Welcome to our Workshop!Today we will be discussing Run-On Sentences
and Fragment Sentences, two very common errors in people’s writing.
Objectives
What Will You Learn from this Workshop?
•What a Run-on Sentence is.•What a Fragment Sentence is.•How to fix these common errors.
The Sentence
What is a sentence?
• A sentence is a group of words that make a complete thought.
• A sentence always has a SUBJECT and a VERB.• A sentence is also called an INDEPENDENT
CLAUSE.
What is the SUBJECT?
• The SUBJECT of the sentence is who or what you are talking about.
• Examples: my grandma, President Obama, Disneyland, cats, a bed.
What is a VERB?
• The VERB is the action of the sentence. • It says what the SUBJECT is doing.• Examples: to run, to sleep, to be, to write, to
love.
• *Note*: “to” + the VERB = “the infinitive” (How the verb looks in the dictionary).
What is a Fragment?
• A Fragment is an incomplete sentence.• It is also called a DEPENDENT CLAUSE.• Sometimes it is missing either the subject or the verb.• Sometimes it has a subject and a verb, but it still isn’t a
complete thought.
• Examples: 1. Running very fast. Who is running?2. John likes. Not a complete thought (what does he like?).3. Because I am a girl Not a complete though (what is the
result?)
Exercise:
Connecting Sentences
Now that you know what a complete sentence looks like, you will learn how to connect two or more complete sentences together.
What is a Run-On Sentence?
• A Run-on Sentence is two or more complete sentences that have no punctuation mark to connect them.
• It is one of the most common mistakes people make it their writing.
How do you connect two complete sentences?
There are three ways to connect sentences.
• A period .• A semicolon ;• A coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) For,
And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
The Period [ . ]
The Period is the simplest and most common way to end a sentence.
Example:I am a student at LAVC. I Love the Writing Center.
The Semicolon (;)
The Semicolon is used to connect two complete sentences that are related in idea. The semicolon can’t be used if the sentences aren’t related.
*Note: Limit the number of semicolons that you use—approximately one per paragraph.
Example: Horses are my favorite animal; they are so majestic.
Coordinating Conjunctions(FANBOYS)
• Coordinating Conjunctions are seven words that help connect two complete sentences.
• They are: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So• You can remember them as “FANBOYS”
Examples of Coordinating Conjunction
• Yesterday I lost my wallet, so I need to cancel my credit cards.
• My brother is coming to town, and I am so excited to see him.
• The professor is very nice, but he is a very hard grader.
*Note: • After the conjunction, there is a new subject and verb, which should tell you that
you have a new complete sentence. • Before the conjunction, you need to have a COMMA ( , ).
How to spot a Run-on SentenceHere is an example of a run-on sentence:• My favorite movie is Superbad it is really funny.
*Here you have two complete sentences with no punctuation mark or conjunction to connect
them. This is what the sentence should/could say:
• My favorite movie is Superbad; it is really funny.
Exercise
Thanks for coming to the workshop!
Our next one will be tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. on MLA format
Goodbye!!