Run-on Sentences

When we speak, the natural pauses in our voice help others to understand our meaning. Our written language tries to imitate those natural pauses with punctuation marks.

Try and read this without stopping to take a breath until you come to a punctuation mark.

Read it again and pause when you come to a punctuation mark.

​Add these terms to your notes.

​The school mascot’s head has fallen off his costume it is now rolling wildly down the hill into the marching band.

​The school mascot’s head has fallen off his costume it is now rolling wildly down the hill into the marching band.

The mascot head is heading straight for the tubas someone needs to catch it before disaster strikes.

The mascot head is heading straight for the tubas someone needs to catch it before disaster strikes.

The audience was excited for the show, they were shocked by the runaway mascot head.

The audience was excited for the show, they were shocked by the runaway mascot head.

Categorize

Options (11)

My TikTok video went viral I woke up to a million views my phone hasn't stopped buzzing.

The party lasted all night, everyone had a great time.

She loves baking cookies, her kitchen always smells amazing.

After the storm passed, we went outside to see the rainbow.

Taylor Swift dropped a surprise album, and my sister hasn't stopped screaming.

The movie started late, so we missed the previews.

The new pizza place downtown has a secret menu; most customers don't know about it.

Ms. Rodriguez, our new art teacher, brings her pet gecko to class every Friday.

The concert was amazing I can't wait to go again.

We went hiking, it started to rain halfway up the mountain.

He plays the guitar beautifully he should join a band.

Organize these options into the right categories

run-on

sentence

​Add this to your notes.

Multiple Select

An independent clause must have...​ ​ ​

• subject
• adjective

• complete thought
• interesting topic
• verb

Our dog ate an entire cake off the counter, his frosting covered paws tracked sprinkles everywhere.

Our dog ate an entire cake off the counter. His frosting covered paws tracked sprinkles everywhere.

The haunted house creaked with every step bats flew out of the attic.

The haunted house creaked with every step. Bats flew out of the attic.

​Add this to your notes.

My friend challenged me to a dance-off we ended up showing off our moves in the middle of the commons.

My friend challenged me to a dance-off, and we ended up showing off our moves in the middle of the commons.

The movie was terrifying, I couldn’t sleep for days.

The movie was terrifying, so I couldn’t sleep for days.

Drag and Drop

I was excited to go to the concert, ​

Placeholder

I couldn't get tickets in time.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

but

for

so

Drag and Drop

My science experiment actually worked too well,

Placeholder

Ms. Mohr's favorite shirt is now permanently pink.​

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

,

yes

or

and

Multiple Choice

The following is a run-on sentence. Which is the best correction. "We could go to the beach, we could visit the amusement park."

• We could go to the beach, or we could visit the amusement park.

• We could go to the beach we could visit the amusement park.

• We could go to the beach, but we could visit the amusement park.

• Since we could go to the beach, we could visit the amusement park.

​Add this to your notes.

Pizza is my favorite food, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Pizza is my favorite food; I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I love reading fantasy novels they always take me to a different world.

I love reading fantasy novels; they always take me to a different world.

Multiple Choice

True or False? When using a semicolon to correct a run-on sentence, it is important that the ideas be related.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

True or False? When using a semicolon to correct a run-on sentence, the second independent clause should not begin with a capital letter, unless the first word is a proper noun.

• true

• false

​Add this to your notes.

The time-traveling hamster escaped from its cage it scurried into the science lab and activated the teleporation device.

After the time-traveling hamster escaped from its cage, it scurried into the science lab and activated the teleporation device.

The adventurer entered the dark cave she had no idea what creatures might be lurking inside.

When the adventurer entered the dark cave, she had no idea what creatures might be lurking inside.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence correctly fixes the run-on sentence by using a subordinating conjunction and creating a complex sentence?

Run-On Sentence:
The team practiced every day, they still lost the championship game.

• The team practiced every day, so they still lost the championship game.

• The team practiced every day because they still lost the championship game.

• Although the team practiced every day, they still lost the championship game.

• The team practiced every day; they still lost the championship game.

Hotspot

Read the paragraph and identify the run-on sentences.

Open Ended

Read the run-on sentence. Rewrite it using one of the methods you learned about. (Use your notes, if needed.)

Run-on: We went hiking in the mountains the view from the top was incredible

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