Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel Sparkle English where I teach you how to improve
your level of English. If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to my channel for more
videos just like this one. In today's video, I'm going to teach you about run on sentences,
how to identify run on sentences, and how to fix them. This is very important when you are
looking to improve your English writing skills. So what is a run on sentence? Run on sentences happen
when two or more complete sentences are combined without using proper punctuation, or conjunctions.
For example, I'm exhausted I can't study anymore. Let's go to the cinema. I want to see the new
Marvel movie. My boyfriend took me out for dinner, we ate sushi. All three of these sentences are run
on sentences. They are incorrect. We need to use proper punctuation or conjunctions to fix
these sentences. There are two types of run on sentences, fused sentences and comma splices.
A fused sentence happens when independent clauses are combined without any punctuation
or conjunctions to separate them. For example, my teacher marked my paper she said it was great.
Here we have two independent clauses. My teacher marked my paper is one independent clause,
and she said it was great is a second independent clause. These are two sentences
that function separately and function on their own, so we can't just combine them without adding
proper punctuation, or a conjunction. The other type of run on sentence is a comma splice.
And a comma splice happens when two or more independent clauses are incorrectly joined
by a comma. For example, mom went shopping, she needed to get coffee and milk. Many people
will add a comma here instead of a period. And this is a mistake. Now I'm going to show you
four different ways we can fix run on sentences. But first, how can you identify
a run on sentence, the best way to identify a run on sentence is to check if there is more than one
independent clause in the same sentence without punctuation or a conjunction. So for example,
Roger needs us in the conference room, the meeting is in an hour. This sentence is a fused sentence.
And in the second example with the comma, this would be a comma splice. And both of
these are incorrect. So now let's look at four different ways we can fix a run on sentence.
Number one is make separate sentences. So Roger needs us in the conference room,
period, and then capitalize the next word. For the second sentence. The meeting is in
an hour. So now we have separated these into two independent clauses and this is correct.
The second way you can fix run on sentences is to add a coordinating conjunction
like and, or but so for nor or yet, of course, make sure the coordinating conjunction
makes sense in the sentence. You could say Roger needs us in the conference room, and
the meeting is in an hour. Now remember to place a comma before the conjunction when joining two
independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction. I have more videos on how to
properly use commas. But it's very important to remember when joining two independent clauses
with a coordinating conjunction that you have to put a comma before the coordinating conjunction.
The third way to fix a run on sentence is to add a semicolon if the sentences are closely related.
So Roger needs us in the conference room, semicolon.
The meeting is in an hour. The reason Roger needs everyone in the conference room is because
they're having a meeting. So these sentences are closely related. So we can use a semicolon
and remember when you use a semicolon you do not capitalize the The next word, just
keep that in lowercase. Unless of course, it's a word that always begins with a capital letter.
And the fourth way to fix a run on sentence is to add a subordinating conjunction. So
Roger needs us in the conference room because the meeting is in an hour. Now,
subordinating conjunctions are a bit more powerful than coordinating conjunctions. And we do not need
to use a comma in this case. So let's look at our other examples from earlier and see how we can
fix them. The first example I'm exhausted, I can't study anymore. How could we fix this, for example,
we could add a semicolon. The next example, let's go to the cinema, I want to see the new Marvel
movie. For this example, let's just separate it into two different sentences, add a period.
The third example my boyfriend took me out for dinner, we ate sushi. For this one, let's add
a coordinating conjunction. And remember to add the comma before the coordinating conjunction.
And so now it's time for you to practice we're going to do a practice test out of eight.
Some of them are correct. Some of them are not run on sentences, but the majority of
them are run on sentences, and you have to correct them. Again, you can use any of the four methods
that we just learned to fix run on sentences. First, I'm going to read all eight. Number one,
it was raining they didn't go to the beach. Number two, Tracy is starting a new job
tomorrow. She's the project manager. Number three. When I grow up, I want to be an actress.
Number four, I'm excited about going home for Christmas. We're going to go skiing.
Number five, Stan goes to the gym every morning, sticking to a routine is important
to him. Number six, my freedom is important to me, it makes my life more enjoyable.
Number seven, I need to buy a new laptop mouse and printer next week at the computer shop.
And finally, number eight, Joe needs to study if he wants to pass the exam. I'm not sure he will.
So let's correct these together. Number one is incorrect. This is a run on sentence.
It was raining. They didn't go to the beach. Here we could correct this again
in many different ways. The way I'm going to choose to correct this is to add a comma
after raining and put the coordinating conjunction so it was raining so they didn't go to the beach.
Number two is incorrect. This is a comma splice. Again, I have a video on comma splices which is
a type of run on sentence and is a very common mistake. We have two independent clauses here.
Traci is starting a new job tomorrow. And she's the project manager. These are two
independent sentences, we need to separate these sentences correctly. And the comma is not strong
enough to combine these sentences. So let's add a semicolon. A semicolon is perfect here. Both
of the sentences are closely related. And again, we do not capitalize she's when we use a semicolon
number three is correct. In number three, you might think this is a comma splice because
we have a comma like we did here in number two. But this is not a comma splice. Because
I want to be an actress is an independent clause. This is a complete sentence. When I grow up
is not an independent clause. If you walked up to someone and you said when I grew up, it doesn't
make any sense. It's a dependent clause. And after a sentence starts with a dependent clause, we use
a comma before the independent clause. So this is correct as it is. Number four is incorrect.
I'm excited about going home for Christmas. We're going to go scheme. Let's separate this
into two different sentences. We're going to put a period after Christmas and then capitalize
we're number five is a little more difficult. This is also incorrect. Stan goes to the gym
every morning. sticking to a routine is important to him. We have two independent
clauses. Stan goes to the gym every morning. sticking to a routine is important to him.
So here I'm going to add a semicolon number six, my freedom is important To me,
it makes life more enjoyable. This is also incorrect. This is a comma splice, we have two
independent clauses. So we need to separate these either into two different sentences. Or we could
also add a semicolon. I'm going to separate this into two separate sentences and capitalize it.
Number seven is correct. This is not a run on sentence. I need to buy a new laptop mouse and
printer next week at the computer shop. This sentence is perfect as it is. And the last one
Joe needs to study if he wants to pass the exam. I'm not sure who he will. This is also a run on
sentence it is incorrect. In this one, we have Joe needs to study if he wants to pass the exam.
I'm going to put a comma after exam and right but... but I'm not sure he will. Okay, so let me
know how many you got correct out of eight. And if you want more practice on run on sentences,
make sure to click on the link in the description below to check out my video on comma splices.
Let me know in the comment section how many you got correct out of eight.
And if there are any other topics about English writing or grammar that you would like me to cover
in future videos. Thank you guys once again for watching and I will see you in my next lesson.