Even if English is your native language, it is still easy to make these common sentence structure errors. Transferring our spoken ideas to paper can be a challenge to determine where and how ideas should be separated by punctuation marks.
The two main errors are run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Take a look at the quick description of the two types of sentence errors below. For more detailed explanation of the kinds of sentence errors are possible, click on the tabs above.
When we speak, we often run sentences together, but our tone and pauses help people understand what we are saying. In writing, however, we rely on standard punctuation to help us read more easily. If you write two or more sentences together as if they were one sentence, you have created a “run-on.” There are two types of run-on sentences: fused sentences and comma splices.
The following statements would cause no problems in speech, but if they are not punctuated properly in writing, the reader may be confused for at least a moment.
Example incorrect sentences:
Mary ate the dog watched. (fused sentence)
Mary ate. The dog watched.
Note: In some cases the subject or verb is considered to be “understood” rather than actually written.
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Whereas a "run-on" can be seen as a sentence containing too many complete thoughts without the proper punctuation or connectors, sentence fragments have the opposite problem. They may have a missing subject or verb or maybe an incomplete thought.
Example Incorrect sentences:
The sentences above can be rewritten as:
This type of run-occurs when the writer combines two or mores sentences together without joining words or the necessary punctuation.
Examples of fused sentences:
Both of these sentences have two sentences that are combined as single sentences without any joining words or punctuation. Let's break these sentences down so that the separate sentences are easier to see.
Example 1:
[complete thought#1] | [complete thought #2] |
Edward left early | he was sick |
It is clear that these two complete thoughts are related, but they require a semi-colon or a connector to make the sentence correct.
Here are a few ways the fused sentences can be rewritten:
Example 2:
[complete thought #1] | [complete thought #2] |
There are many factors contributing to the recent decline in the per capita rate of smokers | one important influence has been the targeting of teenage girls with anti-smoking posters and radio ads. |
This fused sentence is quite long, which makes it even more difficult for readers to understand it.
Here are a few ways the fused sentences can be rewritten:
This type of run-on occurs when the writer tries to hold sentences together with a comma. Just adding a comma won’t fix a fused sentence. A comma is considered too “weak” to hold sentences together.
Examples of comma splices:
1. I was late, I slept in.
2. There are many ways in which people try to find a job, some people go to a job search agency.
Both of these sentences contain 2 complete thoughts each and are clearly related to each other, but they require punctuation, or a connector to make the sentences correct.
Example 1: I was late, I slept in.
[complete thought #1] | [complete thought #2] |
I was late | I slept in. |
Here are a few ways the sentences can be written:
Example 2: There are many ways in which people try to find a job, some people go to a job search agency.
[complete thought #1] | [complete thought #2] |
There are many ways in which people try to find a job, | some people go to a job search agency. |
Here are a few ways the sentences can be written:
Sometimes fragments are missing subjects and therefore incomplete. The missing subject may be the same as the previous sentence. The sentence fragments below can be corrected by adding subjects.
Examples:
The fragments can be corrected as follows:
Sometimes fragments are missing verbs and therefore incomplete. The sentence fragments below need verbs.
Examples:
The fragments can be corrected as follows:
Sentences may include a subject and a verb, but they can still be incomplete. These kind of fragments can sound natural because we use them all the time in natural conversation. When we write, especially academically, they are considered sentence fragments. Go through the following list of common incomplete sentence types to improve your editing skills.
Many sentence fragments start with subordinator, but lack an independent clause. Subordinate clauses (or dependent clauses) can't stand alone, which make them incomplete thoughts.
Your sentence may be a fragment if it begins with one of the following subordinators:
Note: Go to the "connectors" tab for more information.
before | because | who / whose |
after | since (reason) | what / whatever |
since (time) | if / even if | when / whenever |
until | that / so that | where / wherever |
ever before | in order | which / whichever |
as / as if / just as | although / though / even though | whether |
how | unless | whereas |
Examples:
The bold phrases are the sentence fragments.
Here are some possible ways to complete these thoughts:
Because many people write how they speak, this is a very common sentence fragment. When there is no main clause, the group of words is considered a fragment.
Your sentence may be a fragment if it begins with one of the following words/phrases:
especially | except | also |
excluding | for example | for instance |
including | like | such as |
Examples:
Here are some possible ways to correct the fragments above:
Sentence fragments starting with a coordinate conjunction (FANBOYS - for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) are probably the most common. Students often get confused about whether they are allowed or not in academic writing because they appear so often in books and other written material. If you are writing formally, or you are an inexperienced writer, it is better to avoid making this kind of fragment. (Go to the "connectors" tab for more information.)
Examples:
The above phrases can be combined to make sentences:
What is a participle? A participle is a word formed from a verb. There are past participles and present participles. Present participles end in "ing". Regular past participles end in "ed". Irregular past participles can end in "n", "t", or "d". A participial phrase is a group of words that starts with a participle. Although participles look like verbs, they behave as adjectives when they are in a phrase.
Examples:
The above phrases can be combined to make sentences:
An infinitive phrase starts with the infinitive form of the verb ("to"). When a group of words start with "to", it sometimes becomes a fragment. Infinitive phrases look like verbs, but they behave as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. For sentence fragments, infinitive phrases are usually adverbs that are not describing anything. They need a subject and verb to form a complete sentence.
Examples:
The above phrases can be combined to make sentences:
There are five main ways to correct run-on sentences. Take a look at the run-on sentence below:
Read through the five ways to correct run-on sentences to see how the sentence above can be corrected.
Break the complete thoughts into separate sentences.
Example: He decided to run a marathon. He wanted to challenge himself.
Use a coordinating conjunction and a comma.
Example: He wanted to challenge himself, so he decided to run a marathon.
Note: If both sentences are short, the comma may be omitted. Mary ate and the dog watched. But it’s safer to use both the joining word and the comma.
Use a subordinating conjunction to make one idea dependent on the other.
Examples:
Note, if the joining word appears at the beginning of the first sentence, a comma is needed before the second sentence. If the subordinating conjunction is in between the sentences, no comma is needed.
Use a conjunctive adverb.
Example: He wanted to challenge himself. Therefore, he decided to run a marathon.
Use a semi-colon (and a conjunctive adverb)
Examples:
Exercise: Correct these sentences using the five methods.
Answers:
There are two main ways to correct sentence fragments. Take a look at the sentence fragments below:
Read through the two ways to correct sentence fragments to see how the sentence above can be corrected.
Attach the fragment to the sentence before or after it.
Examples:
Attach a subject or verb to the fragment.
Examples:
Exercise: Correct these fragments using the one or both of the methods above.
Answers:
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