Which option fixes the run-on: "The movie was long it was boring."

Which option fixes the run-on: "The movie was long it was boring."

• A. The movie was long; it was boring.
• B. The movie was long, it was boring.
• C. The movie was long and it was boring.
• D. The movie was long; and it was boring.

Answer: (A)

Joining two independent clauses properly is the idea here. The two parts, “The movie was long” and “it was boring,” each could stand as its own sentence, so they need a punctuation mark that shows their close relationship without turning them into one run-on.

Using a semicolon to connect them is the right move. The semicolon links the two related statements cleanly and signals that they are connected ideas without adding extra conjunctions. So the correct sentence reads: The movie was long; it was boring.

Placing just a comma between the two clauses creates a comma splice, which is not acceptable in standard writing. So The movie was long, it was boring isn’t considered correct here. If you want to use “and,” you’d usually insert a comma: The movie was long, and it was boring. Without that comma, some styles still accept it, but many grammar guides require the comma before the coordinating conjunction when joining two independent clauses. And putting a semicolon before “and” isn’t correct, because a semicolon already marks the separation and doesn’t pair with a conjunction afterward.