English Grammar for the Utterly Confused - Laurie Rozakis 2003

Sentence Errors: Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices
Chapter 8 Writing Correct and Complete Sentences
Part 3 Sentence Sense

There are two basic types of sentence errors: fragments and run-on sentences. These problems with sentence construction confuse your readers and obscure your meaning. Their use will also result in clumsy, unpolished writing and speech. Let’s look at each of these sentence errors in detail so that you’ll be able to fix them with ease.

As you’ve learned, there are two types of clauses: independent and dependent.

• Independent clauses are complete sentences because they have a subject, a verb, and express a complete thought.

I go to the movies every Saturday night.

Richard Nixon’s favorite drink was a dry martini.

• Dependent clauses cannot stand alone because they do not express a complete thought, even though they have a subject and a verb.

A run-on sentence is two incorrectly joined independent clauses. A comma splice is a run- on sentence with a comma where the two independent clauses run together. When your sen­tences run together, your ideas are garbled.

Run-on: Our eyes are always the same size from birth our nose and ears never stop growing.

Corrected: Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

Run-on: A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, no one knows why.

Corrected: A duck’s quack doesn’t echo; no one knows why.

or

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.

Run-on: The traditional sonnet has 14 lines, 10 syllables make up each line.

Corrected: The traditional sonnet has 14 lines; 10 syllables make up each line.

or

The traditional sonnet has 14 lines, and 10 syllables make up each line.

Quick Tip

Run-on sentences are not necessarily long. Some can be quite short, in fact.

Mary fell asleep John left. Nick cooked Rita cleaned up.

You can correct a run-on sentence in four ways. Let’s use the following example.

Water and wind are the two main causes of erosion, they constantly change the appear­ance of the Earth.

1. Divide the run-on sentence into two sentences with the appropriate end punctuation, such as a period, exclamation mark, or a question mark.

Water and wind are the two main causes of erosion. They constantly change the appear­ance of the Earth.

2. Add a coordinating conjunction (and, nor, but, or, for, yet, so) to create a compound sen­tence.

Water and wind are the two main causes of erosion, for they constantly change the appearance of the Earth.

3. Add a subordinating conjunction to create a complex sentence.

Since water and wind are the two main causes of erosion, they constantly change the appearance of the Earth.

4. Use a semicolon to create a compound sentence.

Water and wind are the two main causes of erosion; they constantly change the appear­ance of the Earth.

Here’s what the sentence looks like with a conjunctive adverb added:

Water and wind are the two main causes of erosion; as a result, they constantly change the appearance of the Earth.

Which corrected version do you choose? Select the one that best suits your audience, pur­pose, and writing style. Ask yourself these questions as you decide:

• Which version will my readers like best?

• Which version will most clearly and concisely communicate my message?

• Which version fits best with the rest of the passage?