Run On Sentence

[Rahul]

What does Run on Sentence exactly mean? Can someone explain the concept of run on sentences with few examples?

[UPA]

What does Run on Sentence exactly mean? Can someone explain the concept of run on sentences with few examples?

a sentence with two independent clauses is run-on sentence. for ex:

i am working hard to get high gmat score, my target is 700+.

[StaceyKoprince]

UPA's got it. If you connect two independent clauses (complete sentences) with nothing other than a comma, you've got a run-on sentence.

[arpanchandra]

Greetings.
Below question is from MGMAT CAT-

The jersey of the Colombian soccer club Independiente Medellín is emblazoned with five stars, each representing one of the club's five national titles

A- each representing one of the club's
B- each of which represent one of its
C- each one representing one of their
D- all of which represent one of the club's
E- each of them represents one of its.

Correct Ans is -A.

But my doubt is with E.

Explanation as per the MGMAT CAT sol for option E is:
In this sentence, the words after the comma ("each of them represents...") form a complete sentence by themselves, creating a run-on sentence overall.


My doubt is what is wrong with run-on-sentence. I chose E over A because of pronoun THEM referring to stars. As Them can be use for people or things.

[jnelson0612]

Greetings.
Below question is from MGMAT CAT-

The jersey of the Colombian soccer club Independiente Medellín is emblazoned with five stars, each representing one of the club's five national titles

A- each representing one of the club's
B- each of which represent one of its
C- each one representing one of their
D- all of which represent one of the club's
E- each of them represents one of its.

Correct Ans is -A.

But my doubt is with E.

Explanation as per the MGMAT CAT sol for option E is:
In this sentence, the words after the comma ("each of them represents...") form a complete sentence by themselves, creating a run-on sentence overall.


My doubt is what is wrong with run-on-sentence. I chose E over A because of pronoun THEM referring to stars. As Them can be use for people or things.

Hi,
The run-on sentence is a hard and fast rule on the GMAT. You cannot link two complete sentences with a comma and the GMAT will consider any answer wrong that does so.

In your example, compare A to E. Here is A:
The jersey of the Colombian soccer club Independiente Medellín is emblazoned with five stars, each representing one of the club's.

Notice that "each representing one of the clubs" is referring to the noun right in front of this phrase, "stars". This is called a "noun modifier" and it is being used correctly, because the description is sitting right next to the noun the description modifies.

In your answer, E:
The jersey of the Colombian soccer club Independiente Medellín is emblazoned with five stars, each of them represents one of its.

Notice how:
"Each of them represents one of its." can stand alone as a sentence. I have a noun "each", and a verb, "represents". I cannot have this construction. I cannot have two complete sentences linked by a comma; the GMAT will not allow that.

By contrast, in A, "each representing one of the clubs" is not a sentence.

You seem to have chosen this answer because of the pronoun "them". While "them" is used correctly here, the pronoun "its" is not used correctly here. There is no possessive for "its" to refer to.
In general, don't choose an answer just because it has a correct pronoun. Choose an answer because it has no grammatical or meaning errors.

[arpanchandra]

Thanks a lot.

[jnelson0612]

Thanks a lot.

You are welcome! :-)

[vak3e]

Hello! I have a follow up question about that --

What are some appropriate ways of connecting two independent clauses, and perhaps counter intuitive inappropriate ways...

I like taking baths, but Ashley loves taking showers.

That's perfectly acceptable. But:

I think shampoo is better, and Ashley thinks conditioner is better.
I'm guessing the 2nd one is incorrect b/c it's illogical -- since there should be some contrast implied by the conjunction...am I right?

So, is there any other way to have a run-on sentence besides just two independent clauses joined by a comma?

Thank you so much!

[RonPurewal]

Hello! I have a follow up question about that --

What are some appropriate ways of connecting two independent clauses, and perhaps counter intuitive inappropriate ways...

I like taking baths, but Ashley loves taking showers.

That's perfectly acceptable. But:

I think shampoo is better, and Ashley thinks conditioner is better.
I'm guessing the 2nd one is incorrect b/c it's illogical -- since there should be some contrast implied by the conjunction...am I right?

These sentences are hard to judge; it's hard to see shampoo and conditioner as competing alternatives.

As always, context is supremely important here.

For instance,
1/ Sarah likes asparagus, and I like spinach.
2/ Sarah likes asparagus, but I like spinach.

If my point is "Both Sarah and I like green vegetables", only #1 is logical.
If we have to choose between spinach and asparagus as a shared dish at a restaurant, though, only #2 makes sense.

[RonPurewal]

So, is there any other way to have a run-on sentence besides just two independent clauses joined by a comma?

Thank you so much!

I don't know whether the term "run-on" is technically used in all of these cases, but, if any essential element appears more than once without an appropriate connector, you have an incorrectly constructed sentence.

E.g.,

You can go now, I'm home.
(run-on sentence"”you have two of everything)

My brother, who lives in Texas, he is a sales manager.
(two subjects)

My brother lives in Texas, far from where we grew up, is a sales manager.
(two verbs)

And so on.

[sg2010]

@Jamie nelson:

This sentence reminds me of another SC problem that deals with the ", -ing", i.e. an adverbial modifer. The problem is OG17 #723. See below. In the problem, #723, the ", -ing" was not the correct modifier because it was unclear what "outnumbering" was referring to (that is what manhattan says, but am not sure what that means by "unclear," as it seemed pretty clear from the sentence that it was referring to letters) and also was not correct because the ", -ing" was to explain an outcome, whereas the additional info on Emily's letters to Susan is the most is not critical information (and therefore doesn't deserve the ", -ing"). Did I restate this logic correctly and does this logic apply in this question.

In other words, would it be correct to write this: "[u]each of which represents one of its[/u] five national titles"? 1) is ok to use "of which" instead of ", -ing" and why and 2) is it ok to use its?

OG17 723:

[Copyright text removed]

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

You're not allowed to post Official Guide material here - please read the guidelines before posting.

Don't trust the explanations in the official guide: they're often inconsistent and vague. The basic rule about the comma - ing modifier that SC 723 breaks is that there needs to be a logical connection between the two parts of the sentence. Take these examples:

Simon, who works for a bank, likes football. [Two facts about Simon; no problem if they're unrelated.]
Simon, working for a bank, likes football. [Sounds odd? It's an incorrect sentence as the comma -ing modifier demands some logical connection.]

This is the problem with "outnumbering" in SC 723.

In other words, would it be correct to write this: "each of which represents one of its five national titles"? 1) is ok to use "of which" instead of ", -ing" and why and 2) is it ok to use its?

1) Yes, it is. Both are acceptable here (so long as the verb 'represents' is correct).
2) The pronoun 'its' is borderline here. It needs to refer to 'soccer club', but the other nouns 'jersey' and 'each' are in competition. So it's probably clearer not to use a pronoun, but to use 'the club's', as the correct answer does.

[rajatk853]

Hii experts,
Comparing E option
1.The jersey of the Colombian soccer club Independiente Medellín is emblazoned with five stars, each of them represents one of its national titles.
with another officially correct option from MGMAT CAT
2.Fusion, the process through which the sun produces heat and light, has been studied by scientists, some of whom have attempted to mimic the process in their laboratories by blasting a container of liquid solvent with strong ultrasonic vibrations.
each of them creates a run-on sentence I totally agree on this point
But why some of whom doesn't?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Good thinking - it's excellent to compare sentences to spot patterns and rules. Here, the difference is that 'whom' is what we call a relative pronoun. Along with words such as 'which' and 'where', it links one part of a sentence with another. Relative pronouns are used to make modifiers and can't stand on their own. Look at this example.
The bowl, which is red, is on the table.
The phrase 'which is red' can't stand alone as a sentence. However, the phrase 'it is red' can stand alone as a sentence. That's the difference.