Run-on sentences

A run-on (or fused) sentence jams two independent clauses together with no proper join: I love hiking it clears my head. Length has nothing to do with it; a long sentence can be correct and a short one can be a run-on.

See it work

One broken sentence, four correct fixes:

The store was closed · we went home.

✗ Fused sentence: two complete sentences with nothing joining them.

Two kinds

A fused sentence has no punctuation at the join. A comma splice has only a comma. Both are run-ons.

Finding them

Look for a second subject + verb pair after the first. Common trigger words at the join: it, this, then, however, I, we, they.

Frequently asked

Is a long sentence a run-on?

No. A run-on is about how clauses are joined, not length.

Is "then" a conjunction?

Not in formal writing. "I finished, then I left" is a comma splice; write "and then" or use a semicolon.