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CHAPTER
26
Avoiding Sentence
Errors
PART A
Avoiding Run-Ons and Comma Splices
PART B
Avoiding Fragments
Part A
Avoiding Run-Ons and Comma Splices
Be careful to avoid run-ons and comma splices.
A run-on sentence incorrectly runs together two independent clauses without a conjunction or punctuation. This error confuses the reader, who cannot tell
where one thought stops and the next begins:
1. Run-on:
My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy-five years old he
plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.
A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent clauses with a comma
but no conjunction:
2. Comma splice:
My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy-five years
old, he plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.
The run-on and the comma splice can be corrected in five ways:
Use two separate sentences.
358
My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventyfive years old. He plays tennis every
Saturday afternoon.
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Use a coordinating conjunction. My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy(See Chapter 25, Part A.)
five years old, but he plays tennis
every Saturday afternoon.
Use a subordinating conjunction. Although my neighbor Mr. Hoffman
(See Chapter 25, Part B.)
is seventy-five years old, he plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.
PRACTICE 1
Use a semicolon.
(See Chapter 25, Part C.)
My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventyfive years old; he plays tennis every
Saturday afternoon.
Use a semicolon and a
conjunctive adverb. (See
Chapter 25, Part D.)
My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventyfive years old; however, he plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.
Some of these sentences contain run-ons or comma splices; others are correct. Put
a C next to the correct sentences. Revise the run-ons and comma splices in any
way you choose. Be careful of the punctuation.
1. It was an astonishing exhibit, the Guggenheim Museum’s recent show was
called “The Art of the Motorcycle.”
Revised:
2. Museumgoers sported leather vests and ponytails, their motorcycles jammed
New York City streets.
Revised:
3. Displayed were motorcycles through the years, including the earliest-known
cycle.
Revised:
4. That was the 1868 French velocipede, it looked more like a bicycle with a
steam engine under the seat than a motorcycle.
Revised:
5. The Italian MV Agusta F4 was the latest model on display this one looked like
a fantastic space machine.
Revised:
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6. A 1993 Harley-Davidson stole the show it was a replica of Dennis Hopper’s
Easy Rider cycle.
Revised:
7. The show attracted more visitors than any other Guggenheim exhibit museum attendance was 45 percent higher than usual.
Revised:
8. Tickets and gift-shop sales brought in more than $1 million the exhibit catalog
alone sold for $85.
Revised:
9. Although Ducati leather jumpsuits cost $1,595, museumgoers could buy their
kids red plastic BMW motorcycles for $120 each.
Revised:
10. Whether motorcycles are art or not, “The Art of the Motorcycle” certainly
brought many new visitors to the Guggenheim, the show was considered a
huge success.
Revised:
PRACTICE 2
Proofread the following paragraph for run-ons and comma splices. Correct them
in any way you choose.
(1) College costs have risen dramatically in recent years, most students choose
to work part-time to help cover their expenses. (2) Surprising new research reveals many benefits for college students who are employed a limited number of
hours a week. (3) Part-time jobs can help students explore career fields and develop professional skills; they might even lead to permanent employment after
graduation. (4) Another benefit is even more surprising students who work the
ideal number of hours, between 15 and 20 per week, have higher grade point
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averages and better retention rates than their peers. (5) However, working more
than 20 hours can have negative consequences it may interfere with schoolwork
and reduce financial aid eligibility. (6) Students who work 35 hours or more often
have low grade point averages, they are also less likely to complete their degrees.
(7) College students who can keep their working hours within the ideal range will
enjoy the greatest benefits of part-time employment.
PRACTICE 3
Proofread the following essay for run-ons and comma splices. Correct them in
any way you choose, writing your revised essay on a separate sheet of paper. Be
careful of the punctuation.
Will K. Kellogg, Least Likely to Succeed
(1) Will Kellogg was an unlikely candidate for fame and fortune, he became
one of America’s great successes.
(2) The two Kellogg boys could not have been more different. (3) Will was a
slow learner with few friends and interests. (4) His father pulled him from school
at the age of thirteen he made Will a traveling broom salesman for the family company. (5) Eight years older than Will, John Harvey Kellogg was the family genius.
(6) He became a noted surgeon and head of an exclusive health resort. (7) He
treated his patients with exercise and a strict vegetarian diet, he wrote best-selling
books about healthful living.
(8) In 1880, Will was twenty years old, Dr. John hired him to work at the resort. (9) For the next twenty-five years, Will served as his brother’s flunky.
(10) According to rumor, he shaved Dr. John every day and shined his shoes.
(11) John bicycled to work, Will jogged alongside getting his daily work orders.
(12) Dr. John was a wealthy man, he never paid Will more than eighty-seven dollars a month.
(13) One of the special foods at the resort was pressed wheat. (14) The brothers boiled wheat dough then they pressed it through rollers into thin sheets.
(15) One night, they left the boiled dough out. (16) When they pressed it, it turned
into flakes instead of forming sheets. (17) Will suggested that they toast the flakes.
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(18) Resort guests loved the new cereal, former guests ordered it from their
homes. (19) To meet the demand, the brothers opened a mail-order business, however, the snobbish Dr. John refused to sell the flakes to grocery stores.
(20) In 1906, Will finally bought out John’s share of the cereal patents, struck out
on his own. (21) Will turned out to be a business genius. (22) He invented advertising techniques that made his new product, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, a household
word. (23) Will K. Kellogg quickly became one of the richest persons in America.
(24) Sadly, the two brothers never reconciled. (25) In 1943, ninety-one-yearold Dr. John wrote Will an apology John died before the letter reached his
younger brother.
Part B
Avoiding Fragments
Another error to avoid is the sentence fragment. A sentence must contain a subject and a verb and must be able to stand alone as a complete idea. A sentence
fragment is incomplete. It lacks a subject, a verb, or both—or it does not stand
alone as a complete idea.
Here are six common fragments and ways to correct them. The first three are
among the most frequently made errors in college and business writing.
Dependent Clause Fragments
A dependent clause fragment often starts with a subordinating conjunction like
although, because, if, when, and so on.*
Complete sentence:
1. Kirk decided to major in psychology.
Fragment:
2. After his sister was diagnosed with anorexia.
■
Example 1 is a complete sentence.
■
Example 2 is a fragment because it is a dependent clause beginning with the
subordinating conjunction after. Furthermore, it is not a complete idea.
*For a longer list of subordinating conjunctions and more work on dependent clauses, see Chapter 25,
“Coordination and Subordination,” Part B.
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This fragment can be corrected in two ways:
Corrected:
3. Kirk decided to major in psychology after his sister was
diagnosed with anorexia.
Corrected:
4. Kirk decided to major in psychology. His sister was diagnosed with anorexia.
■
In sentence 3, the fragment is combined with the sentence before.
■
In sentence 4, the fragment is changed into a complete sentence.
Relative Clause Fragments
A dependent clause fragment also can start with who, whose, which, or that.*
Complete sentence:
5. Mrs. Costa is a popular history professor.
Fragment:
6. Who never runs out of creative ideas.
■
Example 5 is a complete sentence.
■
Example 6 is a fragment because it is a relative clause beginning with who.* It is
not a complete idea.
This fragment can be corrected in two ways:
Corrected:
7. Mrs. Costa is a popular history professor who never runs
out of creative ideas.
Corrected:
8. Mrs. Costa is a popular history professor. She never runs
out of creative ideas.
■
In sentence 7, it is combined with the sentence before.
■
In sentence 8, the fragment is changed into a complete sentence.
-ing Fragments
An -ing fragment starts with an -ing verb form.
Complete sentence:
Fragment:
9. Joaquin can be seen on the track every morning.
10. Running a mile or two before breakfast.
*For more work on relative clauses, see Chapter 21, “Revising for Sentence Variety,” Part D, and Chapter 27, “Present Tense (Agreement), Part G.
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■
Example 9 is a complete sentence.
■
Example 10 is a fragment because it lacks a subject and because an -ing verb
form cannot stand alone without a helping verb.*
This fragment can be corrected in two ways:
Corrected:
11. Joaquin can be seen on the track every morning, running a mile or two before breakfast.
Corrected:
12. Joaquin can be seen on the track every morning. He
runs a mile or two before breakfast.
■
In sentence 11, the fragment is combined with the sentence before.
■
In sentence 12, the fragment is changed into a complete sentence.
Watch out for fragments beginning with a subordinating conjunction; who, which,
or that; or an -ing verb form. These groups of words cannot stand alone, but must
be combined with another sentence or changed into a complete sentence.
PRACTICE 4
Some of these examples are fragments; others are complete sentences. Put a C
next to the complete sentences. Revise the fragments any way you choose.
1. When Sandra completes her commercial jet training.
Revised:
2. Loudly talking on his cell phone, Ivan strolled through the mall.
Revised:
3. A city that I have always wanted to visit.
Revised:
4. If she speaks Portuguese fluently, she will probably get the job.
Revised:
*For more work on joining ideas with an -ing modifier, see Chapter 21, “Revising for Sentence Variety,”
Part D.
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5. The comic strip Peanuts, which was created by Charles Schultz.
Revised:
6. Interviewing divorced people for her research project.
Revised:
7. Although some students bring laptop computers to class.
Revised:
8. Frantically, the disc jockey flipping through stacks of CDs.
Revised:
Prepositional Phrase Fragments
Complete sentence:
13. A huge telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia,
scans for signs of life.
Fragment:
14. On stars 20 to 30 light years away.
■
Sentence 13 is a complete sentence.
■
Sentence 14 is a fragment because it is a prepositional phrase beginning with
on. It lacks both a subject and a verb.
This fragment can be corrected in two ways:
Corrected:
15. A huge telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, scans for
signs of life on stars 20 to 30 light years away.
Corrected:
16. A huge telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, scans for
signs of life. Its target is stars 20 to 30 light years away.
■
Sentence 15 shows the easiest way to correct this fragment—by connecting it to
the sentence before.
■
In sentence 16, the fragment is changed into a complete sentence by adding a
subject, its target, and a verb, is.
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Appositive Phrase Fragments
Fragment:
17. A fine pianist.
Complete sentence:
18. Marsha won a scholarship to Juilliard.
■
Example 17 is a fragment because it is an appositive—a noun phrase. It lacks a
verb, and it is not a complete idea.*
■
Example 18 is a complete sentence.
This fragment can be corrected in two ways:
Corrected:
19. A fine pianist, Marsha won a scholarship to Juilliard.
Corrected:
20. Marsha is a fine pianist. She won a scholarship to Juilliard.
■
In sentence 19, the fragment is combined with the sentence after it.
■
In sentence 20, the fragment is changed into a complete sentence by adding a
verb, is, and a subject, she (to avoid repeating Marsha).
Infinitive Phrase Fragments
Complete sentence:
21. Lauri has always wanted to become a biologist.
Fragment:
22. To protect the environment.
■
Example 21 is a complete sentence.
■
Example 22 is a fragment because it lacks a subject and contains only the infinitive form of the verb—to plus the simple form of protect.
This fragment can be corrected in two ways:
Corrected:
23. Lauri has always wanted to become a biologist and to
protect the environment.
Corrected:
24. Lauri has always wanted to become a biologist. Her
goal is to protect the environment.
■
In sentence 23, the fragment is combined with the sentence before it.
■
In sentence 24, the fragment is changed into a complete sentence.
*For more work on appositives, see Chapter 21, “Revising for Sentence Variety,” Part D.
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Watch out for phrase fragments. A prepositional phrase, appositive phrase, or
infinitive cannot stand alone, but must be combined with another sentence or
changed into a complete sentence.
PRACTICE 5
Now, proofread for fragments. Some of these examples are fragments; others are
complete sentences. Put a C next to the complete sentences. Revise the fragments
any way you choose.
1. To earn money for college.
Revised:
2. Terrence, a graphic designer at Sports Illustrated.
Revised:
3. Across the railroad tracks and down the riverbank.
Revised:
4. A born comedian.
Revised:
5. To answer phones for the AIDS Education Network.
Revised:
6. On a coffee plantation in Jamaica.
Revised:
7. That silver razor scooter.
Revised:
8. To find a job that you love.
Revised:
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Review Chart: Correcting Sentence Fragments
Type of Fragment
F Fragment
C Corrected
1. Dependent clause
F After Jake moved to Colorado.
C After Jake moved to Colorado, he learned to
ski.
2. Relative clause
F Who loves computer games.
C My niece, who loves computer games, repairs my computer.
3. -ing modifier
F Surfing the web.
C Surfing the web, we visited European art
museum sites.
4. Prepositional phrase F Inside the cave.
C They found mastodon bones inside the cave.
PRACTICE 6
5. Appositive
F A slow student.
C Einstein, a slow student, proved to be a
genius.
6. Infinitive
F To go dancing tonight.
C She wants to go dancing tonight.
Fragments are most likely to occur in paragraphs or longer pieces of writing.
Proofread the paragraph below for fragments. Correct them in any way you
choose, either adding the fragments to other sentences or making them into complete sentences.
(1) The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 has inspired fifteen motion pictures over
the years. (2) All of them requiring special effects. (3) What set James Cameron’s
Titanic apart, however, was his attention to detail. (4) Following the blueprints
and plans for the original ship. (5) Cameron’s team created scaled sets and models
accurate down to the rivets. (6) Scenes of the ship in the water were made possible
through the brilliant use of computer technology and a small model. (7) A larger
model of the liner’s huge cargo hold was needed. (8) To show the ocean rushing into the ship. (9) Although the model was only a quarter as large as the original. (10) It still had enough room for period luggage and a brand-new Renault.
(11) The largest model was a 775-foot replica of the luxury ship. (12) Which reproduced every detail, from the ship’s name lettered on the façade to the chairs on
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the deck. (13) That set took almost a year to build. (14) And a good chunk of the
$287 million that Cameron spent on the most expensive movie ever made.
PRACTICE 7
Proofread this essay for fragments. Correct them in any way you choose, either
adding the fragments to other sentences or making them into complete sentences.
Be careful of the punctuation.
Her Focus Is Success
(1) If the way we react to adversity reveals our true character. (2) Maria Elena
Ibanez is extraordinary. (3) This successful computer engineer and businesswoman is a master at refusing to let obstacles keep her from a goal.
(4) In 1973, nineteen-year-old Maria Elena left Colombia and arrived alone in
Miami. (5) Speaking just a few words of English. (6) Her goal was to learn 50 new
words a day. (7) By talking to people and reading children’s books. (8) Soon she
spoke well enough to enroll at Florida International University, earn a computer science degree, and so impress college officials that they hired her as a programmer.
(9) In 1982, Maria Elena started her first company. (10) Because computers
cost much more in South America than they did in the U.S. (11) She decided to sell
reasonably priced computers to South American dealers. (12) When some dealers
hesitated to do business with such a young woman, she won their respect with
her expertise and willingness to teach them about the new technology. (13) Soon
she sold International Micro Systems. (14) The nation’s 55th fastest growing private company, at a huge profit.
(15) In spite of this success, people laughed out loud when Maria Elena announced her new goal. (16) To sell computers throughout Africa. (17) She paid no
attention and returned from her first selling trip with handfuls of orders. (18)
Then in 1992, disaster struck.
(19) Hurricane Andrew plowed into Miami, exploding Maria Elena’s house.
(20) As she and her two small children hid in a closet. (21) In the morning, dazed,
she walked to the offices and warehouse of her new company. (22) The building
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was a mangled mess of fallen walls, trees, wet paper, and smoking wires. (23) Sitting down on a curb, she cried, but as her employees began arriving. (24) She
sprang into action.
(25) One worker said the company could set up in his home. (26) Which had
electricity. (27) Working 24 hours a day and using cell phones, the employees
called all their African customers. (28) To say everything was fine and their orders
would be shipped on time. (29) International High Tech grew 700 percent that
year. (30) Despite the most damaging hurricane in U.S. history.
(31) Maria Elena moved her company into its rebuilt offices. (32) Today she
and the children live in an apartment. (33) Not a house. (34) Asked about losing
every piece of clothing, every picture, every possession in her former home. (35)
She laughs, says that most problems hide opportunities, and adds that now she
has no lawn to mow.
PRACTICE 8 REVIEW
Proofread these paragraphs for run-ons, comma splices, and fragments. Correct
the errors in any way you choose.
Paragraph a
(1) Many experts believe that before the year 2020. (2) The moon will be a
popular tourist destination. (3) Adventure travelers now might climb Mount
Everest or take a canoe trip down the Amazon, soon they will be paying large
sums for the adventure of a lifetime, in space. (4) After careful training and space
suit drills, they will rocket out of Earth’s orbit and spend a day at a fuel depot. (5)
Circling Earth and playing in zero gravity. (6) Then they will board the space ship
for the two-day flight to the moon. (7) Once they land near the hotel’s main airlock and check in, guests will stare at Mother Earth in the black vastness of the
sky, take tours in special buses through the dusty lunar landscape, and experience
the thrill of moving at one-sixth the gravity of Earth. (8) This means they will
jump six times higher and feel six times lighter. (9) The week will fly by. (10) As
they pack for the return trip. (11) Many travelers will trade ten pounds of their
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baggage allowance for the moon rocks they’ve been collecting. (12) After an unforgettable final flight and decontamination, the space visitors will re-enter their
lives on Earth, changed.
—Adapted from Gregory Bennett, “Your Vacation on the Moon”
Paragraph b
(1) Some teenagers seem to start the day tired, they are worn out even before
they leave for school. (2) Once in class, they might doze off, even in the middle of
an exciting lesson. (3) Are these students lazy, have they stayed out too late partying? (4) Medical research provides a different explanation for the exhaustion of
these teens. (5) As children become adolescents, they develop an increased need
for sleep, especially in the morning. (6) Unfortunately, most American high
schools start around 7:30 A.M. many students have to get up as early as 5:00 A.M.
(7) Scientists suggest that if students could start school later in the day. (8) They
might get the extra sleep they need. (9) To test this theory, many schools have
begun to experiment with later hours. (10) Congress is even paying the extra operating costs for schools that start after 9:00 A.M. (11) The hope is that teens will be
less tired, furthermore, because schools that start later will end later, students will
be off the streets and out of trouble during the late afternoon. (12) Which is prime
mischief time.
PRACTICE 9 REVIEW
Proofread these two essays for run-ons, comma splices, and fragments. Correct
the errors in any way you choose, writing the revised draft on a separate piece of
paper.
Words for the Wise
(1) Everyone knows that Scrabble is America’s favorite word game. (2) It was
invented by Alfred Butts. (3) An architect who wanted to create a word game that
required both luck and skill. (4) In 1938, Butts produced a board with 225 squares
and 100 tiles with letters on them. (5) Each letter was worth a certain number of
points, depending on how easy it was to use that letter in a word.
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(6) Butts made fifty Scrabble sets by hand he gave them to his friends.
(7) Who loved playing Scrabble. (8) Strangely enough, Butts could not interest a
manufacturer in the game. (9) A friend of his, James Brunot, asked Butts for permission to manufacture and sell the game. (10) However, Brunot also had little
success. (11) Selling only a few sets a year. (12) Then suddenly, in 1953, Scrabble
caught on a million sets were sold that year.
(13) Butts and Brunot couldn’t keep up with the demand, they sold the rights
to a game manufacturer. (14) The rest is history today Scrabble is produced in half
a dozen foreign languages it is also used as a learning tool. (15) To teach children
spelling and vocabulary.
Humor as a Life Skill
(1) Do you love to laugh, can you find humor in daily life, even when things
are going badly? (2) If so, you might be improving your health and your chances
for success in life. (3) Recent studies are exploring the power of laughter to promote health and even improve performance in college and at work.
(4) Laughter improves health by lowering stress hormones and boosting the
immune system. (5) Studies by Dr. Lee Berk and Dr. Stanley Tan of Loma Linda
University in California show. (6) That belly laughter reduces at least four hormones associated with high levels of stress. (7) These researchers also found that
laughter increases the body’s natural ability to kill diseased cells. (8) Laughter
seems to reduce pain, too, the Journal of Holistic Nursing reported. (9) That patients
who were told jokes or watched comic videos after surgery perceived less pain
than those who did not get a dose of humor. (10) Experts recommend taking time
to laugh each day, especially during stressful times like finals week.
(11) In addition, laughter promotes productivity on the job, people who describe their work as fun perform better and have better relationships with their
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coworkers, according to David Abramis. (12) A psychologist in the School of Business Administration at California State University-Long Beach who surveyed 382
people in various professions. (13) Another surprising study found that the most
productive workplaces are those in which employees laugh ten minutes of every
hour. (14) Writer Daniel Goleman believes that humor improves problem-solving
skills and creativity. (15) Because many employers today recognize the value of
humor to improve workers’ loyalty, teamwork, and overall morale. (16) They are
seeking employees who possess this valuable life skill—a sense of humor.
Exploring Online
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/runons_quiz.htm
Interactive quiz: Correct run-on sentences and comma splices.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_fragEX1.html
Paper quiz: Correct sentence fragments.