FRAGMENTS COMMA SPLICES AND RUNONS A NOTE ON

FRAGMENTS, COMMA SPLICES, AND RUNONS

A NOTE ON SENTENCE STRUCTURE Comma Splices, Run-ons, and Fragments are errors in sentence structure, either in failing to create an independent clause or in failing to correctly join two independent clauses together.

FRAGMENTS � Fragments are incomplete sentences and have four likely causes: � Missing a subject � Missing a verb � Missing both a subject and a verb. � Being a dependent clause punctuated as a sentence

EXAMPLES � Jumped out the window and ran down the street. (Missing a subject) � The old man who lives down the street. (missing a verb) � Under a pale moon on a warm summer night. (missing both a subject and a verb) � I like pizza. Because it tastes good. (part of the sentence is incorrectly separated from the main sentence)

CORRECTIONS � The corrections for these errors is often simple: � The Burglar Jumped out the window and ran down the street. (missing subject added) � The old man who lives down the street Has a green car. (verb and the rest of the predicate added) � I sang Under a pale moon on a warm summer night. (subject and verb added) � I like pizza because it tastes good. (incorrectly separated sentence part added to the main sentence)

COMMA SPLICES AND RUN-ONS � Comma splices are two complete sentences that are joined together with just a comma. � Example: That was the best weekend I ever had, it was so much fun. � This is an error in sentence structure, and it can be fixed in several ways.

COMMA SPLICES AND RUN-ONS � Corrections: � Join the two sentences together with a comma and one of the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) � That was the best weekend I ever had, and it was so much fun.

COMMA SPLICES AND RUN-ONS � Correction: � Join the two sentences together with a semicolon: � That was the best weekend I ever had; it was so much fun.

COMMA SPLICES AND RUN-ONS � Correction: � Join the two sentences together by making one a dependent clause: � That was the best weekend I ever had because it was so much fun.

COMMA SPLICES AND RUN-ONS � Correction: � Punctuate the two sentences as two separate sentences. � That was the best weekend I ever had. It was so much fun.

RUN-ONS � Run-ons are essentially the same error as a comma splice, but instead of two sentences being joined with just a comma, two sentences are simply joined with no punctuation whatsoever. � Example: That was the best weekend I ever had it was so much fun. � Since run-ons are nearly the exact same error as a comma splice, run-ons are corrected in exactly the same ways.

THE TRICKY PART � Spotting fragments, run-ons, and comma splices in isolated sentences tends to be rather easy. The difficult part is spotting them in large chunks of prose (for example in your own writing). This is why it is important to practice editing larger chunks of prose so that you train your eyes to spot these errors. This is such an important thing to do with all of your papers, not just the ones for English.

PRACTICE � See if you can spot and correct all of the fragment, run-on, and comma splice errors in the following paragraph:

PARAGRAPH � Sometimes I feel like an egg. Always sitting in rows. In classrooms, the chairs are arranged in rows and at the movies the seats are connected into rows. Why can’t chairs be scattered around randomly? In my classes, I usually choose a seat in the back row that way I have a view of the whole room. Luckily, I have good eyesight. Because the chalkboard or the whiteboard can be hard to read at that distance. In movie theaters, the most distracting problem can come from the people behind me. I don’t mind people making noise or talking but I can’t stand people kicking my chair. Totally ruins my concentration. Therefore, I try to sit in the back row of theater whenever possible.

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS � � � Sometimes I feel like an egg. Always sitting in rows. In classrooms, the chairs are arranged in rows and at the movies the seats are connected into rows. Why can’t chairs be scattered around randomly? In my classes, I usually choose a seat in the back row that way I have a view of the whole room. Luckily, I have good eyesight. Because the chalkboard or the whiteboard can be hard to read at that distance. In movie theaters, the most distracting problem can come from the people behind me. I don’t mind people making noise or talking but I can’t stand people kicking my chair. Totally ruins my concentration. Therefore, I try to sit in the back row of theater whenever possible. Blue=Fragment Green=Run-on