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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