Today, we turn to run-on sentences.
I bet a lot of you think that run-on sentences are just really long sentences that go on and on like the Energizer bunny. But actually, run-on sentences are sentences that lack punctuation; they can be long, but they can also be short.
What Is a Run-On Sentence?
Here's an example of a short run-on sentence: “I'm a woman I am a truck driver.” (I was in a writing group a few years ago with an interesting woman who was writing a book about her experience as a female truck driver.) The reason “I am a woman I am a truck driver” is a run-on sentence is that it's written without any internal punctuation. I've fused together two complete sentences, which is why run-on sentences are also called fused sentences.
There are a bunch of ways to fix run-on sentences; the toolbox is filled with the same basic fixes you can use to repair comma splices: periods, semicolons, and commas with coordinating conjunctions.
Next: How to Fix Run-On Sentences
How Can You Fix a Run-On Sentence?
How you fix the sentence depends on how the different parts are related to each other and what tone and rhythm you want.
For example, if you want to completely separate the two fused sentences, then you'd use a period: “I am a woman. I am a truck driver.”
If you want to keep more of a connection between the two thoughts, you could use a semicolon and write, “I am a woman; I am a truck driver.”
If you want to make more of a comment on the connection between the two sentences, then you could use a conjunction with a comma. For example, you could write, “I am a woman, and I am a truck driver,” which gives a slightly different feeling compared to, “I am a woman, yet I am a truck driver,” or “I am a woman, but I am a truck driver.”
If you wanted to get...
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