Presents:
The Dirty Dozen
Workshop Series
Workshop One:
Sentence Fragments,
Fused Sentences,
& Comma Splices
Yes!
Complete sentence or not?
Way to go!
Complete sentence or not?
Nope. Neither of these examples
are complete sentences because they
lack subjects and verbs.
“Way to Go!” is actually an
expression that comes from the
sentence That’s the way to go!
Here, the subject is “that” and the
verb is “is,” but neither actually
appear in the phrase.
“I used punctuation and a
capital letter—doesn’t that
make it a sentence?”
Nope. Just because a group of words has
punctuation and starts with a capital letter
does not necessarily mean it isn’t a
sentence fragment.
A sentence fragment is a
group of words that is punctuated
like a sentence, looks like a
sentence, but is not a sentence.
Step 1: What makes a
sentence complete?
SUBJECT
We’re not there yet…
VERB
CLAUSE
Examples of Clauses
I like pizza.
If you like pizza.
Both of these are clauses, but are they
both complete sentences?
Step 2: What makes a
sentence complete?
In addition to a subject and a verb, a
complete sentence (also called an
independent clause) contains a
complete thought.
SUBJECT
VERB
Complete
Thought
Complete
Sentence
Note: Subjects & verbs do not
always appear in this order.
For example, in a question, the verb will appear
before the subject:
Who is your favorite golf pro?
Here, “is” is our verb and “pro” is our subject.
Detecting sentence fragments
1. Check to see if the sentence needs a subject.
Ask yourself: Who or what is the sentence about?
2. Check to see if the sentence needs a verb.
When determining the verb, look for the action or
“helping” words like has, have, etc.
3. Check to see if the sentence expresses a
complete thought.
It should be clear which expresses a complete thought:
Though she had a broken arm OR She still performed
well though she had a broken arm.
Because Amy has
severe allergies.
There’s a subject and a verb
here, right? So that means it’s a
complete sentence, right?
Because Amy has
severe allergies.
Nope. The word “because” appearing at
the start makes this a dependent clause that
must DEPEND upon an independent clause to
form a complete sentence.
Psst! The word because is what is known as a
subordinating conjunction. Others include
although, whenever, while, since, and more.
Because Amy has severe
allergies, she decided to
stay inside.
This is a complete sentence because we
have attached the dependent clause to
an independent clause.
What happens if we remove the subordinating
conjunction “because” and the comma? Is this
a correct sentence?
Amy has severe allergies
she decided to stay inside.
Amy has severe allergies
she decided to stay inside.
Nope. That is a fused sentence (also called a
run-on sentence). Fused sentences occur when
two independent clauses have no punctuation
separating them.
They tend to occur with pronouns and conjunctive
adverbs (transitional words or phrases such as
therefore, however, thus…).
How about this? It has punctuation separating
the two independent clauses. This must be a
correct, right?
Amy has severe allergies,
she decided to stay inside.
Amy has severe allergies,
she decided to stay inside.
Alas, no. Adding only a comma in between two
independent clauses creates a comma splice.
Comma splices are very common but also very easy to
fix.
There are several ways to correct comma splices and
fused sentences.
Amy has severe allergies.
She decided to stay inside.
One way to fix a comma splice or fused
sentence is to simply add a period in
between the two independent clauses
and have two complete sentences.
Q: But what if we want to keep the comma?
If we want to keep the comma, we must also use a
coordinating conjunction. FANBOYS is a great way
to remember your coordinating conjunctions:
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Amy has severe allergies, so
she decided to stay inside.
Another way to keep the comma and correct
the comma splice is to add a subordinating
conjunction and make the first independent
clause into a dependent one.
Because Amy has
severe allergies, she
decided to stay inside.
We can use a semicolon to correct a comma splice.
Although you can use a semicolon with or without a
conjunctive adverb, conjunctive adverbs help to
transition from thought to thought. Semicolons must
have an independent clause on both sides of them.
Amy has severe allergies; she
decided to stay inside.
OR
Amy has severe allergies; therefore,
she decided to stay inside.
You can also use a colon between two sentences if
the second sentence explains the first sentence.
Amy has severe allergies: she
decided to stay inside.
In the following pairs, one
sentence is correct and one
sentence is incorrect. Choose the
complete sentence or sentences.
A. Because many people use air
conditioning during the summer.
B. Many people use air
conditioning during the summer.
A. Because many people use air
conditioning during the summer.
B. Many people use air conditioning
during the summer.
Sentence A is incorrect. The word
“Because” introduces a dependent clause
that must depend upon an independent
clause; it cannot stand alone.
A. I find chemistry class difficult. I have
trouble memorizing the periodic table.
B. I find chemistry class difficult I have
trouble memorizing the periodic table.
A. I find chemistry class difficult. I have
trouble memorizing the periodic table.
B. I find chemistry class difficult I have
trouble memorizing the periodic table.
Sentence B is incorrect. Two independent
clauses exist without any punctuation in
between them. Sentence B is a fused
sentence.
A.
My dog’s name is Mr.
Bubbles, and he is my ideal
pet.
B.
My dog’s name is Mr.
Bubbles, he is my ideal pet.
A.
My dog’s name is Mr. Bubbles,
and he is my ideal pet.
B.
My dog’s name is Mr. Bubbles,
he is my ideal pet.
Sentence B is incorrect because there are
two independent clauses present, separated
only by a comma. This is an example of a
comma splice.
These Dirty Dozen Workshops are
available online at the Writing Center’s
website in two exciting formats:
Workshop Presentation PDFs
Under “Handouts,” we have posted pdfs of the PowerPoint
presentations we use in these workshops.
New! Quick & Dirty Dozen Videos
We have been making short videos that recap each
workshop in five minutes or less.
For appointments, resources, handouts and more, visit:
www.methodist.edu/writing-center
Join us next time…
For Commas
Dirty Dozen Workshop Series: Exercise on Errors 1-3
Water More Dangerous than Wind
By Linda Wong
In 1999, Hurricane Floyd battered North Carolina and caused record
floodwaters. Shortly after Floyd hammered North Carolina, Hurricane Irene
visited the same region with 85 mile-per hour winds. However, Irene’s power
came more from the storm waters she brought with her, torrential rains in
front of Irene’s core swamped dozens of already water-damaged roads.
Disastrous flooding was feared National Guard troops were called out to
sandbag against further rising floodwaters. However, sandbags did not stop
Irene, the hurricane drenched southeastern North Carolina with more than a
half foot of rain. And unleashed even more flooding…
As the storm turned northeast, its strongest winds moved away from the land.
Tropical storm warnings, however, remained in effect for most of the coastal
region, the entire state was on alert. During the hurricane, the greatest
concern was the rain, not the wind. A flash flood warning was issued for a 100mile by 50-mile swath of North Carolina. Gale force winds were measured at
the coast, a tornado was reported by radar over another area of the state, but
authorities knew that the real damage would come from water. Both storm
surges and flooding often cause more loss of life than high winds. Regardless
of their speed.
Water More Dangerous than Wind
By Linda Wong
In 1999, Hurricane Floyd battered North Carolina and caused record
floodwaters. Shortly after Floyd hammered North Carolina, Hurricane
Irene visited the same region with 85 mile-per hour winds. However,
Irene’s power came more from the storm waters she brought with her,
torrential rains in front of Irene’s core swamped dozens of already waterdamaged roads. Disastrous flooding was feared National Guard troops
were called out to sandbag against further rising floodwaters. However,
sandbags did not stop Irene, the hurricane drenched southeastern North
Carolina with more than a half foot of rain. And unleashed even more
flooding…
As the storm turned northeast, its strongest winds moved away from the land.
Tropical storm warnings, however, remained in effect for most of the coastal
region, the entire state was on alert. During the hurricane, the greatest
concern was the rain, not the wind. A flash flood warning was issued for a 100mile by 50-mile swath of North Carolina. Gale force winds were measured at
the coast, a tornado was reported by radar over another area of the state, but
authorities knew that the real damage would come from water. Both storm
surges and flooding often cause more loss of life than high winds. Regardless
of their speed.