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Tasks: Run-On Sentences, Comma Splices, and Sentence Fragments

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Image: Pixabay / Restricted right of use

Correct the sentences:

In this task, you will find sentences where mistakes have been made: there are run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments.

  • Go through the list, and identify what types of mistakes you see in each sentence.

  • Make complete, logical sentences. You may have to rephrase the sentence, add words, or add punctuation. In many cases, there is more than one solution.

  1. It will take a while. Probably one or two hours, depending on how hard the task is.

  2. The exam was one of the worst exams I've ever sat but I managed to get a B.

  3. There are four possible routes, I don’t know which is the best.

  4. Since you drew the short straw. You must walk to the gas station while we stay here.

  5. The boys arrived late and left early, they only intended to make a brief appearance.

  6. This is not what I requested the colour is too dark, and it's the wrong size.

  7. Students dislike Mr. Phillips. Because his classes can be tough.

  8. He looked old, his hair and beard were grey.

  9. Because there was a policy that only school staff could check out books from the library.

  10. Had to call the plumber. Was leaking profusely.

  11. She decided not to contribute to the project anymore, she had done her share of the work.

Suggested answer:

  1. It will probably take one or two hours, depending on how hard the task is.

  2. The exam was one of the worst exams I've ever sat, but I managed to get a B.

    The exam was one of the worst exams I've ever sat; I managed to get a B.

    The exam was one of the worst exams I've ever sat. But I managed to get a B.

  3. There are four possible routes, but I don’t know which is the best.

    There are four possible routes; I don’t know which is the best.

    There are four possible routes. I don’t know which is the best.

  4. Since you drew the short straw, you must walk to the gas station while we stay here.

  5. The boys arrived late and left early; they only intended to make a brief appearance.

    The boys arrived late and left early. They only intended to make a brief appearance.

    The boys arrived late and left early, because they only intended to make a brief appearance.

  6. This is not what I requested. The colour is too dark, and it's the wrong size.

  7. Students dislike Mr. Phillips, because his classes can be tough.

  8. He looked old, and/because his hair and beard were grey.

    He looked old; his hair and beard were grey.

    He looked old. His hair and beard were grey.

  9. There was a policy that only school staff could check out books from the library.

  10. I had to call the plumber, because it was leaking profusely.

  11. She decided not to contribute to the project anymore, because she had done her share of the work.

    She decided not to contribute to the project anymore; she had done her share of the work.

    She decided not to contribute to the project anymore. She had done her share of the work.


Rephrase:

The following passage is taken from an article in The Conversation. We have removed all commas, full stops, and capital letters. Are you able to put them back in the right places?

If you want to write a good sentence you must learn to love the full stop love it above all other punctuation marks and see it as the goal towards which the words in your sentence adamantly move a sentence once begun demands its own completion as pilots say: take-off is optional landing is compulsory a sentence throws a thought into the air and leaves the reader vaguely dissatisfied until that thought has come in to land

Original text:

If you want to write a good sentence, you must learn to love the full stop. Love it above all other punctuation marks, and see it as the goal towards which the words in your sentence adamantly move. A sentence, once begun, demands its own completion. As pilots say: take-off is optional, landing is compulsory. A sentence throws a thought into the air and leaves the reader vaguely dissatisfied until that thought has come in to land.

(The Conversation is an online magazine devoted to publishing research-based news and analysis. Follow the link to visit their website: Link to The Conversation.)

Discuss:

Sometimes, sentence fragments are used intentionally, especially by fiction authors.

  1. This passage is taken from The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
    Identify all the sentence fragments. Then explain the effect the use of sentence fragments has in the passage.

Across the field to the south he could see the shape of a house and a barn. Beyond the trees the curve of a road. A long drive and dead grass. Dead ivy along a stone wall and a mailbox and a fence along the road and the dead trees beyond. Cold and silent. Shrouded in carbon fog.

  1. The first passage below, which is taken from John Green’s novel An Abundance of Katherines, contains several sentence fragments. In the second passage, these sentence fragments have been replaced by complete sentences. How does this change the text? Which one do you prefer? Why?

Original text:
Colin slowed as he approached a stop sign and then looked at her. “Sorry,” he said.
“Why sorry?”
“Because you couldn’t fix it.”
“Oh, but I did,” she said.
Colin brought the car to a full stop twenty feet in front of the stop sign and said, “Are you sure?”

Adapted text:
Colin slowed as he approached a stop sign and then looked at her. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Why are you sorry?”
“I’m sorry because you couldn’t fix it.”
“Oh, but I did fix it,” she said.
Colin brought the car to a full stop twenty feet in front of the stop sign and said, “Are you sure?”


Examples taken from:

Green, J (2006). An Abundance of Katherines.

Moran, J (2018). 'Why we should learn to love the full stop'. The Conversation. From: https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-learn-to-love-the-full-stop-104374

McCarthy, C T (2006). The Road.


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