Avoiding Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices
An independent clause has a subject and a verb and can stand by itself as a sentence. When it does, it is called a simple sentence. In other words, a simple sentence consists of one independent clause:
Birds fly.
Armed with this knowledge, you can now avoid two of the most common errors in student writing, known variously as the run-on, run-together or fused sentence, and it close relation, the comma splice.
Example of a Run-On Sentence:
I enjoyed the anthology very much the stories still remain in my mind.
Let's analyze the subject and verbs:
I enjoyed the anthology very much the stories still remain in my mind.
It becomes clear that the above contains two simple sentences or two independent clauses, each with its own subject-verb. It is a run-on sentence because it is written as if it were only one sentence with no punctuation to show the reader where the first clause ends and the second begins. To avoid a run-on without changing the words or adding words, you have two choices:
1. Insert a period before the second sentence:
I enjoyed the anthology very much. The stories still remain in my mind.
2. Join the two clauses or simple sentences and make a compound sentence, which is a sentence made up of two independent clauses, joined correctly. Use a semi-colon for this.
I enjoyed the anthology very much; the stories still remain in my mind.
Example of a Comma Splice:
I enjoyed the anthology very much, the stories still remain in my mind.
Here, a comma has been used instead of a semi-colon to combine the two independent clauses. Commas have many uses; this is not one of them. To avoid or correct a comma splice without changing the words or adding word, you have the same two choices as you have for correcting or avoiding a run-on sentence.
1. Insert a period before the second sentence:
I enjoyed the anthology very much. The stories still remain in my mind.
2. Join the two clauses or simple sentences and make a compound sentence, which is a sentence made up of two independent clauses, joined correctly. Use a semi-colon for this.
I enjoyed the anthology very much; the stories still remain in my mind.