Transcript What is a run-on?

A run-on is a sentence
that contains two
independent clauses, in
other words, a sentence
that is really two
sentences in one.
How to fix a run-on sentence:
Break it apart into two sentences
Ex. Run-on: The weather was
bad, the meeting was poorly
attended.
Correct: The weather was bad.
The meeting was poorly
attended.
1.
How to fix a run-on sentence:
2. Add a semi-colon if the two ideas are
closely related. Even better, add a
semicolon and a conjunctive adverb:
Ex. Run-on: The weather was bad, the
meeting was poorly attended.
Correct: The weather was bad; the
meeting was poorly attended.
OR: The weather was bad; therefore, the
meeting was poorly attended.
How to fix a run-on sentence:
3. Add a comma and a conjunction
Ex. Run-on: The weather was bad, the
meeting was poorly attended.
Correct: The weather was bad, so the
meeting was poorly attended.
OR: The meeting was poorly attended
because the weather was bad.
Note: when the clauses are short and do not
already contain commas, you can get away
with just a conjunction
How to fix a run-on sentence:
4. Re-word it to combine the clauses or
make one clause dependent
Ex. Run-on: The weather was bad, the
meeting was poorly attended.
Correct: Because the weather was bad,
the meeting was poorly attended.
Or: The bad weather probably caused the
meeting’s poor attendance.
Parallel phrases or
clauses are about the
same length and follow the
same grammatical
structure (i.e. same parts of
speech, verb tense, etc.)
How to fix faulty parallelism
 Convert
all the verbs to the same tense:
 Instead of something like this: During class,
Samuel spent his time flirting with Brittney, he
ate candy, and doodling on the assignment
sheet.
 Change that past tense verb to a past participle
like in the other phrases: During class, Samuel
spent his time flirting with Brittney, eating candy,
and doodling on the assignment sheet.
 Notice we also removed he so the word order is
the same throughout too.
How to fix faulty parallelism
 Make
sure the same parts of speech are
present and in the same order:
A. Instead of something like this: Alex looked
everywhere for his math book—viewing under
the bed, searching on his desk, and inside the
refrigerator.
 Make each phrase go preposition – modifier -
noun: Alex looked everywhere for his math
book—under the bed, on his desk, and inside
the refrigerator.
 Notice this is simpler and sounds less awkward
too!
Let’s try that one more time:
o
Instead of something like this: Eileen bought new shoes for
the party, a gold charm for her mother, and to treat her best
friend Maria to lunch.
o
Get rid of that icky infinitive! Eileen purchased new shoes
for the party, a gold charm for her mother, and lunch for
Maria.
o
Instead of something like this: Dogs that bark, kittens that
meow, and parakeets squawking greet the pet shop visitors.
o
Make those phrases parallel!: Barking dogs, meowing
kittens, and squawking parakeets greet the pet shop
visitors.
Notice you can take out or rearrange the parallel phrases in
either example and the sentence still reads correctly.