Exercises

Exercise Group 1: Complete Sentence or Fragment?

Decide if the below sentences are complete (i.e. complete

thoughts) or fragments.

1. On Tuesday morning last week at 8:30 a.m. ...

2. I ate breakfast with my sister. ...
3. Even though you have lived in another country. ...
4. Which is important for success in college. ...
5. This is important for success in college. ...
6. Finding someone to design your company's website is
easy. ...
7. The way that people learn new skills in this modern world.

Exercise 2

Below are examples of the four most common kinds of sentence

errors, with an abbreviation next to each. In the practice
exercises that follow, write the abbreviation that describes each
numbered group of words in the space to its left. S = sentence
F = fragment ,CS = comma splice and FS = fused sentence
Example: Since he was feeling hungry, John cooked dinner. S
1. One of the most popular films of all time being King Kong a
film about a giant gorilla. ___
2. Protests against immorality which became very strong by
1928. ___
3. Americans will pay to cry the proverbial buckets, too, witness
the success of a tear-jerker like Love Story. ___
4. Movements toward censorship and federal regulations began.
___
5. In the 1970's a new kind of spectacular became popular it
allowed the public to have an almost real experience with
disaster. ___
6. In 1930 the movie industry adopted the Production Code,
which probably saved the industry from government control. ___
7. Then there are the ever-popular Disney cartoons. ___ 8. Since
the industry agreed to control itself from within. ___
9. Some films like Earthquake and Midway which treated the
audience to the sights and sounds -- and the sensations of
disaster. ___
10. In essence the code states that movies may portray immoral
conduct but may not advocate it. ___
11. Jaws, an unusually frightening film about a shark's attacking
swimmers at a popular beach area. ___
12. War may not seem a likely booster for the film industry. ___
13. The duel between hero and villain that dates back to the
earliest western could still hold audiences spellbound in High
Noon and will doubtless reappear as long as westerns are made.
___
14. It was. ___
15. Masses of Americans paid five cents to see The Great Train
Robbery, the first full-length movie, today they pay several
dollars to see the latest western adventure. ___
16. When the Second World War swept the globe, people went to
the movies in greater numbers than ever before. ___
17. Next came a cycle of films about juvenile delinquency, this
subject was a common newspaper headline of the mid-1950's.
___
18. Partly because they had more money to spend on
entertainment than they had previously had. ___
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest entertained its audience
throughout, nevertheless it dealt with a social issue--the
treatment of mental illness. ___
20. During the Second World War the movie industry had an
unprecedented period of prosperity.
 Exercises
1. I woke up this morning/mourning with a serious problem.

2. “What ales/ails you, son/sun?” asked my mom over breakfast.

“You/ewe don’t look write/right!”

3. “Eye/I didn’t sleep because of you’re/your horrible dog,” I said

before taking a bite/byte of cereal.

4. “That dog loves to/too bark,” my sister Lucy said.

5. “Your/yore powers of perception are truly strong,” I said

sarcastically.

6. “Don’t make the rest/wrest of us suffer just because you had a

ruff/rough knight/night,” mom chastized. “Everyone loves Wiley
except/accept you.”

7. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m worried about today’s English test;

there’s know/no weigh/way I can do/due a good job on such little
sleep!”

8. After we/wee ate/eight, I packed my bag for/four school,

brushed my teeth, and ran out so fast I almost forgot to close the
door.

9. First period is English, so/sew I felt relieved to take the test at

the start of the day.
10. But/butt when I sat at my desk, my stomach began to/two
churn. I could here/hear the wind blowing outside ominously.

11. I desperately kneaded/needed an A because I’m competing

with my arch-rival Zachary for/fore valedictorian.

12. After Mr. Robinson passed/past out the tests, I took a deep
breath and prepared for what I was sure would/wood be/bee a
whole/hole ordeal.

13. To my total delight, I knew/new every answer; our/are

teacher taught/taut us well!