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Sentence FaultsAn Unholy Trinity

Grade School Definition of a Sentence

A sentence is a group of words expressing acomplete thought.

The Typical English Sentence

The typical sentence is composed of a subject, a verb, and an object. We often speak of subject-verb-object word order, which is represented SVO.

Michael kicked the ball.

S OV

Since some sentences don’t, in fact, require an object, some grammarians prefer to say that the English sentence consists of a subject and a predicate—a predicate being the verb and its object, or the verb and its modifiers:

Subject | Predicate

Michael | kicked the ball.

Michael | slept.

Michael | slept fitfully.

Michael | almost never sleeps.

Writing Sentences1. A sentence is a group of words that expresses

a complete thought. Here are examples of simple sentences:

• Maria bought a kettle.

• Tara bought a fan.

2. Two complete thoughts linked by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOY) are known as a compound sentence:

• Maria bought a kettle, but Tara bought a fan.

( 3) A complex sentence consists of an independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

• I ate the meal that you cooked.

• I enjoyed the apple pie that you bought for me.

• I ate breakfast before I went to work.

(4) A mix of compound and complex sentencesresults (obviously) in a compound-complex sentence:

• I ate breakfast before I went to work, but I was still hungry.

The ConceptThe concept, then, is fairly straightforward:

• A simple sentence contains one complete thought.

• Compound sentences are made up of two or more complete thoughts linked by conjunctions.

• Complex sentences are made up of an independent and one or more dependent clauses.

Sentence FaultsUnfortunately, many people fail to recognize errors in sentence structure.

This failure creates serious problems in communication and leaves readers feeling confused, frustrated, and unwilling to read any further.

Sentence faults are major errors and should never occur in college-level writing.

The Three Sentence Faults

Sentence errors are of three kinds:

1. Fragments

2. Run-ons

3. Comma Splices

These are variations of the same problem.

If any of these errors occur in your writing, you must strive to eliminate them.

Fragment SentencesThe fragment sentence is essentially an incomplete thought. Some element of the typical sentence is missing—it is lacking a subject, or some vital part of its predicate.

• John and Michael and their friend Rory.• She recently said.• And then when the grass was almost knee-high.• Perhaps we are to.

The above “sentences” fail to express a complete thought and are therefore fragments, or pieces, of an intended whole.

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Run-on SentencesRun-on sentences consist of several thoughts that merge into each other without the use of proper punctuation. They are sentences which would require commas, periods or semi-colons to function correctly.

The above “sentences” run several complete thoughts together and are confusing to a reader. Like the Energizer Bunny, they keep going and going and going . . .

Return to IndexTM

I went to Paris it was beautiful especially in the spring that’s when we were there I want to go again next year the point is will I have the money?

I got an “A” on my last exam I really don’t know how since I didn’t study for it at all I think maybe I was just lucky it was not a grade I actually deserved.

The policeman pulled me over he said I was speeding.

If I won the lottery I’d buy my mother a house wouldn’t you?

Comma Splice Sentences

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The comma splice sentence is a variation of the run-on sentence. It consists of several complete thoughts linked together with commas where periods should be:

I went to Paris, it was beautiful, especially in the spring, that’s when we were there, I want to go again next year, the point is, will I have the money?

I got an “A” on my last exam, I really don’t know how, since I didn’t study for it at all, I think maybe I was just lucky, it was not a grade I actually deserved.

The policeman pulled me over, he said I was speeding.

If I won the lottery, I’d buy my mother a house, wouldn’t you?

The above “sentences” splice several complete thoughts together and are confusing to a practiced reader.

Eliminate Sentence FaultsRecognizing that sentence faults exist is a good first step towards eliminating them from your writing.

During the Editing stage of the Writing Process, examine each sentence individually and ask yourself if you have written a complete thought.

If there are several complete thoughts, they must be linked with conjunctions.

If the thought is incomplete, then it must be completed.

If you have trouble recognizing sentence faults, meet with your professor or consult a tutor. Sentence faults should not appear in essays presented for a grade.

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