ENG 3CI
GRAMMAR BOOT CAMP
Punctuation
Comma Splice – A comma splice occurs when two independent sentences are joined
by a comma.
Example: Joe wanted pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast, he bought pancake mix
last night.
How Can I Fix a Comma Splice?
1. Use a period to end one sentence. Use a capital letter to begin the next sentence.
Example: Joe wanted pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. He bought pancake mix
last night.
2. Use a semicolon to connect them if the two sentences are closely related to each
other. The second clause expands on the reasoning of the first clause.
Example: Joe wanted pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast; he bought pancake mix
last night.
3. Use a coordinating conjunction. (FANBOYS)
(F
A
N
B
O
Y
S)
Example: Joe wanted pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast, so he bought pancake
mix last night.
Exercise #1: Fix the following comma splices, using one of the above methods.
1. Before our first game we hadn’t thought about the opposition, they might be
better skilled than our team. __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. The players assembled on the field, it was their first game of the season. _______
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. The other coach was yelling from the sidelines, he was telling his players to beat
us to the ball. _______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. Then the officials called a penalty shot for our team, the other coach couldn’t
believe his eyes, he yelled at the official, his face turned red. _________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
5. The other coach got a yellow card, we thought that was hilarious, our coach told
us to keep our cool. __________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
6. We knew better than that, we know what good sportsmanship looks like. ______
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Run-on Sentence – A run-on sentence has two or more complete thoughts, or
independent clauses, which run together without any punctuation.
Example: Dakota loves eating at Tim Hortons she just doesn’t like drinking coffee.
How Can I Fix a Run-on Sentence?
1. Use a period to end one sentence. Use a capital letter to begin the next sentence.
Example: Dakota loves eating at Tim Hortons. She just doesn’t like drinking coffee.
4.
Use a semicolon to connect them if the two sentences are closely related to each
other. The second clause expands on the reasoning of the first clause.
Example: Dakota loves eating at Tim Hortons; she just doesn’t like drinking coffee.
5.
Use a coordinating conjunction. (FANBOYS)
Example: Dakota loves eating at Tim Hortons, but she just doesn’t like drinking coffee.
Exercise #2: Correct the run-on sentences in the following paragraphs. Write in the
correct punctuation. Capitalize where necessary.
Once upon a time in a faraway town lived a young man named Xavier he led a very dull,
one-sided life all day he attended horribly hard high school all evening Xavier’s face
was buried in his books then at bedtime he read his english novel wasn’t there more to
life than school? he never attended parties he did not participate in any sports he
doesn’t know any girls except one named Maribelle Xavier isn’t even sure what
Maribelle looks like since her nose is always buried in a textbook such as the joys of
boring english she likes to spend a lot of time in the library while Xavier’s parents were
pleased with his grades they still found a pile of picky things to nag and torture their
only son with for example, they nagged whenever he left his toothbrush on the
bathroom counter
One day after school Xavier bumped into Maribelle at the library she was taking
out a novel called Pride and Prejudice he asked her if she wanted to watch a movie on
Netflix at his house.
To be continued…
Sentence Fragment – A sentence fragment is a phrase or a clause that does not
express a complete thought because it is missing a subject or a verb.
Examples:
The Toronto Maple Leafs. Which is my favourite team. When they win. Need practice.
Exercise #3: Correct the following run-on sentences, comma-splices and sentence
fragments.
Maribelle thought for a moment and took out her calendar on her iPhone she said she
was free on Thursday night, Xavier smiled shyly and said he knows the perfect movie to
watch when Maribelle arrived at Xaviers house. He showed her into the family room,
his parents were eating spinach salad at the kitchen table Xavier had a twinkle in his
eye. when he turned on the TV.
to be continued...