Run-ons : The sentences that don't know when to quit

Run-ons:The sentences that don't know when to quit Sometimes being a good writer means knowing when to stop.

Run-on Problem #1:The Dreaded Comma Splice When we studied comma usage, we learned that you cannot join two independent clauses together using a comma alone. Example: My cat is bugging me, she wants attention.

Fixing the Comma Splice There are three ways to fix the comma splice: 1. Remove the comma and insert a semi-colon. My cat is bugging me; she wants attention. 2. Remove the comma and insert a period in its place. This will form two sentences. My cat is bugging me. She wants attention. 3. Leave the comma in and insert a coordinating conjunction. My cat is bugging me, and she wants attention.

Run-on Problem #2:The Never-ending Sentence Just because you have avoided the dreaded comma splice, doesn’t mean you have written a well crafted sentence. Adding a comma and coordinating or subordinating conjunction to the end of every independent clause creates a de facto run-on. Example: John went to the movies and then he went to a party, so he had to find a ride home, but everyone who was driving had a full car because only some of the kids had licenses, and a few of those kids couldn’t get their parents’ cars.

Avoiding De Facto Run-ons Adding periods without removing the conjunctions won’t work. John went to the movies and then he went to a party. So he had to find a ride home. But everyone who was driving had a full car because only some of the kids had licenses. And a few of those kids couldn’t get their parents’ cars. Still a bad sentence.

Avoiding De Facto Run-ons To fix a de facto run-on: • Recognize that you are packing too many independent and dependent clauses into a single sentence. • Don’t start sentences with coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Coordinating conjunctions are for joining not starting something new.

Avoiding De Facto Run-ons Proper use of periods, commas, and conjunctions will lead to grammatically correct and well written sentences. Corrected Writing: John went to the movies and then went to a party. He had to find a ride home, but everyone who was driving had a full car because only some of the kids had licenses. A few of those kids couldn’t get their parents’ cars.

Run-on Recap • Run-ons occur when you create a comma splice or string together too many clauses using conjunctions. • You can correct a comma splice by inserting a period in place of the comma, inserting a semi-colon in place of the comma, or adding a coordinating conjunction to the sentence following the comma. • Avoiding run-ons requires recognizing that you are stringing together too many clauses. Once that is accomplished, it is fairly simple to separate the longer, awkward sentence into shorter, easier to read sentences. • Starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions is generally a bad idea.

Sentence Fragments A capital letter and a period do not always a sentence make

What is a Fragment? A fragment is an incomplete sentence. A sentence must have a subject and verb that work together to form a complete thought. A fragment either lacks one of these two elements or fails to form a complete thought.

An example of a Fragment Consider the following example of a sentence fragment: The local college offers many majors in engineering. Such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. The second “sentence” is actually a fragment. It contains neither a subject nor a verb.

Fixing a Fragment The solution to the fragment on the preceding slide is fairly simple. The local college offers many majors in engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. By replacing the period from the first sentence with a comma and making the “s” lower case, you can make a sentence and a fragment into one longer, grammatically correct sentence.

Fragments are sometimes dependent clauses that are not linked to Independent clauses We learned about dependent clauses in the comma unit. They are useful tools to use in forming sentences, but they must always be attached to an independent clause. Fragment Because the iguana liked cheeseburgers. Sentence We stopped at Burger King because the iguana liked cheeseburgers.

Sample Fragments and Corrections Fragment Toys of all kind thrown everywhere. Correction Toys of all kind were thrown everywhere. (missing verb) Fragment For doing freelance work for a competitor got Phil fired. Correction Phil got fired for doing freelance work for a competitor.(original wording formed a prepositional phrase and an incomplete thought)

Run-ons : The sentences that don't know when to quit