Download Sentence Fragments: phrases and Clauses

a
Failure to understnnd the sentence unit is the cause of two types
of errors.
Both are considered serious violations of good writing: J
l. splitting off a_ piece or fragment of a sentence and writing it as though it
were a complete sentence, and
2. runoing trvo distinct and separate sentences together as though they were
a single sentence
The purpoee of this chapter is to put you on your guard
against both rypes
of erors.
LESSON 56
Sentence Fragments: phrases and Clauses
In this and the next lesson, you will review five types of word groups
that
you have already studied. They are sometimes caieiessty split off
from the
sentqrces to which they should be attached
1.
A preporltlonal phrase ehould nol be wrltten as a sentence.
TRAcMENT
ATTAcHED
2.
I worked all summer. For my father\ frienil
I worked all summer for mi father's friend.
A partlclplal phraee shourd not be wrrilen a8 a sentence.
F*'AGMENT we were lined up at the door. waitiry
for the theater rc open
ATTAcHED we were lined up at the door, waitini -for the theater to open.
A participle by itself cannot serve as a verb. A participle ending in -ing
(like is, ar4 are, wcts, ,ere, lns been, iiil b4;,
order to be the main verb in a sentence.
.
always needs-a helping verb
rnAcMENr The
SENTBNcE The
grl lding the band.
Brl uat lding the band.
3.
'
A rubordlnate crause shourd not be wrrtten ae a sentence.
2
TRA.MENT we noticed a black cloud. rs we were rowing
toward shore.
we noticed a black croud as we were rowinE toward shore.
^rrAcHED
FRAGMENT Kari was brought up by an uncle. l4/ho wcts
uery pood to her.
ATTAcHED Kari was brought uir Uy an un"l"@
ExERclsE
A
l-abel each item either F forfragmenr or
points for each correct answer.)
s for sentence. (Add l0
l.
Which was generous pay for the job.
2. The pay for the job was generous.
...
:.
.
.r
3. For the first time in my life.
4. Our ancestors, first boat was undoubtedly a log.
5. Intending to complete my theme in the morning.
6. Because I had forgotten to set my alarm clock.
7. I had forgotten to set my alarur clock.
8. Which seemed to me a very feeble excuse.
.
9. The road being too narrow for turning around.
10. As though he didn't believe my story.
EXERCISE
B In the blank space beficre ol aftel each fragment, write an independ-
qq*-"i,,h
111
a
subject and
vlrb-to
which each fragmeni can be auached.
pomts lbr each oorrect independent clause.)
.....
l.
2. Glancing over
3. Unless
although
(eio
to
I had never played
her test,
I get good
grades,
4.
by a very large majority.
5. Startled by the noise,
6.
7. By the
which is a fascinating game.
look on Sue's face,
8. Because
Silvia was absent,
9.
hoping to meet my friend
10.
for the rest of the week.
LESSON 57
Sentence Fragments: Compound predicatesl
Appositives
To oP:r-qpo.of wgrd groups somerimes get unhooked from sentenc€s
aad are left behind as fragments.
4-
A part of a compound predreare shourd not be
wrrilen a8 a 3entence.
second part of a compound predicate should
not be disconnected from
the sentence which contains'is sublect. A predicate
without a subject is not a
seat€nce.
}qgrr The plane ran our o{ gas. And landed on a golf course.
ATTAcHED The plane ran out of[as ana Unaea on a
Eohoource.
F,AGMENT Charlene reeived my letter. Bur neglected ti
o**r, it,
ATTA.HED charlene received my letter uur nefrecteJ io ans*er
rt.
5.
An apposlilve wlth
ltr modlflcrs should not be wrltten as a eentence.
An appositive is a noun (or pronoun)-<ften with modifiers-that
folrows
another noun and explains it.
ExAvpLEs Althea Gibsoq rtar or tennrg was born in South carolina(Slcr is an appositive. It explains Althea Gibson.)
I
dreamed of winning the first prize, a round trlp to t{aehtngfon
appositive with its modifiers is generally
-byAn
mn'nas-+r
a comma,
set offfrom the word it explains
if it ends tf,e ,enten".. when a writer thoughilessly
cuts offan appositive from the sentence by using a period,
a fragment results.
FRAGMENT The invitation was from carolyn. My cousin
in Mirwaukee.
ATTA.HED The invitation was from caroryn, my cousin in Milwaukee.
FRAGMENT The game was won by Terry,. The youngest player
on our le@n
ATTAcHED The game was won bi T.rri,
E_L"g[_*ilryf:,
"gfSg11
ExERclsE
Each of the following numbered problems consisrs of two word groups.
ln-some of therq both word groups-are compleie sentences. In
many of them, one is
that should be m-nneited to the ientence.
Underlin. ruit rraginint and
3-fragment
u*.Q
the type of fragment it is, using the rabels b"d;.
aJie p"i"6 for each
orrectly ma*ed sentence.)
prcp.
= prepositional phrase or
pred.
phrases
parl
-
participial phrase
sub. = subordinate clause
aPp.
C
-
-
=
split compound
predicate
appositive
corect sentenc€
3
n
k...
A Phyllis answered the telephone. It was her mother.
B. I read the list of winners. Hop*g to ,.. *y ,ru**
N.
.
l.
We tried to find
2.
I
thought that
somethirrf*rrrul. That Lydia didn't have.
I heard footsteps. In the middle of the night.
3. Andy doesn't look for jobs. He waits for jobs to come to him.
4. Each pupil must have two study periods. Beginning next semester.
5. I enjoyed hearing from you. And hope you will write again soon.
6. It was strawberry shortcake. My very favorite dessert.
7. Babe Ruth was a great hitter. Although he often struck out.
8. My explanation didn't help. It merely made matters worse.
9. Being interested in astronomy. I have ordered a telescope.
10. Our oldest buildings are young. In comparison with the ancient
buildings of Europe.
I
l.
We spent three days at Virginia Beach. One of rhe most famous
ocean resorts of the South.
12. The concert was a great success. Everyone enjoyed the prograrn
13. Pupils may bring their own lunch. Or eat
in the cafeteria.
14. Their apartment is so neat. That one doesn't feel comfortable in it.
t5. You can tell the age of a tree. By the number of rings in its trunk.
16. Her mom gave her this nickname. Which has clung to her all
through her life.
17. The crocodile is a good swimmer.
of miles from land.
It
is sometimes seen hundreds
18. My parents always welcome my friends. And try to make them
feel at home.
19. We are now ready for our next step. Rinsing the film
in
water.
20. Yvonne worked at our camival. Guessing people's weights.
21. Basketball is a fast game. You have to make quick decisions.
22. Whenever I try to show off my dog. He refuses to perform.
23. This booklet lists all bridge terms. And explains their meanings.
24. Ellen was walking with her visitor. A young man from France.
25. Thanks for the stamps you sent me. They certainly are from
faraway places.
LESSON 58
Distinguishing Between sentences and
rr"$n;G
llo be a sentenc€, a group of words must pass two
tests:
l. It must have a subject and a verb.
2. It must, in addition, express a complete thought.
A sentence is no1 a matter of rength. Just two words
can be a comprete
sent'ence, an4 on the other hand, tio
dozen words n grri not be one. For
exampleanswer to the question, "what's the rnatter
with your watch?,,)
FRAGTIENT H^aving hiked over wooded mountain
trai.ls from .u'rty
till
afternoon without catching a grimpse or ,rrott er -o*rg
ierson or even a
singre human habitation ]. . "crnk" t*enry-nr.
are nor a
s€ntence, siryg pey include neither^a subjeit nor
a verb. fn"y _"
fuply
phrase derached from tri" i"a.i..aenr clause thar
1,-*4-g
would give
ir meaning.)
late
tras
sign(+) to indicate each word group that passes the two
$FI9]11_Y::1pt*
t6ls
lor I @mDlete sentence. use a minus sigr (_) for a fiagment
thit should have
been attached io an indepena.* .r"r* wi?e a ,ign
for eacf, word group that ends
with a period._Put rhese rq
the same order as tt? *..a g""oJ'tooo l0 points for
earh group of sentences lhatTis correctly marked.) o--t-' '"'
.t .: a
' t' '.
:'*. -
(a) we went from door to door. And reminded people to vore.
(b) we w6nt from door to door, reminding people to vote.
(c) Going from door to door. we reminded people ro vore.
l.
(a) Seeing the house dark, we thought that you were away.
(b) The house being dark. We thought thar you were away.
(c) we thought you were away. Because the house was dark.
2. (a) Because wilma is a good organizer. She was made rhe chairwoman.
(b) wilma is a good organizer. She was made the chainvoman.
(c) Being a good organizer. wilma was made the chairwoman.
3. (a) Everything went smoothly. During the rest of the program.
(b) Although everything went smoothly during the rest of the
Program"
(c) During the rest of the progran\ everything went smoothly.
4' (a) we
are now studying poe. Inventor of the detective
story.
(b) we ,ue now studying poe. He invented
the detective story.
(c) Poe having invented the detective story.
5. (a)
{thgugh
meteors often
inhabited areas'
fal on our planet.
They rarely strike
(b) Meteors often fall on our pranet. They rarery strike
inhabited
areas.
(c) The meteors that fall on our planet rarery strike
inhabited
areas.
6. (a) we walked around the huge ship. Exploring all
the decks.
(b)
. we walked around the huge ship, exproring au the decks.
(c) walking around the huge ship and exploring a[ the decks.
7. (a) Although alligators arerazy, they fight hard if artacked.
@) Alligaton are razy. But put up a good fight if attacked.
(c) Alligaton fight hard if attacked. Although they
are usualry
lugy.
8. (a) when she was very young. Shirley Temple showed
much
talent.
(b) Shirley Temple showed much talent. At an early age.
(c) Though very young, Shirrey Tempre showed much tarenr.
9. (a) we didnt buy this car. It had been in a bad accident.
(b) This car having been in a bad accident.
(c) Having been in a bad accident. This car wi* a poor buy.
10. (a) Beatrice had a bad cold. And didn't go swimming.
(b) Having a bad cold, Beatrice didn,t go swimming.
.
(c) Because she had a bad cold. Beatrice didn,t go swimming.
e
LESSON 60
Run-on Sentences
A sentelge fragment, as we have seen, gives the reader
/ess than a complete
sentenc€. Now we study the opp_osite type of error,
which gives the reader
s17p7g
thzn a complete sentence.-Both erron
are equalry seri"ous.
Runnlng one eentence tnto another wlthout a perlod (or other end mark)
lo eeparate them reeults ln a run-on sentence,
Run-on sentences are of two types:
l.
one sctrtence runs into another with no punctuation between thern
nLrN<)N fLe UgnS qrsls .limmed the audience quieted down.
2 one sentence runs into another with a comma between thern A comm4
however, does not have the power to connect two independent
clauses.
dimmeq the audience quieted down.
15_1n
connrcrED. In.Ig!,r
The lights dimmed. The audience quieted
down.
The ruu-on sentence error is most apt to occur when, as above, the two
independent clauses are closely related in thought. But no rnatter how closely
relatdin thought two independent clauses n"! b., they are still two r.p"r"t.
scntenccs unless they are connected by the conjunction att4 but, or or.
coMpouND sENTarcE The Iights dimmed and the audience quieted down.
r
coxPour{D SENTENcB I lit a matchr but the wind blew it out immediately.
EXERCISE
A
conect the ten run-on senrences in this exercise by inserting a
Period and a capital letter. The other ten sentences are correct as they siand. Five'of
theg arg oompound sentences with the independent clauses prop.rty joined uy trri
conjunctions an4 but, or or. Five are complei s€ntences from which ih! subordtnate
clause must not be cut offby a pelod. In addition to correcting.u"h
*n-on sentence,
:
label each item as folloui: rt-s run-on sentence; cd ;;p;una sentincei
cx. = complex sentence. (Add 5 points for each corrictly marked'sentence.)
-
AJ
A
The signature was illegibl
"i?fon"of
us could read it.
l. I began to speak, and my nervousness disappeared.
2. I began to speak, my nervousness disappeared.
3. As soon as I began to speak, my nervousnes disappeared.
4. Tends is a fast game, badminton is even faster.
5. It is rct enough to feel appreciation, one should also express it.
6. We tried to make the psrty a surprise, but Liv found oul
7. Don't look for lost opportunities, someone else has found them-
7
Are we solving this problenl or rue we merely postponing it?
Soon after Linda got a promotion, she bought a car.
The wrappers are different, the candy is all alike.
The next day we reached Athens, where friends met us.
Fires don't just happen, they are usually caused by carelessnes.
The Montoyas have a piano, but no one in the family plays it.
Male mosquitoes don't bite they live on the juice of plants.
No damage was done, not even a fender was scratched.
Small fires should be put out before they turn into big ones.
The young people danced, the older people visited.
A helicopter has no wings, and there is no propeller in its nose.
If your car swerves when stopping, your brakes need adjusting.
The restaurant was crowded we had no time to wait.
B
ExERclsE
c-orrect the five run-on sentences in the following paragraph. (Add
20 points for eac.h orrect sentence.)
e rerxrxc poc?
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
l0
ll
IvIs. Rossi was
a very busy lawyer, her work left her fittle time to
exercise her dog Sonny, who was getting fat and sluggish. Something had
to be done. A brilliant idea struck her mind. since sonny raced around
the apartment whenever the phone rang, she would dial her number
several times a day. As she did this one afternoon, the receiver cricke4
she heard strange noises at the other end. She called Sonny's name.
There were several shaqp yips. She let her office friends listen, they
marveled at what they heard. After this had continued for several days,
she went home early one day, saying that she had a headache. She asked
the telephone operator to ring her number. A moment later she heard a
key in the door, the apartment manager entered her apartment. lvls.
12 Rossi hid behind a drape. The nranager picked up the receiver, he
13 ylpped and barked. He confessed that l\ds. Rossi's friends at the omc€
14 had urged him to play this trick.
8
LESSON 61
Run-on Sentences: Three Dangerous Words
Three
words-4 thery
therefore--<ause many run-on sentences.
of these words-and
refen back to the preceoiig iJ.u, propte often
they continue the same sentence. Run-on
sentences are the resurt.
thirk
As we have seen, two sentences are still
two sentences, no matter how closely
related t,o each other their thoughts may
be.
Because each
F
IT
nr;N-oN The meeting was Iong rr lasted until midnieht.
coRREcrED The meeting was lon!'. lasred
;iil;d"l"gh;
I
'Itlasteluntil midnight"
is-a separate sentence.
It has a subject and a verb,
sentence does not teli you what il is,
the previous senteice that il means meetin{
and.makes sense by itsetr. attuougt,
we know fiom
tt.
THEN
RUN-oN We changed tire, then we continued on oru way.
coRREcTED We changed $e
the tire. Then we *otinuia on
;;;"y
Then is not a conjunction like an{ but,
or or, which can connect fwo
independent clauses in a compound sentence.
The-nis simply an adverb that
tells when It can begin a new sentencejust
as nov soo4'riter,
or yesterday
caIL
Ex^Mprrs Then I
Soon
my minq Larer I changed my mind.
I :lTgrl
changed my nrind. yeeterday t Eh*giA;y-.irO.
THEREFORE
nLrN{N My line broke, therefore the fish qot awav.
coR.REcrED My line broke. Theietore rhe fuli'got
,rJuy.
adverb and not amnjunction, has noconnecting
power.
|eingan
--fu"fon,
If
it were really holding the two
the sentence, as below.
qAMpLE My line broke. The
clauses to-gether, we could
noi pr, it later in
fish theretore got away.
Note: The words it, then, and thereforedo not,
of.course, always indicate the
_
beginning of a new sentence. Ttrey aie not capit^rized
when trr.y *rrr. within
sentenc€S, aS below.
ExAMprJs When
we bought the car, lt was
fragment.)
new. (A period after car would make a
If.you g yorr best, then no one can blame you.
rus employer, th.rctor., did not blame hirn -
1
I
LESSON 63
,)
How to Present Examples
In many test questions, you are asked to give
examples to support the
you make. students frequently have trouble in preseniing these
crarses. They often end up oritirg fragments and run-on sentences.
ll your examples are only words or phrases,
-ry
make them a parl ol the
that they lllurtrate.
EAIELES Maoy girls'names
are derived from bop, names; lor example I Robertq
Henrieu4 otd Josephina (Note the iemicolon.y
The aatives rrse..elephants for healy worki ror erampre e cteoing the
ju"Sl" od ktiding rmds.
lf your examples are complete statements wlth subfects and verbs, wrlle
lhem ar reparate eentences.
ExAMrLE Don earncd spending money in many wa1a. For examplel he mowed
lawrrs and shorxled snow
forile
neiglbors.-
Be surc that your examptes tie ln grammafically wlth the poinls they
lllustrate. For example, do not use adfecttves to lllustrate nouns.
NoNSIANDARD Joanne has many good trai6; lor example tfriendly, honest, and
dependable. (The adjectivesfriendly, honest, and depindable should
not be used as exarnples of traits, a noun.)
STANDARD h"l"g has many good raia; lor example tfriendliness, honesty,
and dependability. (Here the nouns friendliness, honesty,
ependability are consistent with the noun trcis.)
id
when presentlng two or more examples ol the same potnt, put them in the
3ame gremmatlcal form.
NoNSrANDARD
oqdog
has sevgr-al bad habits; tor examplel chasing cars, jumps
furniture, and furking at euery passerby.
ourdoghas several bad habits; lor-example tclusingcus, jumping
m furniture, atd hrking at etnry passerby.
on
STANDARD
,
EXERCISE
Use the examples printed
in parentheses to illustrate each of the
wite
"for
eximple," deside whether the exanples
Phyng
should ontinue the same sentence or be written as a separate senten@. ln some
i*F"":c you will need to make the exarnples match one -another in forrn (Add l0
statements. Before you
points for each oorrecr ircm")
/o