时间:2018-12-01 作者:英语课 分类:英语语法 Grammar Girl


英语课

by Mignon Fogarty


Today we turn to run-on sentences.

I bet a lot of you think that run-on sentences are just really long sentences that go on and on like the Energizer 1 bunny. But actually, run-on sentences are sentences that lack punctuation 2; they can be long, but they can also be short.

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What Is a Run-On Sentence?

Here's an example of a short run-on sentence: I'm a woman I am a truck driver. (I was in a writing group a few years ago with an interesting woman who was writing a book about her experience as a female truck driver.) The reason I am a woman I am a truck driver is a run-on sentence is that it's written without any internal punctuation. I've fused together two complete sentences, which is why run-on sentences are also called fused sentences.

There are a bunch of ways to fix run-on sentences; the toolbox is filled with the same basic fixes* that you can use to repair comma splices 3: periods, semicolons, and commas with coordinating 5 conjunctions.

How Can You Fix a Run-On Sentence?

How you fix the sentence depends on how the different parts are related to each other and what tone and rhythm you are trying to achieve.

For example, if you want to completely separate the two fused sentences, then you'd use a period: I am a woman. I am a truck driver.


If you want to keep more of a connection between the two thoughts, you could use a semicolon and write, I am a woman; I am a truck driver.


If you want to make more of a comment on the connection between the two sentences, then you could use a conjunction with a comma. For example, you could write, I am a woman, and I am a truck driver, or you could write, I am a woman, yet I am a truck driver.


If you wanted to get fancy, you could use a conjunctive adverb with a semicolon and a comma: I am a woman; nevertheless, I am a truck driver.


There are even more ways to fix run-on sentences, depending on the relationship between the different clauses; for example, you could use a colon 4 if the first clause introduces the second clause, but my main point is that you have to use something to connect two clauses that could be complete sentences on their own. You can't just fuse them together. If you do, that's an error called a run-on sentence.

Run-On Sentences and Your Writing Style

Sometimes people ask me how they can choose the best way to structure their sentences when there are so many different ways to connect independent clauses. In most cases, there's no right answer to that question. You have to determine what kind of tone you want to set. For example, I am a woman. I am a truck driver has a very hard and strong tone, whereas I am a woman; nevertheless, I am a truck driver has more of a conversational 6 tone. In the first case, where I used the periods, I expect to hear a tale of conflict; in the second case, where I used a conjunctive adverb, I just expect to hear an interesting story. The differences can obviously be subtle.

 believe that when you're writing, it's important not to over-think your sentence structure. If you make sure your sentences are grammatically correct and write what you mean to say, there's a good chance you'll just automatically pick the right structure for your needs, especially if you are a native English speaker. If you get too hung up on whether to use a semicolon or a conjunction, it can inhibit 7 your creativity (at least it can for me).


Also, most people end up having a personal writing style that favors certain solutions over others for no apparent reason. I bet you can read e-mail messages from your friends and tell who wrote most of them, no matter what the topic is, because you'll recognize your friends' writing styles. It can be a fun exercise to try to write in a style that is completely different from how you would normally write—just make sure you don't fuse independent clauses together and make run-on sentences.

I'm Mignon Fogarty, author of the New York Times bestseller, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

* The use of fix as a noun is considered correct, but informal.

 



1 energizer
n.抗抑制剂,情绪兴奋剂;增能器
  • He thunk highly of QI of the spleen and stomach in middle energizer. 朱丹溪吸收了李东垣《脾胃论》的思想,临证用药重视中焦脾胃之气。 来自互联网
2 punctuation
n.标点符号,标点法
  • My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
  • A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。
3 splices
v.绞接( splice的第三人称单数 );捻接(两段绳子);胶接;粘接(胶片、磁带等)
  • All field splices were bolted using ASTM A325 hex head bolts. 所有现场拼接都用美国材料试验协会的A325六角形头螺栓。 来自辞典例句
  • A gateway splices together two different kinds of protocols. 网关可拼接两种不同的协议。 来自互联网
4 colon
n.冒号,结肠,直肠
  • Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样,应当在冒号后加破折号。
  • The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。
5 coordinating
v.使协调,使调和( coordinate的现在分词 );协调;协同;成为同等
  • He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
  • He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的,难道我们不去请他? 来自电影对白
6 conversational
adj.对话的,会话的
  • The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
  • She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。
7 inhibit
vt.阻止,妨碍,抑制
  • Don't let ego and greed inhibit clear thinking and hard work.不要让自我和贪婪妨碍清晰的思维和刻苦的工作。
  • They passed a law to inhibit people from parking in the street.他们通过一项法令以阻止人们在街上停车。
学英语单词
Abya
acanthonerva unicolor
agricultural technician
antisnitching
antistreptohemolysin
Anyama
apophyllous
bargianing power
beoblast
bible-centered
body mass indices
bus dispatching
c-loop
Cahuinari, R.
calvia quadrivittata
candi
Catamarca, Prov.de
chairmat
Chiaravalle Centrale
chinese citizens
cone type loud-speaker
conjecturer
ctfd
d.l
dark forest soil
dark-complexioned
differential-plunger pump
disembowel
dna-proteins
dollar reactivity unit
dummy payload
effective anisotropy
Euonymus ellipticus
evidence rebutting an assertion
extra vires
factory journal
fedden
fifth part
flat bank revetment
foil broaching frequency
frequency shift type telemeter
friendship stores
fullautomatic color densitometer
Galium fukuyamae
genus alsophilas
glauco-
handle latch spring
height of profile peak
IFSEM
insertionic periodontal membrane
iodoxols
Jaculus
joints of hand
Kapalι
Kayahope
lead pump
library fine
liell
ligamentum coronarium hepatis
maximum vertical speed
Moskuvaara
multiperiod labor demand
Newtonian telescopes
nrss
o?litic limestone
Oberonia menghaiensis
on the rolls
outpressing
oxygenated
patulum
photo-geology
pinweeds
plant disease
play doctor
Premium Savings Bonds
premodular
prolongeth
pvcs
Pym
radial fossa
radio freqnency generator
rate gene(goldschmidt 1917)
Reginald Denny
reimposed
ring with equal pressure
salt pan scale
sampling systematic
Searlsite
semisubmersible drilling unit
sharpstone conglomerate
shotgun shack
sounder Morse instrument
steel metallurgy
strip water
subsidiary journal
system reliability prediction
thin shear web
track way
turbidity indicator
uprighting tool
wind-blown moss
wooden fence post