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05 Sentence problems
FRAGMENTS
When you write, you need to avoid sentence fragments. A “fragment” is a “piece” of something, so a sentence
fragment is just a piece of a sentence – not a complete sentence. A complete sentence should have a subject
(what is the sentence about?) and a predicate (what does the subject do?). The subject is usually a noun, and the
predicate always has a verb.

1. Because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes.
2. For example, the increase in the cost of renting an apartment. To live and work for at least a year in a
foreign country.
3. Teachers who give too much homework.

Exercise1: Read the sentences/fragments below. If it is a sentence fragment, write “F”. Then change the
fragments into complete sentences.
1. The desire of all humankind to live in peace and freedom, for example.
2. Second, a fact that men are physically stronger than women.
3. The best movie I saw last year.
4. Titanic was the most financially successful movie ever made, worldwide.
5. For example, many students have part-time jobs.
6. Although people want to believe that all men are created equal.
7. Finding a suitable marriage partner is a challenging task.
8. Many of my friends who did not have the opportunity to go to college.
9. Working during the morning and attending classes during the afternoon.
10. Because I do not feel that grades in college have any value.
11. A tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean in December 2004, killing more than 200,000 people.
12. The total energy of the tsunami waves was about five megatons of TNT.
13. More than twice the total explosive energy used during all of World War II, including two atomic bomds,
according to one expert.

Exercise 2: Each example below includes a sentence fragment. Rewrite the sentences without any sentence
fragments. (You might have to add some words.)
1. We went to bed early. Because we were tired.
2. My sister got into Harvard. But I didn’t.

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 3. After I woke up and got dressed.
4. Next year we will go to Utah. And hopefully visit the Grand Canyon.
5. Because it was raining all day and there was no electricity.
6. My computer wasn’t working last night. So I had to go to the library.
7. If you finish all of your homework.
8. Every time I go to that restaurant. I leave a big tip for the waitress.

Exercise 3 Find the sentence fragments and correct them.

RUN-ON SENTENCE
A run‐on sentence is when two complete sentences are put together without correct
punctuation (a comma or period, for example). You should avoid run‐on sentences when
you write!

Examples:
• We went to the beach it was a lot of fun. (run‐on sentence)

- We went to the beach. It was a lot of fun.
- We went to the beach, and it was a lot of fun.
- We went to the beach because it is a fun place to go.

Exercise 4: Rewrite these run‐on sentences using a period (.) or a conjunction (and / but / so / because).

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 1. I was late to school the teacher didn’t notice.
2. I want to live in California the weather is nice there.
3. My dad ate all the ice cream I can’t have any for dessert.
4. Doctors are important they help sick people.

PUNCTUATION – Comma Splice and Conjunction

When you write in English, you have to be careful with punctuation.
You cannot put two sentences together with only a comma (,) – this is called a “comma splice”. (A “comma
splice” is like a run‐on sentence – you should avoid it in your writing.)
If you want to put two sentences together, you need a conjunction: and / but / so / because
**Note: With “and/but/so” you need to use a comma, but you usually don’t need a comma with “because”.
Examples:
1. I went home early, I did my homework. (Wrong!)
 I went home early, and I did my homework.
2. I didn’t finish my homework, the teacher was angry. (Wrong!)
 I didn’t finish my homework, so the teacher was angry.
 The teacher was angry because I didn’t finish my homework. (Right!)

Exercise 5: Combine the sentences below, using a conjunction (and/but/so/because) and a comma (if you use
and/but/so).
1. Chris went to Europe, he visited many countries.
2. I fell down the stairs last night, I didn’t get hurt.
3. I wanted to eat sushi, I went to a Japanese restaurant.
4. John and Kate went on a date, they didn’t have a very good time.
5. Willy enjoys playing badminton, he also likes to play soccer.
6. Andy hit another student in class, he got in trouble.

Exercise 6: Rewrite these sentences and correct the mistakes.

1. The President will go to England and meets with the Prime Minister.
2. Jane studies English at college and work at a bookstore in her free time.
3. The children are playing and laugh in the back yard.
4. Jessica met a famous actor and gets his autograph.
5. The doctor examined the patient and giving him some medicine.
6. You may put your books away and going home when you are finished.

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 SEMI-COLON (;)
a. to connect two complete sentences that are related. You use a semi‐colon when the second sentence
gives more information about the first sentence.
Examples:
 My boss was a wise woman; she taught me a lot of useful skills.
 Smoking is bad for you; it can damage your lungs.
 Some customers preferred source code; others wanted to continue with pre-packaged product
binaries.
the second part of the sentence (after the semi‐colon) helps explain, clarify, and give more information about the
first part of the sentence.

b. to distinguish different parts of series that contain commas

There are three areas that interest us: the introductory part, with its introduction o f the topic, its
generalizations and definitions; the middle part, which can have subdivisions, different patterns or
structures; and finally, the conclusion.
c. when two independent sentences are connected with a transition signal.
Some customers did not want to use source code; therefore, most manufacturers kept producing pre-
packaged product binaries too.

COLON (:) draw the reader’s attention to the next word

a. to introduce a list
We will look at essay structure: introductions, main body and conclusion.
Note that we do not use a colon after a verb:
NO The reasons that are most often cited are: resistance and intolerance.
YES The reasons that are most often cited are resistance and intolerance.

b. to introduce a subtitle
Treatment o f asthma in children: a critical analysis

c. before direct quotations and in some citations

As Farb (2011: 32) states: ‘You have to act quickly. The longer you draw out one of these crises and let it
drag on, the weaker you get.’

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 Exercise 7: Use a semi‐colon to add more information about the sentences below and answer the questions in
parentheses. The first one is done foryou.
1. Tropical islands are great places to live. (Why? What do you mean?) Tropical islands are great places to live;
they have beautiful beaches, and the weather is great all year.
2. Australia is one of the most interesting places on Earth. (Why? Give 1 or 2 examples.)
3. My grandmother rarely goes to bed early. (Why? What does she like to do at night?)
4. The campers ran out of food. (So what did they do? What happened?)
5. I am going to move back home with my parents. (Why? What are you going to do there?)

REVIEW

Exercise 8: The paragraph below has many punctuation and grammar errors (comma splices, sentence
fragments, etc.). Rewrite the paragraph, correcting the errors.

Changing Priorities
A s people grow older, they begin to see the world in a different way. They stop worrying about silly things and
they start paying more attention to family. Because family is the most important thing in our lives. Most of my
friends spend all of their time playing video games and surfing the internet but I know that there are more
important things in life. When I was young, I was like my friends. But now I am different. Because I have learned a
lot from my grandparents. As my grandmother grew old, she watched less TV and visit her grandchildren often.
My grandfather is the same, he has changed a lot with age. Now, it seems like the only thing he cares about is his
children and grandchildren. The last time I visited my grandparents, we went to a movie and watch a movie they
said that was one of the best days of their lives. My grandparents have inspired me to change my priorities, I
think this will make my life much more enjoyable.

TYPES OF SENTENCES
SIMPLE SENTENCES
1. Subject + Verb + Complement
2. Subject + Intransitive Verb
3. Subject + Transitive Verb + Object
4. Subject + Transitive Verb + direct Object + indirect Object
5. Subject + Transitive Verb + Object + Object complement

Examples of intransitive verbs

agree appear stay become

belong collapse depend cost

disappear emerge (co)exist fall

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 last last (endure) vanish die

remain respond result revolt¹

rise grow die smile¹

spread stand happen swim

Example

S V

Elephants exist.

S V O

Elephants like grass.

S V O (indirect) O (direct)

Elephants give children rides.

S V C

Elephants are animals.

Elephants are (not) animals.

S V O C

Elephants make children happy.

Exercise 9: Write sentences for the following topics. You should use a variety of sentences (simple, compound,
complex)

Travelling is the best way to learn about the world.

- Broaden one’s horizon - Become more independent

- Widen knowledge - Improve problem-solving skills
- Get first-hand experience - Make more friends from different
- Be exposed to many different cultures backgrounds

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 COMPOUND SENTENCES

S1V1, FANBOYS S2V2

Example: July loves to surf, and she goes to the beach every weekend.
I am sleepy, but I still need to study.
NOTE:

So = result; comma is necessary

I studied all night, so I am really tired today.

So = purpose; never use a comma

I studied all night so I would pass today’s test (so = so that)

Exercise 10: Read the sentence parts about transportation and pollution. Match the two sentence parts to form a
compound sentence. Circle the conjunction in each sentence.

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 COMMA RULES
1. Serial Commas Use commas to separate items in series
Example:
I am taking English, History, Physics, and Music.
When we were at the mall, we bumped into my counsin, my uncle, and my aunt.
2. Adjective Commas Use commas to separate two equally important adjectives.
Example
The dark, cold winter makes everyone cranky.
Jonathan likes fast, exciting sports like baseball more than slow, strategic games like chess.
3. IC, FANBOYS IC Use a comma and a conjunction (FANBOYS) to combine two independent
clause.
Example
I attend a four-year college, or I attend a two-year community college.
We didn’t enjoy the movie, so we decided to ask for a refund.
4. DC, IC Use a comma to separate a dependent clause when it comes at the beginning of the
sentence.
Dependent clauses at with an ABBI SAW A WUWU
After, Before, Because, If/If only Since, Although, While,
As/As if When/Whenever, Until, Whether, Unless
Example
Before we knew it, it was time to go.
After we visited our grandmother, we went to the library.
with certain transition signals (e.g. use one after in fact, for example, however, but not after despite, even though)
Moreover, all principles and theorems o f inductive logic are analytic.
to separate parts of sentences but not whole sentences
Despite the attractive low prices, sales are heavily dependent on the season.

to separate non-essential information

Allergic asthma, which is present in as many as 10% o f individuals in industrialized nations, is characterized amongst other
symptoms by chronic airway inflammation.

Exercise 11: Read the sentences and add a comma where necessary.

1. Eventhough the paint was still wet I couldn’t resist touching it.
2. After the fire burned out I went inside the house.
3. In English class we read Old Man and the Sea Dracular and Beowulf.
4. I watched television took the dog for a walk and drove to the store to get milk.
5. William Shakespeare a famous playwright wrote Macbeth and Hamlet.
6. The three pound bass which was the biggest fish I ever caught tasted delicious.

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 7. While the turkey was cooking I prepared mashed potatoes.
8. My best friend John just bought a new lawn mower.
9. In the basement mice hide between the boxes.
10. After hiking in the woods for three hours I sat down to have a drink of water.
11. The big gray dog wouldn’t stop barking last night.
12. Jane I would like you to meet my mother and father.
13. I need to go to the hardware store to get nails paint and light bulbs.
14. If you liked Harry Potter you’ll love Lord of the Rings.
15. I’ve had enough of your silly wild and inappropriate behaviour.

COMPLEX SENTENCES

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