Common Sentence Errors
Fragments
A sentence that is missing a subject or a verb is called a fragment. A fragment may include a description or may express part of an idea, but it does not express a complete thought.
You can easily fix a fragment by adding the missing subject or verb or combining it with an independent clause.
Fragments: Children helping in the kitchen.
Complete sentence: Children helping in the kitchen often make a mess.
Fragments: After walking over two miles. John remembered his wallet.
Complete sentence: After walking over two miles, John remembered his wallet.
Fragments: Because we lost power. The entire family overslept.
Complete sentence: The entire family overslept because we lost power.
Practice Exercise 1
Circle the fragments in the sentences below. Then combine each fragment with the independent clause to create a complete sentence.
- Working without taking a break. We try to get as much work done as we can in an hour.
- I needed to bring work home. In order to meet the deadline.
- Unless the ground thaws before spring break. We won’t be planting any tulips this year.
- Turning the lights off after he was done in the kitchen. Robert tries to conserve energy whenever possible.
- You’ll find what you need if you look. On the shelf next to the potted plant.
- To find the perfect apartment. Deidre scoured the classifieds each day.
Run-on Sentences
Just as short, incomplete sentences can be problematic, lengthy sentences can be problematic too. Sentences with two or more independent clauses that have been incorrectly combined are known as run-on sentences. A run-on sentence may be either a fused sentence or a comma splice.
When two complete sentences are combined into one without any punctuation, the result is a fused sentence. When two complete sentences are joined by a comma, the result is a comma splice.
Fused sentence: A family of foxes lived under our shed young foxes played all over the yard.
Comma splice: We looked outside, the kids were hopping on the trampoline.
Both errors can easily be fixed. Independent clauses must be joined together using either a period, a semicolon, or a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
Run-on: There were no seats left, we had to stand in the back.
Corrected with a period: There were no seats left. We had to stand in the back.
Run-on: The accident closed both lanes of traffic we waited an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.
Corrected with a semicolon: The accident closed both lanes of traffic; we waited an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.
Run-on: The new printer was installed, no one knew how to use it.
Corrected with a comma and conjunction: The new printer was installed, but no one knew how to use it.
Adding dependent words is another way to link independent clauses. Like the coordinating conjunctions, dependent words show a relationship between two independent clauses.
Run-on: We took the elevator, the others still got there before us.
Complete sentence: Although we took the elevator, the others got there before us.
Run-on: Cobwebs covered the furniture, the room hadn’t been used in years.
Complete sentence: Cobwebs covered the furniture because the room hadn’t been used in years.
Practice Exercise 2
A reader can get lost or lose interest in material that is too dense and rambling. Use what you have learned about run-on sentences to correct the following passages:
- The report is due on Wednesday but we’re flying back from Miami that morning. I told the project manager that we would be able to get the report to her later that day she suggested that we come back a day early to get the report done and I told her we had meetings until our flight took off. We emailed our contact who said that he would check with his boss, she said that the project could afford a delay as long as they wouldn’t have to make any edits or changes to the file our new deadline is next Friday.
- Anna tried getting a reservation at the restaurant, but when she called they said that there was a waiting list so she put our names down on the list when the day of our reservation arrived we only had to wait thirty minutes because a table opened up unexpectedly which was good because we were able to catch a movie after dinner in the time we’d expected to wait to be seated.
- Without a doubt, my favorite artist is Leonardo da Vinci, not because of his paintings but because of his fascinating designs, models, and sketches, including plans for scuba gear, a flying machine, and a life-size mechanical lion that actually walked and moved its head. His paintings are beautiful too, especially when you see the computer enhanced versions researchers use a variety of methods to discover and enhance the paintings’ original colors, the results of which are stunningly vibrant and yet delicate displays of the man’s genius.
Adapted from University of Minnesota’s Writing for Success, Chapter 2.
