We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Linguistics

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is a Run-On Sentence?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 23, 2024
Views: 46,299
Share

A run-on sentence joins at least two independent clauses without a conjunction or adequate punctuation. An independent clause has a subject and a verb, and could essentially be a sentence by itself. For example one might write, “I like ice cream it tastes really good.” There are essentially two independent clauses here, which could be written as two separate sentences. “I like ice cream. It tastes really good."

One of the most common types of run-on sentences is called a comma splice. It occurs when a comma separates two independent clauses. Thus we would have “I like ice cream, it tastes really good.” There are a few ways to address a comma splice, and eliminate the run-on. If you really feel the two independent clauses need to exist in the same sentence, you can substitute a semi-colon for the comma. Alternately, you could separate the two clauses by using a conjunction. In this example you would use the word “and”: “I like ice cream and it tastes really good.”

Another way of attacking the run-on sentence is to replace the comma with a subordinating conjunction. This essentially turns one of the clauses into a dependent clause. In this case we could use “because.” Our sentence would become, “I like ice cream because it tastes really good. The word "because" makes the second independent clause dependent. It can no longer stand on its own. “Because it tastes really good,” is not a sentence.

Depending upon the type of sentence, one could examine other subordinating conjunctions that would fix a run-on sentence. These include: after, although, because, as, if, while, even though, since, until and when. Subordinating conjunctions keep two thoughts in a sentence entwined together, which is often what the person perpetuating the sentence is striving for.

To help eliminate the run-on sentence from you written work, you can run a little check on each sentence. Ask yourself the following:

  • Does my sentence have two separate subjects and two separate (not helping) verbs?
  • Does my sentence have two independent clauses joined by a comma?

A run-on sentence may also be applied to sentences that tend to go too far. For example, one doesn’t want to keep adding conjunctions and making a sentence longer. “I like ice cream because it tastes good and I really think it improves my mood and I get it free when I go roller skating." This type of sentence is a run-on because it has used too many conjunctions. Separating independent clauses serves a point for the reader. It helps make each point clear. Too many “ands" in this case obscure the point and the reader gets lost.

In general, you want to avoid this type of run-on sentence by varying sentence length. You could write: “I like ice cream because it tastes good and improves my mood. Also, I get it free when I go roller skating.” Try to keep each thought concise, or cut down on the sentence in other ways. Instead of “I like ice cream, I like roller skating, and I like eating to improve my mood, consider, “I like ice cream, roller skating, and eating to improve my mood.” Try to join no more than two independent clauses with commas and conjunctions together to avoid the run-on sentence of this type. Also avoid repeating the same subject and verb to simplify the sentence.

Share
Language & Humanities is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a Language & Humanities contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.
Discussion Comments
By anon296044 — On Oct 09, 2012

It's a poor sentence. Instead, write: "Shannon likes to eat boiled plums topped with sugar."

By anon128933 — On Nov 21, 2010

@stare: No. A run-on sentence is writing about things that do not belong in the same sentence in the same sentence. Your sentence is run-on with a comma mistake. There shouldn't be a comma before that are.

By EarlyForest — On Aug 07, 2010

I wish that word-processing software had a run-on sentence checker. That would save me so much heartache when grading papers for my English class if I didn't have to correct so many of these every time!

By rallenwriter — On Aug 07, 2010

I always loved Willam Safire's example of a run-on sentence in his self-contradicting rules: "Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read."

I think that he should be the patron saint of the grammar conscious!

By stare31 — On Oct 23, 2009

Would a sentence with two that's or two which's or a that and a which, be a run-on? For example, "Shannon likes to eat plums, that are boiled, which she tops with lots of sugar."

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a Language & Humanities contributor,...
Learn more
Share
https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-a-run-on-sentence.htm
Copy this link
Language & Humanities, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

Language & Humanities, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.