Sentence FragmentRun-On &

Comma Splice

I believe that…TEST• When checking for a fragment or not, say the

words “I believe that” and read what the author wrote.

• If it makes sense, then it’s a sentence• If not, then what was written is a fragmentYou try:1) While running through the halls, the girls tripped

and fell.2) Dancing at homecoming.3) The sumo wrestler ate 50 pounds of rice to keep

his weight up.

It might be a run on…TEST

• If there is no period, semi-colon, or comma and conjunction joining more than one idea together…it might be a run on

• If there are over 15 words in the sentence it might be a run on.

• If you have 2 different subjects doing 2 different things in the sentence and you didn’t use a comma and conjunction, it might be a run on.

When reading The Bell Jar in present times, lunacy and sex had never been talked about in a book before, and society is much more accepting of nonconformists now than they were in the 1950s, so Plath was breaking all the unwritten laws of society in writing this book.

Comma splice

• You cannot create a complex sentence just using a comma.

• If you added a comma and no other joining words to the sentence (and, or, for, but, yet, etc.) you have created a comma splice

Comma SpliceTest your skills

• Nancy waited in line for 3 hours to vote, Jill only waited for 20 minutes.

• Hopefully you will want to go to the mall with me this weekend, but if not, then I will just go by myself.

• During the winter, I really hate the long days of dark. I much prefer the sunny days of summer.

Let’ review• Sentence fragments are incomplete thoughts. It

doesn’t matter how long the fragment, if it does not express a complete thought, it is a fragment.

• Run-on sentences are like the Energizer Bunny….they keep going and going and going

• The comma is a lot like pizza…we all really like it, but too many slices of pizza will make you sick and not enough pizza leaves you still hungry.

And not putting this comma in creates a comma splice.