SENTENTIAL ERRORS IN WRITING

1. SENTENTIAL ERRORS IN WRITING 1 COMMA SPLİCE 2 RUN-ON SENTENCE 3 NON-PARALLEL SENTENCE 4 SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

2. COMMA SPLİCE • A comma splice is the use of a comma to join two independentclauses. For example: • It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.[1] • Although acceptable in some languages and compulsory in others, comma splices are usually considered style errors in English.

3. CORRECTİON • Simply removing the comma does not correct the error, but results in a run-on sentence. There are several ways to correct a comma splice: Change the comma to a semicolon, colon, or dash: • It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. • We cannot reach town before dark: it is nearly half past five. • It is nearly half past five—we cannot reach town before dark.

4. CORRECTION • Write the two clauses as two separate sentence: • It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark. • Insert a coordinatingconjunction following the comma: • It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark. • It is nearly half past five, so we cannot reach town before dark. • Make one clause dependent on the other: • Because it is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark. • It is nearly half past five, which means we cannot reach town before dark. • Use a semicolon plus a conjunctiveadverb: • It is nearly half past five; hence, we cannot reach town before dark.

5. RUN-ON SENTENCE • A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independentclausesare joined without appropriate punctuation or conjunction. It is generally considered a stylistic error, though it is occasionally used in literature and may be used as a rhetorical device. An example of a run-on is a commasplice, in which two independent clauses are joined with a comma without an accompanying coordinating conjunction.Someprescriptivists  exclude comma splices from the definition of a run-on sentence,butthis does not imply that they consider comma splices to be acceptable.

6. RUN-ON SENTENCE • The mere fact that a sentence is long does not make it a run-on sentence; sentences are run-ons only when they contain more than one independent clause. A run-on sentence can be as short as four words—for instance: I drive she walks. In this case there are two independent clauses: two subjects paired with two intransitiveverbs. So as long as clauses are punctuated appropriately, a writer can assemble multiple independent clauses in a single sentence; in fact, a properly constructed sentence can be extended indefinitely.

7. EXAMPLE • A run-on sentence, without any punctuation or conjunction between "gas" and "we": • My car is out of gas we cannot reach town before dark. • A comma splice, which is considered a run-on sentence in English by some usage experts: • It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.

8. REMEDİES • Use separate sentences. However, this may disconnect related independent clauses and cause some of the meaning to be lost: • It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark. • Use a semicolon. This maintains the connection between the clauses while ensuring a pause between the two ideas: • It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. • Use a coordinating conjunction. • It is nearly half past five, so we cannot reach town before dark.

9. NON-PARALLEL SENTENCE Understanding Parallel Structure Parallel structure (also called parallelism) is the repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence.Bymaking each compared item or idea in your sentence follow the same grammatical pattern, you create a parallel construction. • Example • Not Parallel: • Ellen likes hiking, the rodeo, and to take afternoon naps. • Parallel: • Ellen likes hiking, attending the rodeo, and taking afternoon naps. OR • Ellen likes to hike, attend the rodeo, and take afternoon naps

10. NON-PARALLEL SENTENCE • Using Parallel Structure With Coordinating Conjunctions When you connect two or more clauses or phrases withcoordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but,or, yet, or so), use parallel structure. • Example Not Parallel: • My best friend took me dancing and to a show. Parallel: • My best friend took me to a dance and a show. • With Correlative Conjunctions When you connect two clauses or phrases with a correlative conjunction(not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, if…then, etc.), use parallel structure.

11. EXAMPLE: Not Parallel: • My dog not only likes to play fetch, but also chase cars. Parallel: • My dog not only likes to play fetch, but he also likes to chase cars. OR • My dog likes not only to play fetch, but also to chase cars. With Phrases or Clauses of Comparison When you connect two clauses or phrases with a word of comparison, such as than or as, use parallel structure. • Example Not Parallel: • I would rather pay for my education than financial aid. Parallel: • I would rather pay for my education than receive financial aid

12. EXAMPLE : Some helpful hints on how to revise sentences for parallel structure: • 1) Figure out what parts of the sentence are being compared. • 2) Decide whether they are parallel, i.e. arranged or constructed in the same way. • 3) If they are not, make them parallel by making the grammatical construction the same in each part. • Bruce Wayne enjoys donning his Batman costume, answering the Commissioner's phone calls, and saving Gotham City from cruel villains like the Penguin.

13. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS ASENTENCE FRAGMENT fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. It does not contain even one independent clause. There are several reasons why a group of words may seem to act like a sentence but not have the wherewithal to make it as a complete thought. • It may locate something in time and place with a prepositional phrase or a series of such phrases, but it's still lacking a proper subject-verb relationship within an independent clause: EXAMPLE: In Japan, during the last war and just before the armistice.

14. This sentence accomplishes a great deal in terms of placing the reader in time and place, but there is no subject, no verb. • It describes something, but there is no subject-verb relationship: EXAMPLE: Working far into the night in an effort to salvage her little boat. This is a verbal phrase that wants to modify something, the real subject of the sentence (about to come up), probably the she who was working so hard. • It may have most of the makings of a sentence but still be missing an important part of a verb string:

15. EXAMPLE: Some of the students working in Professor Espinoza's laboratory last semester. Remember that an -ing verb form without an auxiliary form to accompany it can never be a verb. • It may even have a subject-verb relationship, but it has been subordinated to another idea by a dependent word and so cannot stand by itself: EXAMPLE: Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the more powerful speaker. This sentence fragment has a subject, he, and two verbs, had and was, but it cannot stand by itself because of the dependent word (subordinating conjunction) even though.