Ward of Words

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

Going On and On About Run-Ons

“I went to the zoo and saw elephants and then I saw a tiger and then we ate lunch and I had pizza and then we watched the penguins and then we saw the seal show and then we went to see the bears and then I saw the monkeys and then we had to go home.”

Have you ever heard a child or an airhead talk like this? The entire story is told as if it is massive run-on sentence. Hearing a sentence like this is bad enough, so imagine how terrible it sounds when reading!

You can’t always write how you speak

We often speak in run-on sentences, although most of us do not do it to the extent of the example above. However, even when we do this, we can still communicate clearly by changing tone or making pauses. In writing, however, the reader can’t hear you. Sometimes a sentence needs to be broken down or restructured.

A very long sentence might be punctuated correctly, but it could be too long to be clearly understood. In these cases, it is better to appropriately break up the long sentence into smaller sentences.

Run, sentence, run!

Just because a sentence is long doesn’t mean it is a run-on sentence. Very short sentences can be run-ons. A run-on sentence has at least two independent clauses that can stand alone. In a run-on, the two clauses have not been properly connected to each other with punctuation.

• Run-on: The grass is tall it needs to be cut.

• Correction: The grass is tall, so it needs to be cut.

Correcting a run-on sentence

If a sentence has two independent clauses without punctuation, you have a run-on sentence. There are several ways to correct the run-on.

Run-on sentence example: The movie lasted for three hours it was amazing.

1. Make each clause its own sentence.

• The movie lasted for three hours. It was amazing.

2. Insert a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, so) between the two independent clauses.

• The movie lasted for three hours, but it was amazing.

3. Insert a semicolon between the two independent clauses.

• The movie lasted for three hours; it was amazing.

4. Insert a semicolon and a transitional word between the two independent clauses. Transitional words indicate that there is a relationship between the two clauses. Examples include: additionally, consequently, furthermore, however, obviously, therefore, in other words, and meanwhile.

• The movie lasted for three hours; however, it was amazing.

5. Restructure the sentence and use a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions join a subordinate clause to the main clause. Examples include: unless, as long as, even though, although, until, while, because, and rather than. If the subordinate clause follows the main clause, a comma will not usually be needed before the subordinate conjunction.

• Although the movie lasted for three hours, it was amazing.

• The movie lasted for three hours because it was amazing.

A close relative

Run-on sentences are similar to comma splices, but since run-ons do not typically have a comma they can be more difficult to notice. A comma splice is when independent clauses are joined together by using only a comma. The ways to correct run-on sentences are very similar to the ways to correct comma splices.

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Who and Whom: A Who-Mongous Problem

I don’t know if people think whom sounds inherently awkward or if they just don’t know when to use who and when to use whom. I suspect it’s the latter. Many people, even people getting paid to write, use who where they should’ve used whom and vice versa.

A little background information

Before you can decide whether to use who or whom, you need to understand the difference between a subject pronoun and an object pronoun.

Who is a subject pronoun, along with he, she, you, I, we, they, and it. A subject pronoun is used when the pronoun is the subject of your sentence. The subject does the action.

- Who rolled down the hill?

- She rolled down the hill. (She is the subject. She did the action rolled.)

Whom is an object pronoun, along with him, her, you, me, us, them, and it. An object pronoun receives the action.

- Whom did he take to the movie?

- He took her to the movie. (Her is receiving the action took.)

The trick

There is a simple trick you can use to decide whether to use who or whom. Replace who with he (or whom with him) to see if the sentence is correct. If it is proper to use he, then use who. If it is proper to use him, then use whom.

- Who built the cabinet?

- He built the cabinet. (“Him built the cabinet” is not correct, so you know “whom” would not be correct either.)

- Whom can I ask to dance?

- Can I ask him to dance? (“Can I ask he to dance” is not correct, so you know “who” would not be correct either.)

Using the he/him method to figure out whether to use who/whom doesn’t force you to fully understand why you are using either word. However, if it helps you write correctly, then I’m happy to share this tip!