SENTENCES, FRAGMENTS, AND RUN-ONS
A sentence is a group of words that
expresses a complete thought. It begins with a capital letter and closes with
an end mark, either a period, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.
Sentences are classified as declarative (a statement), interrogative (a
question), imperative (command or request), or exclamatory (for emphasis).
Example:
- The waffles are almost ready.
(declarative)
- What did the doctor say when you saw
her? (interrogative)
- Please hand me the butter. Go to your
room. (imperative)
- I just got Yo-Yo Ma’s autograph!
(exclamation)
1) FRAGMENTS
Not every group of words is a sentence. A
fragment is a phrase or clause that looks like a sentence but does not express
a complete thought.
Example:
- Down by the river where the fish bite.
- If he would just think.
2) SENTENCES
By themselves, fragments make little sense
and leave important questions unanswered. What would happen if he would just
think? Who or what is down by the river where the fish bite? Fragments must be
joined with other sentence parts to form a complete thought.
Example:
- We were down by the river where the fish
bite.
- He could save himself so much trouble if
he would just think.
3) RUN-ONS
Unlike fragments, which haven’t enough
parts to make a complete sentence, run-ons have too many parts. They are two or
more complete thoughts—at times only vaguely related—strung together without
punctuation.
Example:
We have only three days until the band
contest I don’t have my uniform repaired yet and that will take at least a day
or so to do, don’t you think?
4) REVISED
Run-on sentences can be corrected in a
number of ways: by inserting the proper punctuation, by breaking the sentence
into two or more smaller sentences, or by rewriting the sentence to eliminate
the run-on.
Example:
- We have only three days until the band
contest, and I forgot to have my uniform repaired. Do you think the repairs
will take more than a day or so?
- We have only three days to practice
until the band contest. I forgot to have my uniform repaired. Do you think the
repairs will take more than a day or so?