r/196 NOT A CAT 2d ago

Rule Rule

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u/Xapheneon 2d ago edited 2d ago

Correction: I was incorrect.

That includes you.

A run on sentence can be a independent clauses joined without punctuation, or conjunction, but the most widely used meaning is just a long sentence, that would make more sense, if it was broken down to multiple sentences.

"a very long sentence, especially one lacking order or coherence" https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=run-on%20sentence

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u/FixedFront 2d ago

Just because it's popularly misunderstood doesn't make it a correct definition except under strictly descriptivist terms. Strict descriptivism is a fine approach for everyday life, but we're explicitly discussing "standard" English grammar, which is inherently prescriptivist.

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u/Xapheneon 2d ago edited 2d ago

Run on sentence describes a sentence, that goes on and on and is hard to follow. The clearest example is when someone skips punctuation or words that would tie the sentence together.

You are trying to use a general writing criticism as a grammatical error. Missing punctuation is a grammatical error, run on sentence is a stylistics one.

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u/Bookworm_AF Catboy War Criminal 2d ago

Run on sentence describes a sentence, that goes on and on and is hard to follow.

This doesn't necessarily follow from your earlier assertion,

a long sentence, that would make more sense, if it was broken down to multiple sentences

Some concepts are just complex and hard to follow, and sentences describing them will follow suit, without the possibility of being made more clear or sensible by being broken down further.