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. It is considered a punctuation error. 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

• Comma splice
• It was a dark and stormy night

[edit] External links

• The Grammar Outlaw: The Run-On Sentence
• The Elements of Style: full text of Strunk's 1918 edition