FRAGMENTS AND RUN-ON REVIEW

SENTENCE FRAGMENT

A sentence fragment is a group of words that does not express a complete thought.

A sentence fragment may be missing a verb ( A young boy.) It may be missing a

subject (Asked for more pasta.) Or finally a sentence fragment may be missing a
subject and a verb (to the back of the classroom.)

To determine if something is a sentence fragment, look to see that it has a subject and
a verb. The shortest sentence in the English language is “I am.” It is not a fragment
because it has a subject (I) and a verb (be.) If it does not have these things, it is a
fragment.

The opposite of a sentence fragment is a complete sentence.

RUN-ON SENTENCES

A run-on sentence is two or more sentences written together as if they were one
sentence without the use of a conjunction or appropriate punctuation.

For example: Here are two sentences- I am fifteen years old. I have a dog. You may
leave them as two separate sentences. Or you can add a conjunction- I am fifteen
years old and I have a dog. Or you may add a semi-colon- I am fifteen years old; I have
a dog. (We have not learned this yet, but you should recognize that it is a complete
sentence.)

You may NOT put a comma between them- I am fifteen years old, I have a dog. This is
a run-on sentence.

The opposite of a run-on sentence is a grammatically correct sentence.

SOME EXAMPLES:
Decide if the sentences below are sentence fragments or complete sentences. If they
are fragments, edit or add to the sentences to become complete.

1. My uncle Dan. Fragment? ____________

2. Ran down the street. Fragment? ____________

3. The cast of the musical sang. Fragment? ____________

Decide if the sentences below are run-on sentences or grammatically correct

sentences. If they are run-on sentences, edit them or add to them so that they are
grammatically correct.

1. The most dangerous animal in the world is the fly, it transmits many diseases.
Run-on? ____________

2. The fly buzzed around my head and landed on the table. Run-on? ____________
 3. Humans blink 4 billion times a year, women blink more than men. Run-on?
____________

Mark C for a complete sentence, and mark F for a fragment. Make the
fragments into complete sentences.
1. _______ I was late for class
2.
3. _______ As we wait for the rain to stop
4.
5. _______ When Alex phones
6.
7. _______ She goes to Centennial College
8.
9. _______ Until you eat your vegetables
10.
11. _______ They plan to visit Nova Scotia this summer
12.
13. _______ Ate at a famous restaurant
14.
15. _______ Even though I was tired
16.
17. _______ While working the night shift
18.
19. _______ For example, hockey and skating
20.
_______ Expecting to hear from you soon
21.
22. _______ Before you leave

Correct each of the following run-on sentences.

23. I washed the dishes, I did the laundry.

24. Those skirts are nice I will buy one.

25. There was no heat we froze all night.

26. It was my best friend’s birthday I gave her a present.

27. He asked for a raise she got it.

28. She is a good mother, she pays attention to her children.

29. My paper is late it will lose points.

30. Students write essays, teachers correct them.

31. The teacher raised his voice, he was frustrated.

The movie was hilarious, I saw it three times.