ACT-Sentence Structure

What makes a sentence complete?

A complete sentence must:

-Have a subject

-Have a verb

-Express a complete thought

-Be able to stand alone

What is a fragment?

A fragment is an incomplete sentence because it is missing:

-a subject

-a verb

-or a complete thought

What are the three most common fragments?

1. Prepositional phrase

2. Participial phrase

3. Dependent clause

Example of a prepositional phrase fragment?

“In the morning”

It’s only a phrase- not a complete sentence

Example of a participial phrase fragment?

“Running quickly”

No subject or complete thought (often begin with -ing words)

Example of a dependent clause fragment?

“Because it rained”

Starts with a subordinating word and doesn’t express a complete thought.

How do you fix a fragment?

Either

-Add the missing subject or verb

-OR attach it to an independent clause

Example: “Running quickly, she arrived.”

What question should you ask to identify a fragment?

Ask:

Who?

Did what?

If you can’y answer both, it’s probably a fragment.

What is an independent clause?

A group of words with:

-subject

-verb

-complete thought

It can stand alone.

What is a run-on sentence

A run-on joins two independent clauses with nothing between them

Example: “she ran the store he helped.”

What is a comma splice?

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma.

Example: “She ran the store, he helped.”

Why is a comma splice wrong?

Because a comma cannot join two complete sentences by itself.

What are the six ways to fix a run-on or commas splice?

1. Period

2. Semicolon

3. Comma + FANBOYS

4. Dash

5. Make one clause dependent

6. Rewrite the sentence

When can you use a semicolon?

Only when both sides are complete sentences.

What does FANBOYS stand for?

For

And

Nor

But

Or

Yet

So

When do you use a comma with FANBOYS?

When FANBOYS joins two independent clauses.

Example: “I studied, but I was still nervous.”

Can a commas alone join two complete sentences?

No.

A comma alone NEVER joins two independent clauses.

Coordination vs. Subordination

Coordination

-Equal ideas

-Uses FANBOYS or semicolons

Subordination

-One main idea

-One supporting idea

-Uses because, while, if, although, etc.

Example of coordination

“She studied, and he practiced.

Both are complete sentences.

Example of subordination

“Because she studied, she passed.”

One clause depends on the other.

What is parallelism?

Items in a list or comparison must have the same grammatical form.

Parallelism Example

Incorrect: I like reading, writing, and to swim.

Correct: I like reading, writing, and swimming.

What kinds of things should be parallel?

-Lists

-Series

-Comparisons

All items should match:

-noun-noun

-verb-verb

-phrase-phrase

-clause-clause

ACT rule involving -ing words

If one item ends in -ing, the others probably should too.

ACT sentence structure checklist

Ask yourself

• Is this a complete sentence?

• Is it a fragment?

• Is it a run-on?

• Is it a comma splice?

• Are both clauses complete?

• Is the list parallel?