Run on Sentences - Sentence Correction

What are run-on sentences and how can you fix them? That's what we're going to talk
about today.

All right, so this is our discussion on run-on sentences. Again, it is still part of the
sentence correction section so it's very important for you to understand what error this
is and how to correct it.

-If you look at this sentence, you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles.

Do you think this is a correct sentence? This is just an example of a run-on sentence.
Now why?

-Because a run-on sentence is a fused sentence which happens when there are two
independent clauses.

If there are two parts, complete sentences can be formed and they are connected. They
are either connected by a comma or sometimes there is no dot.

-And there are different forms or types of run-on sentences.

Now the first type is the comma splice. And the comma splice is just another form, just
one of the many forms of run-on sentences.

Another form or type is like this. You have the first independent clause, then you have a
transitional expression, sometimes however, furthermore, therefore, tapos nakakabit na
yung second independent clause.

Another type is yung independent clause, tapos isa pang independent clause na ang bida
naman ay pronoun for the same noun dun sa unang independent clause. So again, ito ay
mga structure or types ng run-on sentences.

Now, paano natin ito makikita?

-Simulan natin dun sa comma splice.

This is what it looks like. Independent clause, tapos isang comma, tapos independent
clause.

Comma splice occur when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined with a
comma. In other words, the words on each side of the comma could form their own
sentence.

Now, dun muna tayo dun sa refresher natin kung ano ba independent clause. Kapag
meron kang subject at meron ka ring verb at meron kang object or buo yung isang part
ng sentence, tas meron pang isang ganun na meron ding sarili niyang subject, may sarili
ding verb at object, or kahit na verb lamang, kahit minsan hindi naman nilalagayan ng
object, basta buo na sya at ang naghati sa kanila isang comma lamang, mali na sya. So
yung ating example kanina, you were Romeo, comma, you were throwing pebbles.
If you see dun sa left side na you were Romeo, yung you were Romeo is a complete na
sya na sentence. You being the subject, were is our “be” verb, tapos si Romeo yung
description kung sino sya. So kumbaga, pwede nang buong sentence niyang you were
Romeo, period. Independent clause sya.

Pag tignan natin sa right side, you were throwing pebbles, buong sentence din sya. You
ang subject or gumagawa, you were throwing pebbles, ito naman yung ginagawa niya.

So again, buong sentence lang din na din ito. At dahil comma lang yun ang kakabit sa
kanya, mali yan. Okay?

-Now, yung transitional expression na mention natin kanina would look like this.

You have your independent clause, tapos meron kang minsan comma before this,
minsan wala, tapos yung transitional expression natin, you have however, moreover,
therefore, meanwhile, indeed, then also subsequently, and may mga iba pang examples
na hindi ko nailista dito, tapos nakadugtong yung isa pang independent clause. Okay?

So it would look something like this. You were Romeo, moreover, you were throwing
pebbles.

But again, nakalagay sya na isa pang comma sa before, nung transitional expression,
isang comma after, this is wrong. This is a run-on sentence. Okay? And there are ways to
correct that, which we'll talk about later.

-Yung third form is the independent clause, tapos yung independent clause, kahit na
hindi mismong noun, hindi mismong yung pangalan ang sinabi, pero kung pronoun sya,
pertaining to the same subject dun sa nauunang independent clause, mali pa rin. So
again, you have your independent clause, plus yung comma, plus yung independent
clause na pangalawa, it would look something like this. This love is difficult, comma, it's
real.

Now, bakit ito run-on sentence? Kasi yung this love, which is the first subject dito sa
unang independent clause natin, sya pa rin yung it, dun sa it's real. Okay? So again, it
may not say na this love is difficult, this love is real, pero dahil yung it na yan is still this
love, run-on sentence pa rin ito, nahati pa rin sya ng comma. Okay? So again, yan ang
iba-ibang mga itsura nila, nung mga run-on sentences.

-Now, the next question would be, how do we fix it? You have a number of options.
Number one, you can add a conjunction, you can also turn the comma into a semicolon,
you can turn the comma into a period, kasi ika-capitalize mo yung kasunod, or yung
pagdagdag ng subordinating conjunction. Okay? Now, paano ito ginagawa?

-Let's start with option one.

Again, magdadagdag ka lang ng conjunction. So you have your independent clause,

tapos instead of a comma lang, lalagyan natin ng coordinator. Okay? Bago natin i-
dugtong yung independent clause na pangalawa.
So, kung meron tayong coordinator, like yung fanboys, for and nor, but, or, yet, or so,
depende sa kung ano yung sakto dun sa sentence na ginagamit natin, pwede kang
magdagdag yan, tapos syaka mo i-dugtong yung pangalawang independent clause.

-So, yung example natin na you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles, dati, diba,
meron lang syang isang comma right here, which makes it a run on sentence or comma
splice sya. So, kung gusto ko to i-correct, hindi ko sya iiwanan ng comma lang.

Dadagdagan ko sya ng conjunction. Now, dun sa fanboys, for and nor, but, yet, diba, but,
or, yet, so, what is the best answer here.

-AND Kasi sya rin yun eh, diba, you were Romeo and you were throwing pebbles.

Okay? So, pag ganyan na sya, pwede na yan, pwede na mag-work yung sentence natin.
Now, there's no need to capitalize this, kasi isang sentence pa rin naman sya. Okay? Just
don't forget, nalagyan ng comma dito.

-So, pag ganito na, tama na yung sentence natin. Okay?

-Now, another option would be, yung comma, is gagawin nating semicolon.

So, yung independent clause, plus comma, plus independent clause, yung comma na yan,
gagawin lang natin syang semicolon.

-So, sa example natin kanina, you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles, ang pwede
natin gawin would be, again, yung kaninang comma lang dito, nalagyan lang natin ng
tuldok sa taas, magiging semicolon na sya. Okay? Now, an important thing to note, pag
dating sa ganito, is, hindi din natin kinakapitalize yung letter after ng semicolon, unless
proper noun sya, or kailangan talaga.

Okay? Unless, ang nakalagay, you were Romeo, Romeo was throwing pebbles, kasi yung
Romeo, capital yun, dahil yun ang pangalan niya. In that case, kailangan mo sya
ikapitalize. Pero dahil you lang naman sya, iiwanan natin sya as a small letter.

Okay? Now, next. This.

-Ang pwede natin gawin is this. Instead of comma here, and a comma right here, ang
gagawin lang natin yung una, pwede natin sya gawing semicolon instead of a comma. So,
semicolon, moreover, comma, you were throwing pebbles.

Okay? Ganyan sya. Kapag ganyan na sya, kumpleto na sya, pwede na yung ganon.

-Or, another option is to turn the comma into a period.

Okay? So, independent clause, comma, independent clause, instead of that, gagawin
natin syang period. Okay? But, again, dahil period na sya, at mag-iba na sila ng sentence,
magiging capital na yung first letter nung second independent clause natin. Now, how
does that look like in action? Alright?
-So, kung kanyari ito, dati syang comma, hindi na sya pwedeng maging comma ngayon,
gagawin na natin syang period.

Now, don't forget, na kapag kinorect natin ito, dahil period yan at isang sentence na ito,
this right here should be a capital letter. So, you were throwing pebbles. Magiging
capital na sya, kasi period na ito.

-Now, for the second fix natin, kapag meron ka rin na ganitong klaseng statement or
ganitong klaseng word, ano ang pwede nating gawin about this? ang pwede natin gawin
din is to turn the comma into a period. So, instead of yung kanina, na semicolon, yung
nalagay natin, diba, ganyan as comma, ang gagawin natin would be, naglalagay tayo ng
period right here, tapos, gagawin natin capital yung moreover, kung gusto natin sya i-
keep, tapos nalagay natin ang comma after it.

-So, you were Romeo, moreover, comma, you were throwing pebbles.

No need to capitalize yung YOU, kasi ito na yung first letter ng ating second sentence. So,
again, you have multiple options naman.

-Now, option number four is to add a subordinating conjunction.

Ano yung ibig sabihin nun? You have your independent clause and another independent
clause. Pwede rin na, again, pronoun yung ginamit instead of a noun. Instead of,
maglalagay tayo something sa pagitan nila, ang gagawin natin ay maglalagay tayo ng
lead or nauuna na subordinating conjunction and a comma.

Now, how do we do that? How do we add that? Now, ganito ang gagawin natin. If you
have this example right here, option number four, this love is difficult, it's real, pwede
natin sya lagyan ng lead

-for example, even if this love is difficult, comma, it's real.

-Or, pwede rin although this love is difficult, it's real. At dahil ganyan na sya, at itong
part na to now doesn't form a sentence. Kasi, although love is difficult, it's not a
sentence.

Pwede na syang magstay as that. Isang sentence na lang sya. So, again, pwede mo rin
gawin yung magdagdag na subordinating conjunction before the sentence.

-Now, the best way for you to test kung naintindihan talaga is through a quick quiz.
Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to give you time.

Three questions lang ito. Mabilis na mabilis lang. I just want you to spot kung ano yung
tamang sentence.

Choose the best sentence.

Alright, let's see how you did. So, mabilis lang ito. Pipiliin lang natin kung anong tama sa
kanila.
Titignan natin isa-isa yung mga sentence. Subukan na rin natin korrekt.

So, letter A, you were Romeo, comma, I was a scarlet letter.

So, YOU was the first subject. Kumpleto siya na, independent clause. Ito rin, kumpleto
rin siya, independent clause rin siya.

Dahil comma lang ang makalagay dito, this is wrong kasi meron siyang comma splice.
So, mali ito. Okay, hindi siya pwedeng sagot.

Yung pangalawa, okay sana, kaya lang may missing comma before the end. So, wala
siyang comma doon, kulang siya. So, this is also wrong.

So, sa first na question, letter C. Again, one of the things that we can do is to just add a
period right there. So, you were Romeo, period, I was a scarlet letter. Tama na yan, letter
C.

Yung pangalawa naman, you'll be the prince, semicolon, meanwhile, I'll be the princess.

Tama ba ito? Kasi meron kang semicolon, hindi colon, tapos hindi rin nakakapitalize
yung meanwhile, may comma ka after. Pwede to, this can work. Tsaka yung meanwhile,
ibig sabihin kasabay.

So, habang ikaw yung prince, ako naman ay magiging princess. So, this makes sense. So,
tama tayo dyan.

Just to make sure, check natin yung iba kung mali. You'll be the prince and I'll be the
princess. Again, missing yung comma here.

So, this is wrong. You'll be the prince up, okay, this is a colon, not a semicolon.

I'll be the princess. So, mali ito.

Next, okay, ang sagot mo ay blank

letter A. Yung susunod naman, I talked to your dad, so go pick out a white dress.

Okay, so walang kahit anong punctuation dyan. So, this is wrong.

Next, I talked to your dad, comma, go pick out a white dress.

Okay, medyo awkward pa rin siya, kasi I talked to your dad is an independent clause. Go
pick out a white dress is still a sentence. Wala man nakalagay na you go pick out a white
dress or you should go pick out a white dress.

Naiintindihan siya as buong sentence. So, awkward pa rin ito.

Tingnan natin kung mas maganda yung letter C. Since I talked to your dad, dahil
nakausap ko na yung dad mo, so go pick out a white dress.

Okay, since I talked to your dad, parang kung maganda nakausapan yung dad mo, go
pick out a white dress, I would say you can choose this as the best sentence. Since is
now our lead doon sa sentence na yun, okay, dahil dito hindi na siya buong sentence,
pwede na siyang maging part ng isang mas mahabang sentence which is this. Alright,

Explanations:

#1:

Option A: "She wanted to go to the party, but it was too late."

This is the correct sentence. We have two independent clauses here ("She wanted to go
to the party" and "it was too late"), and they are connected by the coordinating
conjunction "but." A comma is required before "but" to correctly join these clauses.

Option B: "She wanted to go to the party but it was too late."

This sentence is incorrect because it is missing the comma before "but." When joining
two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction like "but," a comma is needed.

Option C: "She wanted to go to the party; but it was too late."

This sentence is incorrect because a semicolon should not be used before a coordinating
conjunction like "but." Semicolons are typically used to link two independent clauses
without a conjunction.

#2:

Option A: "I like to read books; especially fiction."

This is incorrect because the semicolon is not needed here. "Especially fiction" is not an
independent clause, so a semicolon is inappropriate.

Option B: "I like to read books, especially fiction."

This is the correct sentence. The comma before "especially fiction" is correctly used to
set off the phrase from the rest of the sentence, providing a natural pause.

Option C: "I like to read books especially, fiction."

This is incorrect because the comma is in the wrong place. The sentence is awkward and
confusing with the comma separating "especially" and "fiction."

#3:

Option A: "After dinner we went for a walk."

This is incorrect because it is missing a comma after "After dinner." Introductory
phrases like "After dinner" should be followed by a comma.

Option B: "After dinner, we went for a walk."

This is the correct sentence. The comma after "After dinner" correctly sets off the
introductory phrase from the main clause.
Option C: "After dinner; we went for a walk."
This is incorrect because a semicolon should not be used here. The phrase "After
dinner" is not an independent clause, so a semicolon is inappropriate.

#1:

Option A: "The committee, which was comprised of various experts decided to postpone
the meeting."
This sentence is incorrect because it is missing a comma before "decided." The clause
"which was comprised of various experts" is non-essential (non-restrictive), and it
should be set off by commas both before and after it.

Option B: "The committee which was comprised of various experts, decided to postpone
the meeting."
This sentence is incorrect because the relative clause "which was comprised of various
experts" should be set off with commas, as it is non-restrictive and provides additional,
non-essential information. The placement of commas is also incorrect.

Option C: "The committee, which was comprised of various experts, decided to

postpone the meeting."
This is the correct sentence. The non-essential clause "which was comprised of various
experts" is correctly enclosed in commas, which sets it apart from the main clause. The
commas are in the right places, making the sentence clear and correctly punctuated.

#2:

Option A: "Despite his best efforts; he couldn’t finish the project on time."
This sentence is incorrect because a semicolon is incorrectly used after "Despite his best
efforts." The clause "Despite his best efforts" is a dependent clause and should be
followed by a comma, not a semicolon.

Option B: "Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t finish the project on time."
This is the correct sentence. The introductory phrase "Despite his best efforts" is
followed by a comma, which is the correct punctuation to separate it from the main
clause.

Option C: "Despite his best efforts he couldn’t finish the project on time."
This sentence is incorrect because it lacks a comma after "Despite his best efforts."
Without the comma, the sentence is harder to read and less clear.

#3:

Option A: "'You have two choices,' she said 'you can either stay here or leave.'"
This sentence is incorrect because it is missing a comma after "she said." When
attributing dialogue, a comma is typically used to separate the speaker's words from the
narrative tag.

Option B: "'You have two choices,' she said, 'you can either stay here or leave.'"
This sentence is incorrect because it combines two complete sentences ("You have two
choices" and "you can either stay here or leave") without proper punctuation. A period
should be used to separate these independent clauses.

Option C: "'You have two choices,' she said. 'You can either stay here or leave.'"
This is the correct sentence. The first sentence of dialogue is closed with a comma
before the dialogue tag, and the second sentence is correctly punctuated with a period.
The dialogue tag "she said" is followed by a period because it introduces a new
sentence.