Run-On Sentences and Fragments

What is a complete sentence?

A group of words that tells a complete idea, including at least one subject and one verb, and expresses a complete thought.

What are the four requirements of a complete sentence?

1. Begin with a capital letter. 2. End with punctuation. 3. Express a complete thought. 4. Have a subject and a verb.

What is a sentence fragment?

An incomplete sentence that cannot stand alone because it is missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.

What is the subject of a sentence?

The noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that performs the action or is described by the verb (identified by asking 'Who or what?').

What is a verb?

A word in a sentence that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being.

What three types of action or state can verbs express?

Physical action, mental action, and state of being.

What is an independent clause?

A group of words that contains a subject and a verb, expresses a complete thought, and can stand alone as a sentence.

What is a dependent clause?

A group of words that has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

Which words commonly help identify dependent clauses?

Words such as 'because', 'although', 'if', 'when', or 'since'.

What is a run-on sentence?

An error that occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined together without proper punctuation or conjunctions.

What are the four ways to edit a run-on sentence?

1. Use end punctuation. 2. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction. 3. Use a semicolon. 4. Add a subordinating conjunction.

How do you use end punctuation to fix a run-on sentence?

Identify where the first independent clause ends, add a period, and start the next sentence with a capital letter.

How do you use a comma and a coordinating conjunction to fix a run-on?

Add a comma before a coordinating conjunction (like and, but, or, so) to join the two independent clauses.

How do you use a semicolon to fix a run-on sentence?

Place a semicolon between two related independent clauses (note that you do not capitalize the word after a semicolon).

How do you use a subordinate clause to fix a run-on sentence?

Turn one independent clause into a dependent clause using a subordinating conjunction and add a comma before the following clause.

Name several common subordinating conjunctions.

After, although, as, because, before, even though, if, once, since, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, while, why.

Is sentence length the cause of a run-on sentence?

No, the issue lies in structure, not length. A long sentence can be correct as long as it is properly structured.