Catching Fragments and Run-Ons
EASY WAY TO CATCH A RUN-ON AND SNAG A SENTENCE FRAGMENT
- Does it glide effortlessly off your tongue, or do the words bounce awkwardly from your throat?
FIX A SENTENCE FRAGMENT
Read each sentence aloud.
A: The tall man stumbled into the saloon. Then tripped over a chair and passed out.
OR
B: The tall man stumbled into the saloon, tripped over a chair, and passed out.
Now, which one is a fragment? You guessed it! In sentence A, the second sentence is a fragment. We corrected it by adding a comma and attaching it to the first one.
A sentence fragment most often needs a subject. (鈥淭hen tripped over a chair and passed out,鈥 has no subject.) Ask yourself: Who tripped over the chair?
Save the use of a sentence fragment for those situations that allow for one:
- In dialogue: 鈥淒o you want to go to McDonalds?鈥 asked Micah. 鈥淥h sure, yeah!鈥 said John.
- For emphasis: 鈥淲e used to enjoy having Fred join us for dinner. Until he gave up utensils.鈥
- As an exclamation: 鈥淣o way!鈥
FIX A RUN-ON SENTENCE
Read aloud again.
A. Marsha was having a bad hair day she stood at the bathroom mirror primping for over an hour. When she finally realized she was late, she hopped into her car and rushed to work.
OR
B. Having a bad hair day, Marsha stood primping at the bathroom mirror for over an hour. When she finally realized she was late, she hopped into her car and rushed to work.
You鈥檙e right if you thought the first sentence was a run-on! A run-on sentence usually contains two separate independent clauses, each with their own subject and verb. We corrected the run-on by making the first clause dependent and attaching it with a comma. You could, however, use a coordinating conjunction (鈥渁nd,鈥 鈥渂ut,鈥 鈥渙r,鈥 鈥渇or,鈥 鈥渘or,鈥 鈥測et,鈥 or 鈥渟o鈥) instead. Be careful, though; when you add a conjunction to a run-on, you may create a very lengthy sentence.