Karl,

My understanding of run-on sentences is of two sentences adjacent to each
other with the first one lacking sentence-final punctuation (period,
question mark, exclamation point, semicolon). The terminology I'd use is
"run-on sentences" rather than "a run-on sentence" because they are two
independent clauses.

The example in question does not involve run-on sentences because it is one
syntactically well-formed sentence, not two. It lacks the standard comma
before "so," but that doesn't transform it into two sentences. "You smile
and the angels sing" lacks the usual comma before "and," but I would not
use the term "run-ons."

Dick


On Sat, Dec 6, 2014 at 7:55 PM, Karl Hagen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I think the problem is fundamentally definitional, and we may not all be
> on the same page with what we mean by “run-on."
>
> One very common understanding of the term is that it refers to a sentence
> with two or more main (independent) clauses that are not properly joined.
>
> And one common understanding of what constitutes “proper” joining is that
> you can separate those clauses with a period, a semicolon, or a comma + a
> conjunction (drawn from the FANBOYS, or FANBOY if you’re old fashioned,
> list). A FANBOYS word without the comma is not on the approved list of
> alternatives.
>
> If you accept that definition of a run-on and that list of rules, both of
> which are very widely taught, the sentence is a run-on, even if it’s
> rhetorically effective as it is.
>
> If you say no, it’s not a run-on, is that because you use a different
> punctuation rule? Do you perhaps accept the punctuation rules but have some
> different term for this pattern (e.g., fused sentence) that you consider to
> be distinct from the run-on? Or do you have a different understanding of
> what constitutes a run-on sentence altogether?
>
>
>
> > On Dec 6, 2014, at 11:12 AM, Linda Di Desidero <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > Sounds like the kind of grammar feedback you might get from a machine
> reader! Definitely not a run-on. :)
> >
> > Linda
> >
> > Linda Di Desidero, PhD
> > Director, Leadership Communication Skills Center
> > Marine Corps University
> > Gray Research Center, Room 122
> > Quantico, Virginia 22134
> > 703-784-4401
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 10:04 PM, John Chorazy <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Vagaries... "two or more independent clauses in the sentence that need a
> period or semicolon," highlighting "remembering so". I agree that the
> sentence is formed just fine.​.. just a missing comma before "so" which
> still doesn't make a run-on.
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 9:31 PM, Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Even if it were a run-on, it's a poem! . . . But all parts seem fully
> formed and properly connected. What are the specifics of the claim?
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 8:11 PM, John Chorazy <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > I've recently seen this sentence in a poem called a run-on and would
> dispute that claim. Any thoughts on a parsing would be appreciated.
> >
> > "There was a dream I had and want to keep remembering so / I write the
> image down, mindful that years from now nothing / will remain of it except
> this ink, and barely that."
> >
> > Thank you... enjoy the weekend.
> >
> >
> > --
> > John Chorazy
> > English III Honors, AP Lit
> > Advisor, Panther Press
> > Pequannock Township High School
> > 973.616.6000
> >
> >
> > Noli Timere
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> >
> >
> > --
> > John Chorazy
> > English III Honors, AP Lit
> > Advisor, Panther Press
> > Pequannock Township High School
> > 973.616.6000
> >
> >
> > Noli Timere
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