Flashcard 11 - High School English I: Writing Flashcard Set for the STAAR test

There needs to be a semi-colon placed between block and dog so that it reads “Stephen walked the dog around the block; the dog enjoyed the time outside.”

This sentence, as it was originally written, is a run-on sentence because it is made up of two independent clauses just smooshed together. Instead, either a comma and a coordinating conjunction must be added (which would be adding more than just punctuation) or a semi-colon inserted. The run-on problem could also be solved by splitting the sentences apart and inserting a period, but keeping both clauses in one sentence requires a semi-colon.