Troublespots 3:

Run-on sentences, comma

splices, sentence fragments
an English teacher’s worst
nightmare
 Problem 1 of 3: Run-on sentences
•  When two sentences run into each other,
and there is nothing (no punctuation) in
between them:
 Problem 1 of 3: Run-on sentences
•  When two sentences collide, and there is
nothing (no punctuation) in between
them:
–  I am in love with Anne Hathaway she is such a
honey.
–  The dinosaur bit Benny’s leg he spent another
three weeks on crutches.
–  The baseball flew through the air it landed in
Yvonne’s glass of Coke.
Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  When a comma comes between two
sentences:
–  Cristian bought ten dogs, she had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full mice, cats came from all
over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper, Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #1: put an end mark between the
sentences.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs, she had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full mice, cats came from all
over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper, Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #1: put an end mark between the
sentences.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs! She had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full of mice. Cats came from
all over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper. Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #2: add a conjunction.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs, she had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full mice, cats came from all
over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper, Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Conjunctions
They bring groups of words together:
for because
and even though
nor since need a
but whencomma with
or after these
yet before
so
 Conjunctions
They bring groups of words together:
for because
and even though
nor
Don’t need a since
but
comma with when
these or after
yet before
so
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #2: add a conjunction.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs, she had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full of mice, cats came from all
over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper, Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #2: add a conjunction.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs, but she had some
of them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full of mice before cats came
from all over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper, so Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices

;
•  Solution #3: semicolon
 Semicolon
•  Does the same job as a period
•  Goes between two sentences that are related
–  The Twins are good; they won many games this
year.
–  Mr. Haggar’s shoes are dirty; he must have
stepped in mud.
–  You smell; did you sleep with pigs last night?
•  If the sentences are not related, don’t use a
semicolon
–  Mr. Adam teaches at BWYA; it’s dark at night.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #3: insert a semicolon.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs, she had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full of mice, cats came from all
over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper, Mary had
nowhere to write.
 Problem 2 of 3: Comma splices
•  Solution #3: insert a semicolon.
–  Cristian bought ten dogs; she had some of
them painted green and some painted
purple.
–  The school was full of mice; cats came from all
over Beijing to eat.
–  The world ran out of paper; Mary had
nowhere to write.
 sentence
•  sentence: a group of words that:
–  has a subject
–  has a verb
–  is a complete thought

•  The teacher eats garbage.

•  Go turn on the light.
•  Linda dances.
 fragment
•  fragment:
–  a piece of something
–  not the whole thing
 sentence fragment
•  a piece of a sentence
•  often looks like a sentence (has a capital
letter at the beginning, subjects, verbs,
end mark)

•  The boy and his big furry dog!

•  Until all the teachers throw down their books and
go home.
•  The attack of the bears.
 problem 3 of 3
•  a piece of a sentence
•  often looks like a sentence (has a capital
letter at the beginning, subjects, verbs,
end mark)

•  The boy and his big furry dog!

•  Until all the teachers throw down their books and
go home.
•  The attack of the bears.
 Don’t write
sentence fragments!
Problem 3 of 3: Sentence fragments
•  Make sure every clause has a subject.
•  Don’t forget the word “it” as a subject.
•  Make sure to include all necessary verbs.
•  Don’t write a phrase as your sentence.
•  Don’t begin your clause with a
subordinate conjunction.
 Take action
•  Read the blog post entitled “Teachers,
students…and WeChat.”
•  Identify five sentence mistakes in the blog
post; find at least one run-on sentence,
one comma splice, and one sentence
fragment.
•  Fix the problems you identify.