bet if you read that “sentence” at the top of this chapter you will find that it sounds strange or rushed. That’s a sign that you might be looking at a run-on sentence, particularly a fused sentence.

Comma Splices

Comma splices occur when a writer combining two (or more) independent clauses into one sentence using only a comma. I’ll use the clauses we saw earlier to illustrate the concept:

Mary Jane sprained her ankle, it’s going to be sore for a while.

Just like before, there are two independent clauses between the capital letter and the period:

• Mary Jane sprained her ankle
• it’s going to be sore for a while

And as mentioned in the section above, there are only three ways we’re allowed to combine ICs into one sentence:

1. You can separate them with a semicolon.
2. You can use a semicolon AND a conjunctive adverb.
3. You can use a comma AND a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS).

Notice that “just chuck a comma in there” isn’t on the list.

So, to correct the error, just make sure you follow one of those three patterns.

You can change the punctuation from a comma to a semicolon (and add an additional word if you want).

• Mary Jane sprained her ankle; it’s going to be sore for a while.
• Mary Jane sprained her ankle; therefore, it’s going to be sore for a while.

Or you can keep the comma and add a coordination conjunction after it:

• Mary Jane sprained her ankle, so it’s going to be sore for a while.