Have you ever known a person who can just keep talking and the subjects shift and change before you ever get a word in it’s time to talk about how not to be tragic with run-on sentences.
INCORRECT
- I made a pot of coffee I drank it.
- She skipped grammar class she returned home with failing grades.
- His dog is a good dog he doesn’t know how to punctuate a sentence.
CORRECT
A run-on sentence uses at least two independent clauses that are not connected properly. A run-on sentence needs a little tender loving care, or at least a comma, period, or semicolon. “I made a pot of coffee, and I drank it.” Punctuation is a grand addition to any sentence with two or more independent clauses.
MORE TO KNOW
You have lots of options with run-on sentences. You can break up a run-on sentence with a period or a semicolon. You can also add a comma and a coordinating conjunction, as in “She skipped grammar class, and she returned home with failing grades.” A semicolon and a conjunctive adverb such as however would work as well: “His dog is a good dog; however, he doesn’t know how to punctuate a sentence.”