Download Lesson 14: Fragments, Splices and Run

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Lesson 14: Fragments, Splices and Run-ons
Lesson 14
Fragments, Splices, and Run-ons
In Units 2 and 3, you learned how to create several different kinds of sentences. In doing so, you
used punctuation and conjunctions to help your reader know when a new idea begins, when it ends, and
how your ideas are connected. In this lesson, you will study three types of sentence mistakes often made by
writers:

Fragment- and incomplete or broken “sentence” that does not express a complete
thought
Machinery a fraction of the width of a human hair.

Splice- two or more complete thoughts “spliced” together with a comma but without
conjunctions to show how the ideas are connected
Nanotechnology is the development of machinery a fraction of the width of a
human hair, in the future it might be used to cure paralysis and detect cancer in
its early stages.

Run-on- two or more complete thoughts that are run together without punctuation or
conjunctions to show where one idea and another begins
The technology is remarkable it requires scientists to create structures too small for
human hands or even robots to manipulate.
To Fragment or Not to
Fragment
---------------Fragments are rarely
considered acceptable in
formal writing. however,
experienced authors
sometimes use fragments to
create certain effects.
Following are several
situations in which you may
encounter fragments in your
reading.
dialogue (speech):
“Amazing,” Howie said as
he gazed at the sunrise over
Mount Rainer. “Simply
amazing.”
idioms: Nothing of the sort.
out of sight, out of mind.
interjections: Wow! Oh, my.
Uh-oh. Ah ha! Yay!
marketing slogans: summit
boots: for those who reach
the top.
questions and answers: why
do I want to climb Mount
Molehill? Because its there.
purposeful style: hiking
across the glacier in the
blinding wind and snow,
Benita focused on putting
one foot in front of the other.
Step.Step.Step.
Fortunately, correcting these common sentence problems is easier than working
with nanotechnology. This lesson will show you how.
TIP 1. Avoid sentence fragments by including a subject and a
predicate in every sentence you write.
A complete sentence has both a subject and a predicate and expresses a
complete thought. If a group of words is punctuated like a sentence but is
missing either a subject or a predicate, it is called a sentence fragment. A
fragment does not express a complete thought. Take a look at the following
example:
Mountaineering is the sport of climbing mountains. Primarily for
enjoyment.
The first sentence contains a subject (mountaineering) and a predicate (is the
sport of climbing mountains) and expresses a complete thought. However, the
second “sentence” is missing something. If we remove it from the context, it
doesn’t make any sense:
Primarily for enjoyment.
This phrase is a fragment; it doesn’t contain a subject or predicate. It doesn’t tell
what is “primarily for enjoyment.” The error can be corrected by attaching the
phrase to the previous sentence:
Mountaineering is the sport of climbing mountains primarily for
enjoyment.
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Sometimes a fragment will be in the form of a clause that contains a noun (or
pronoun) and a verb but that still doesn’t express a complete thought. For example:
The sport had its beginnings in Europe in 1760. When a young scientist from
Geneva offered a reward to anyone who would climb Mont Blanc.
If we remove the first sentence, it becomes clear there is something missing from the
second sentence:
When a young scientist from Geneva offered a reward to anyone who would climb
Mont Blanc.
The word when is a subordinating conjunction and suggests that something more is
needed to make this clause a complete thought. To correct the fragment, connect it to the
sentence to which it refers.
The sport had its beginnings in Europe in 1760, when a young scientist from
Geneva offered a reward to anyone who would climb Mont Blanc.
To make sure a sentence is complete, check to see whether it has a subject, AND
 has a predicate, AND
 Expresses a complete thought.
AIMS Practice activity 1
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DIRECTIONS: Examine each of the following items to determine whether it contains a sentence
fragment. If the item contains a fragment, rewrite it to correct the error.
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1. Lying along the border between France and Italy, Mont Blanc rises to 15,771
feet making it the highest peak in the Alps.
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2. Michel Paccard and Jacques Balmat collected the reward for climbing Mont
Blanc in 1786 more than a quarter century after it was offered.
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3. Interest in the sport grew as other peaks in the Alps were attempted Most
notably the Matterhorn (14,690 ft.) on the border between Switzerland and Italy,
which was summated in 1865.
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4. One of the major European peaks had been attained, mountaineers turned their attention to
the highest peaks on other continents. Including the Andes of South America, the Rockies of
North America, the peaks of Africa, and the Himalayas.
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5. The highest peak in North America, Alaska's Mount McKinley (20,320 ft.), also known as
Denali McKinley was first climbed in 1913 by Hudson Stuck and his party.
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6. Because climbing in the Himalayas is made extremely dangerous by high altitudes,
extreme cold, and sever weather. Few climbers in the early 20th century attempt the worlds
highest peaks.
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7. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tezing Norgay reached the summit of Mont Everest.
Which, at 29,035, is the word's tallest mountain.
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8. The first woman to reach the summit of Everest was Junko Tabei of Japan. In 1975, she
climbed Everest on the South Col route, an achievement previously described as almost
impossible.
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9. Since most of the world's highest peaks have been climbing. Today's mountaineers focus
on finding new routes and method.
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10. Mountaineering has always involved rock climbing and ice climbing. Two pursuits
which have evolved into independent sports.
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Correct comma splices by adding a conjunction or replacing the comma with a semicolon.
A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma without a
coordinating conjunction.
The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe of Native Americans east of the Mississippi River,
it is the ninth largest tribe in the nation.
This is essentially two complete sentences that have been "spliced" together with a
comma. This error can be corrected in different ways.
 Add a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, yet).
The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe of Native Americans east of the Mississippi River,
and it is the ninth largest tribe in the nation.

Replace the comma with a semicolon.
The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe of Native Americans east of the Mississippi River;
it is the ninth largest tribe in the nation.

Use a period to create two sentences.
The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe of Native Americans east of the Mississippi River.
It is the ninth largest tribe in the nation.

Blend two clauses by making one the main clause and the other a dependent
clause or phrase.
The Lumbee Tribe, which is the largest tribe of Native Americans east of the Mississippi
River, it is the ninth largest tribe in the nation.
The largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River, the Lumbee Tribe is the
ninth largest tribe in the nation.
In some cases, a colon can be used to connect two independent clauses. A colon can be used only
when the second clause serves to clarify, explain, or describe the first.
If you've never heard of the Lumbee, the reason can't be the tribe's size: with over 40,000
members, the Lumbee is the ninth largest tribe in the nation.
Two independent clauses can exist in the same sentence if They are joined by a comma plus a conjunction, OR
 They are joined by a semicolon, OR
 They are joined by a colon.
Practice Activity 2
Directions: Examine each of the following items to determine wheather it contains a
comma splice. If the item contains a splice, rewrite the sentence.
1. The Lumbee Tribe takes its name from North Carolina's Lumber River, the river was
once called the Lumbee.
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2. In southeastern North Carolina, there are approximately 48,000 Lumbee, the largest
tribe of Native Americans who do not live on a reservation.
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3. In the nineteenth century, the Lumbee were frequently called the Croation, in the
sixteenth century, the natives of Hatteras Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks were
known as the Croation.
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4. The only remaining sign of the famous Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, North
Carolina, was the word "Croation," the colony's governor, John White, found it carved in
a tree when he returned from England in 1590.
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5. White knew that the Croatoan lived on Hatteras Island, he attempted to reach the island
in hopes of finding the colonists, but poor weather forced him to abandon the quest.
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6. Modern historians disagree about what happened to the colonists, some believe they
traveled north to Chesapeake Bay, where they were eventually killed by natives, and
others believe they may simply have mingled with several natives peoples.
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7. Still other historians believe the colonists were taken in by the Croatoan, Lumbee
tradition holds that they are descendants of the lost colonists and the Croatoan.
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8. There was a history of friendly relations between English settlers and the Croatoan,
two Croatoans, named Manteo and Wanchese, visited England in 1584 with members of
an earlier expidition to North Carolina.
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9. Later settlers of North Carolina reported meeting natives who spoke English and
practiced Christianity, in 1891, a historian reported that the Lumbee spoke English much
as it would have been spoken in the 1590s.
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10. Many Lumbee today have the same last names as the families of the Roanoke colony, they
are puzzled, in fact, by the name "Lost Colony," for they know exactly who and where they are.
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Correct run-on sentences by adding semicolons or by adding a comma and a
conjunction.
A run-on sentence is a compound sentence without any punctuation at all.
My little brother ate a ton of cotton candy at the circus he had a stomachache later that
night.
The simple way to correct a run-on sentence is to punctuate the clauses so that they become two
more separate sentences.
My little brother ate a ton of cotton candy at the circus. He had a stomachache later that
night.
Sometimes the thoughts expressed by the clause of a run-on sentence are closely related. (That's
probably why the writer forgot to separate them properly.) In such cases, you might want to keep
the sentence together but separate the clauses with a coordinating conjunctionMy little brother ate a ton of cotton candy at the circus, and he had a stomachache later
that night.
-or use a subordinating conjunction to make one clause subordinate to the other.
Because my little brother ate a ton of cotton candy at the circus, he had a stomachache
later that night.
Directions: Examine each of the following items to determine whether it contains a run-on
sentence. If the item contains a run-on sentence, rewrite it to correct the error.
1. Many well-known writers--Thoreau or Melvin, for example--led lives of travel and adventure
Emily Dickinson knew little more than the four walls of her own house.
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2. Many critics consider Dickinson one of the greatest American poets for most of her life, she
never left home.
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3. Often alone in her room Dickinson wrote more than 1,700 poems of these, fewer than ten were
published in her lifetime.
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4. Dickinson wanted her poetry to be as private as the rest of her life she shared poems with only
a handful of trusted friends.
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5. She took her writing seriously enough to work through several drafts of each poem as she
finished a group, Dickinson carefully stitched the pages into little booklets.
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6. Even after her poetry became widely known, it took a long time before readers fully
understood her original and challenged style.
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7. She lived a private and, some might say, lonely life Dickinson didn't have trouble finding
things to say in her poetry.
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Directions: Go back to the fragment, comma-splice, and run-on examples presented at the
beginning of this lesson. On the lines below, rewrite each sentence, correcting the error.
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Lesson 15
Verbs
Verbs are where the action is. They show what a noun is or does. Without verbs, your
sentences would be quite boring. Actually, they wouldn't really be sentences at all. For
example, look at the following lines:
Captain Freda, in her finest ball gown.
The bongo players, all in their places, before an audience of hundreds.
Far from home, Lucius, about his grandmother's alligator pie.
Without verbs, nouns just sit around waiting for something to happen.
This lesson will review a few important facts about how verbs do their jobs. You'll also
learn ways to avoid some of the problems that verbs can cause in your writing.
Verb Tense
The lovely, golden haired princess sat high in her tower all alone, would have peered out
the window at the gardens below, and will be hoping that someday her prince came.
Meanwhile, a very green and very anxious frog is hopping back and forth across the lawn
far below. "Yo, lady!" he says. "If you will just look down here, your troubles would have
been over."
The verbs in this paragraph can't seem to decide whether they describe actions happening in the
past, present, or future. It isn't very likely that you would write such a confusing story, but verb
tense can indeed be problematic for both you and your readers. Verbs tenses help tell when an
action is happening. They can also help tell whether the action is continuing and when it is
completed.
In previous lessons, we talked [past tense] about several ways to improve your writing. Now, we
begin [present tense] a review of verb tense. Next, you will learn [future tense] ways of keeping
time clear in your writing.
Become familiar with the different tenses and what they do.
The three basic tenses are past, present, and future:
Ralph chanted.
Ralph chants.
Ralph will chant.
If you want to show an action that is completed in the time period you are writing about, use a
perfect form of the verb:
Ralph had chanted.
Ralph has chanted.
Ralph will have chanted.
If you want to show an action that is in process during the time period you are writing about, use
a progressive form of the verb:
Ralph was chanting.
Ralph is chanting.
Ralph will be chanting.