Fragments

Run-ons
Sentence Variety
English 101_SP15

Fragments
A sentence is a group of words that has three
elements:

Subject
Verb
And a Complete thought
A fragment seems to be a complete sentence but
it lacks either a
Subject
Verb

Or a complete thought

Fragments
What are the two basic ways to correct sentence
fragments?
Add what is missing (subject, verb, or both)
Attach fragment to sentence before or after it

Spotting Fragments

What are the five trouble spots that signal

possible fragments?
A word group that begins with a(n)

Preposition
Dependent word

Spotting Fragments

Dependent words
after, although, as, as if, because, before, even
though, how, if, since, so that, than, that,
though, unless, until, when, where, whether,
which, while, who, whom, whose, why

Spotting Fragments
What are the five trouble spots that signal
possible fragments?

A word group that begins with a(n)

Preposition
Dependent word
-ing verb form
to and a verb

an example or explanation

Spotting Fragments the basics

Find the subject.
A subject is the person or thing doing the action
or being described in the sentence.
I run two miles every day, rain or shine.

Find the verb.

A verb is a word that expresses action or a state
of being.

He is happy about his new shoes.

Practice
1. Eat your spinach.
2. Until I turn sixteen.
3. My big fat mouth.
4. When I come home from school.

5. Flies off her perch, lands on my shoulder, and

begs for sunflower seeds.
6. The dog and cat are both making noise.

7. She cant sleep because of the noise.

8. What makes me mad!

Run-Ons

There are two types of run-ons:

Fused
Comma splice

Run-Ons

Fused sentence
We went to the beach last summer I learned to
surf.
Comma splice
We went to the beach last summer, I learned
to surf.

Run-Ons
4. What are the five ways to correct run-ons?
Add a period
We went to the beach last summer. I learned
to surf.

Add a semicolon
We went to the beach last summer; I learned
to surf.

Add a semicolon, a conjunctive adverb, and a

comma
We went to the beach last summer; therefore, I
learned to surf.

Run-Ons
4. What are the five ways to correct run-ons?
Add a comma and a coordinating conjunction
We went to the beach last summer, so I
learned to surf.
Add a dependent word
Since we went to the beach last summer, I
learned to surf.

Practice

1. I thought I made a C on the test however, I

made a B.
2. I didnt study very much, I made a good
grade.
3. I might not be so lucky next time Im going to
study right now!

4. My friends went bar hopping, they all failed.

(add a dependent word)

Newsletter Practice

one line under

subjects, two lines under verbs

While discussing the subject of acronyms lets

examine a doctor of chiropractics purpose DC =
doctor of cause. Chiropractors and chiropractic
patients understand that all disease has a cause
and focus on removing it so the body can heal.
Not maintaining disease through drugs.
Chiropractic understands that the human body is
conceived by two cells. Those two simple cells
share responsibility for creating life. Chiropractic
understands that the very first organ those cells
develop is a brain, then from that brain comes the
spinal cord, then like branches growing on a tree
come the nerves and finally like fruit at the end of
those branches grows organs. Since all life starts
with the central nervous system, then it must
maintain life and health. The healthier the
nervous system the healthier the body,
chiropractors understand this fundamental law of
the body and maximize the nervous system
through adjustments.

Newsletter Practice

one line under

subjects, two lines under verbs
While discussing the subject of acronyms lets
examine a doctor of chiropractics purpose DC =
doctor of cause. Chiropractors and chiropractic
patients understand that all disease has a cause;
They focus on removing it, so the body can heal.
The point is to not maintain disease through
drugs. Chiropractic understands that the human
body is conceived by two cells. Those two simple
cells share responsibility for creating life. Chiropractic
understands that the very first organ those cells develop is a brain, then
from that brain comes the spinal cord, then like branches growing on a
tree come the nerves and finally like fruit at the end of those branches
grows organs. Since all life starts with the central

nervous system, then it must maintain life and

health. The healthier the nervous system, the healthier the body,
chiropractors understand this fundamental law of
the body and maximize the nervous system
through adjustments.

Newsletter Practice
While discussing the subject of acronyms lets
examine a doctor of chiropractics purpose DC =
doctor of cause. Chiropractors and chiropractic
patients understand that all disease has a cause
and focus on removing it so the body can heal.
Not maintaining disease through drugs.
Chiropractic understands that the human body is
conceived by two cells. Those two simple cells
share responsibility for creating life. Chiropractic
understands that the very first organ those cells
develop is a brain, then from that brain comes the
spinal cord, then like branches growing on a tree
come the nerves and finally like fruit at the end of
those branches grows organs. Since all life starts
with the central nervous system, then it must
maintain life and health. The healthier the
nervous system the healthier the body,
chiropractors understand this fundamental law of
the body and maximize the nervous system
through adjustments.

Sentence Variety

Providing Sentence Variety

Use a variety of sentence structures
Simple - A sentence with one independent clause and no
dependent clauses
Niles is a thief.
Compound - A sentence with multiple independent clauses but no
dependent clauses.

Niles likes paperclips, and he steals them often.

Complex - A sentence with one independent clause and at least
one dependent clause.
When Niles took the paperclip from the students essay, his
fangs tore the paper.
Compound-complex - A sentence with multiple independent
clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Although I warned the student about Niles, I still felt badly
about the incident, so I gave her a sticker.

Newsletter Practice

look at

how each sentence begins

You wake up and on your morning commute the city

skyline is illuminated in pink. You walk into the
office and your coworkers are sporting hot pink
shirts and buttons. You see at lunch those same
coworkers munching way on KFC from a pink
bucket and washing it down with pink bottles of
Pepsi. Your boss calls a team meeting after lunch
because Katherine was just diagnosed with breast
cancer, the third coworker this year, so he rallies
the troops to support her by baking a dozen for
the cure and wearing even more pink tomorrow.
You come home exhausted from the day and put on
Monday night football to sell all of your favorite
athletes, wearing what other than pink. You say to
yourself If I didnt know better I think I have been
pink washed.

Newsletter Practice

You wake up and on your morning commute the city

skyline is illuminated in pink. You walk into the
office and your coworkers are sporting hot pink
shirts and buttons. You see at lunch those same
coworkers munching way on KFC from a pink
bucket and washing it down with pink bottles of
Pepsi. Your boss calls a team meeting after lunch
because Katherine was just diagnosed with breast
cancer, the third coworker this year, so he rallies
the troops to support her by baking a dozen for
the cure and wearing even more pink tomorrow.
You come home exhausted from the day and put on
Monday night football to sell all of your favorite
athletes, wearing what other than pink. You say to
yourself If I didnt know better I think I have been
pink washed.

For Tuesday...

Newsletter submission #1 due

Read Comparison techniques
pgs. 219-231