Run- Ons and Comma Splices

JOURNAL WRITING PROMPT Your top five short term goals. Your top five long term goals.

DAILY ORAL LANGUAGE WEEK 1Grade 12 Proofreading Sentences 1

a. my friend hes the boy wearing the blue coat don’t like to skateboard but he does like to in-line skate

b. On january 10 2000 mr canesco the principal of washington high school dedicated its new library

DAILY ORAL LANGUAGE WEEK 1Grade 12 Correct Sentences 1

a. My friend, the boy wearing the blue coat, doesn’t like to skateboard but does like to in-line skate.

b. On January 10, 2000, Mr. Canesco, the principal of Washington High School, dedicated its new library.

RUN-ON SENTENCES AND COMMA SPLICES

RUN-ONS A run-on is made up of

two or more complete thoughts that are incorrectly run together without a connection between them.

EXAMPLE Dolphins have killed

sharks they have never attacked humans.

Split the Run-On into two complete thoughts.

THIS IS NOT A RUN-ON Knowing that millions of people around the world would be watching in

person and on television and expecting great things from him — at least one more gold medal for America, if not another world record — during this, his fourth and surely his last appearance in the World Olympics, and realizing that his legs could no longer carry him down the runway with the same blazing speed and confidence in making a huge, eye-popping leap that they were capable of a few years ago when he set world records in the 100-meter dash and in the 400-meter relay and won a silver medal in the long jump, the renowned sprinter and track-and-field personality Carl Lewis, who had known pressure from fans and media before but never, even as a professional runner, this kind of pressure, made only a few appearances in races during the few months before the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, partly because he was afraid of raising expectations even higher and he did not want to be distracted by interviews and adoring fans who would follow him into stores and restaurants demanding autographs and photo-opportunities, but mostly because he wanted to conserve his energies and concentrate, like a martial arts expert, on the job at hand: winning his favorite competition, the long jump, and bringing home another Gold Medal for the United States, the most fitting conclusion to his brilliant career in track and field.

COMMA SPLICES A comma splice is made

up of two complete thoughts that are incorrectly joined (or spliced) together with only a comma.

A comma alone is not enough to connect two complete thoughts

EXAMPLE Dolphins have killed

sharks, they never attack humans.

Split the Comma Splice into two complete thoughts.

HOW TO CORRECT RUN-ONS AND COMMA SPLICES Method 1: Use a period

and a capital letter.

Run-On: The computer hummed loudly the sound was annoying.

Comma Splice: My friends are all dressing up for Halloween, I hate costumes.

HOW TO CORRECT RUN-ONS AND COMMA SPLICES Method 2: Use a comma

and a joining word.

Run-On: The dog was hungry I shamed him by hanging a sign around his neck.

Comma Splice: I was lazy, I took a nap instead of doing work.

HOW TO CORRECT RUN-ONS AND COMMA SPLICES Method 3: Use a

semicolon.

Run-On: My best friend is an alien he likes Reese’s Pieces.

Comma splice: The phone is off the hook and buzzing in my ear, you should hang it up.

PRACTICE The garden is overgrown the fence is falling down.

The little boy appeared to be lost, several women stopped to help him.