ADVANCED SENTENCE

STRUCTURES-II
• Sentence fragments
• Run-on sentences
 Fragments are incomplete sentences. They are
often a phrase or as clause; more often, a
subordinate clause.
 Look for the clauses that begin with a
subordinating conjunctions and phrases that
begin with participles and prepositions.
1. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
Every sentence has to have a subject and a verb in order
to be complete. If it doesn't, it's a fragment. That's
easy enough if you have something like
 NO SUBJECT:
 Wrote the article.
 NO VERB:
 Ruth, a public relations writer.
A SUBORDINATOR ATTACHED TO THE ONLY
SUBJECT AND VERB:
 When Ruth, the public relations writer, wrote the article.
A fragment may be missing a SUBJECT…
 Threw the baseball. (Who threw the
baseball?)
A fragment may be missing a VERB…
 Mark and his friends. (What about
them?)
A fragment may be missing BOTH…
 Around the corner. (Who was? What
happened?)
You can correct a fragment by adding the
missing part of speech.

Add a subject: Rob threw the baseball.

Add a verb: Mark and his friends

laughed.

Add both: A dog ran around the corner.

 SUBORDINATORS

W who, what, when, where, why, which, whether,

while
I if
S since, so that
H how

A as, after, although

B before, because
O once
U unless, until
T than, that, though
2. RUN-ON SENTENCES
 Examples:
 Jonathan dictated the letter Frank transcribed it.

Unlike sentence fragments, run-on sentences express a

complete thought but they do so improperly.
A run-on sentence is punctuating and putting
together two or more sentences as if they were
one.
Here are three examples of run-ons:
1. Tyler delivered newspapers in the rain he
got very wet.
2. Kevin and his dog went for a walk it was a
beautiful day.
3. On Monday we went outside for recess it
was fun.
 There are four ways to correct a run-on:

1. Add a period and a capital letter.

2. Add a semicolon.

3. Add a comma and a conjunction.

4. Add a subordinator
LET’S CORRECT A SENTENCE USING A PERIOD
AND A CAPITAL LETTER!

Tyler delivered newspapers in the rain

he got very wet.

Tyler delivered newspapers in the

rain. He got very wet.
LET’S CORRECT A SENTENCE USING A SEMICOLON

Kevin and his dog went for a walk it

was a beautiful day.

Kevin and his dog went for a walk; it

was a beautiful day.
LET’S CORRECT A SENTENCE USING A COMMA AND
A CONJUNCTION!

On Monday we went outside for

recess it was fun.

On Monday we went outside for

recess, and it was fun.
LET’S CORRECT THE RUN-ON USING A
SUBORDINATOR

Jonathan dictated the letter

Frank transcribed it.

After Jonathan dictated the

letter, Frank transcribed it.

Jonathan dictated the letter

before Frank transcribed it.
ACTIVITY
FRAGMENTS
Combine the pairs of sentences by using a
subordinator between them.

1. You plan your wardrobe. You go on a job interview.

2. Your outfit deserves a careful thought. First
impressions are important.
3. Conservative garments are best. You want to appear
competent and sensible.
4. They should be comfortable. You don’t want to be
distracted.
5. Unpolished shoes or excessive makeup could ruin
your chances. You answer any questions.
6. You should scrutinize yourself in a mirror. You leave
for the interview.
7. You want to look your best. You can be your best.