Sentence Fragments, Run-ons, and Complete Sentences
Pre-test
A run-on sentence is two or more complete sentences that are incorrectly treated as one. A fragment is a sentence that can't stand on its own.
Run-on, fragment, or complete sentence?
1. Because the car wash was closed, I had to wait to wash off the Sticky Notes and saran wrap.
2. I went to the mall yesterday, it was totally awesome.
3. Because I said so.
4. What is your favorite type of sandwich?
5. Going to see Ender's Game in theaters on Friday.
6. I watch the Cardinals they're my favorite team.
Run-on, fragment, or complete sentence?
1. Because the car wash was closed, I had to wait to wash off the Sticky Notes and saran wrap.
2. I went to the mall yesterday, it was totally awesome.
3. Because I said so.
4. What is your favorite type of sandwich?
5. Going to see Ender's Game in theaters on Friday.
6. I watch the Cardinals they're my favorite team.
What's the difference?
I hate run-ons, they're so annoying. Fragments too. Let's end run-ons now, this lesson will help. Right Now. (Are you paying attention?)
Common Fragments:
Freestanding Subject or Verb:
Fragment: My dog, Rover.
Corrected: My dog, Rover, eats small elephants on occasion.
Dependent Clause:
Fragment: Before I lost weight.
Corrected: Before I lost weight, I broke the trampoline three times.
A Phrase:
Fragment: Encouraging vagabond behavior.
Corrected: I was arrested for encouraging vagabond behavior.
Common Run-ons:
Corrected: A zombie wandered into the house. He tried to bite my little sister.
Common Fragments:
- A critical component of avoiding sentence fragments and run-on sentences is understanding what a correct sentence is and the different types of clauses that make up sentences. Sentences must have at least one subject and one verb and express a complete thought. A sentence fragment is part of a sentence that is punctuated as if it were a complete sentence. They appear in the following forms:
Freestanding Subject or Verb:
Fragment: My dog, Rover.
Corrected: My dog, Rover, eats small elephants on occasion.
Dependent Clause:
Fragment: Before I lost weight.
Corrected: Before I lost weight, I broke the trampoline three times.
A Phrase:
Fragment: Encouraging vagabond behavior.
Corrected: I was arrested for encouraging vagabond behavior.
Common Run-ons:
- A run-on sentence is two or more complete sentences incorrectly written as one. The most common is called a comma splice, in which two sentences are separated by a comma. Run-on sentences can be corrected in the following ways:
- Separate the two sentences with a period:
Corrected: A zombie wandered into the house. He tried to bite my little sister.
- Join them with a comma and a conjunction:
- Join them with a semi-colon:
- Join them with a semi-colon and a conjunctive adverb: