Fragments and Run-ons

A complete sentence must have these three things:

1. a subject

2. a predicate

3. a complete thought

If one of these three elements is missing, you’ve got a fragment!

1. What’s missing?

The kid on the camel.

A PREDICATE

Fragment: The kid on the camel

Complete: The kid on the camel complained about the bumpy ride.

2. What’s missing?

Ate an entire pizza in under two minutes.

THE S U B J E C T!

Howard ate an entire pizza in under two minutes.

3. What’s missing?

After she finished cracking an egg over her brother’s head.

A COMPLETE IDEA!

After she finished cracking an egg over her brother’s head, Danielle cackled with glee.

This is the SUBJECT.

This is the PREDICATE!This is an

introductory clause.

This is what’s tricky about starting a sentence with “because”

Because there was a giant cockroach swimming in his bowl of Cheerios.This is a fragment. Yes, it has a noun and a verb. But it’s lacking the primary subject and predicate. It’s not a complete thought.

Now it does.

Because there was a giant cockroach swimming in his bowl of Cheerios, Aaron asked his Denny’s waiter to not charge him for the breakfast.

Run-on Sentences• A run-on sentence consists of

two or more sentences that are linked together without correct punctuation.

• It’s a run-on because it doesn’t stop when it should.

4. How many sentences can you find in this run-on?

Dylan went fishing and caught two trout later, he cut and cleaned them, smothering the fish in butter and spices, Dylan cooked the trout on a grill after the delicious meal he enjoyed a chocolate-covered trout eyeball for dessert.

How many sentences can you find in this run-on?

1) Dylan went fishing and caught two trout. 2) Later, he cut and cleaned them. 3) Smothering the fish in butter and spices, Dylan cooked the trout on a grill. 4) After the delicious meal, he enjoyed a chocolate-covered trout eyeball for dessert.

5. Write your own run-on!

Write a run-on that contains three independent clauses (three sentences.)

Hint: Easiest way to create a run-on is to join complete sentences with a comma (not the comma’s job).