Run-on sentence
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A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses are joined without punctuation or conjunctions. Some modern authors have used them knowingly for effect, but they are considered punctuation errors. For example:
- It is nearly half past five we cannot reach town before dark.
There are several acceptable ways to correct this:
- Insert a semicolon between the clauses:
- It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
- Write the two clauses as two separate sentences:
- It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.
- Insert a comma and a conjunction between the clauses:
- It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.
It is not correct to simply insert a comma between the clauses; this results in a comma splice.
(Examples adapted from the online 1918 edition of The Elements of Style.)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Grammar Outlaw: The Run-On Sentence
- The Elements of Style: full text of Strunk's 1918 edition
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