Grammar

Fragments & Run-on sentences

Goal for Lesson 12:1.You will learn to identify fragment sentences.2. You will vary sentence lengths to prevent run-on sentences.

Grammar

Sentence Fragment:

Fragments & Run-on SentencesWhat are they?

A fragment does not have both parts of a sentence. It will be missing a subject or a predicate-verb.

Run-on Sentence:

Sentences are run-ons only when they contain more than one complete idea. They can be short or long sentences.

Grammar

Even though it begins with a capitaland ends with punctuation,

Remember:A correct sentence must have a subject and a verb.

Fragments & Run-on Sentences

Example of fragment:Hurt my leg.

Grammar

People play different sports everywhere and in different places they play different sports it depends on many things like weather and location.

Example of a run-on:

it is not a correct sentence. It has no subject. Who hurt their leg?

Grammar

Even though it begins with acapital and ends with punctuation,it is not a correct sentence!

People play different sports everywhere and in different places they play different sports it depends on many things like weather and location.

Grammar

Let’s change it to make it work! Observe where the punctuation was added. What changed?

GrammarFragments & Run-on Sentences

A sentence is a group of words that makes sense. It must have a subject and a verb or a predicate,(group of words with the verb).

Ex. I + love to read.

A fragment does not make sense and leaves the readerwondering what the sentence is trying to say. It does not have a subject or a verb or apredicate, (group of words with the verb).

Did you know the word fragment means a piece of something?

Example: Looking at the sunset.

There is no subject for this to be a sentence.

How could we change it to make it a sentence?

When we are writing sentences we need to remember to always make sure we have the subject and the verb or predicate or it will not make sense.

Grammar

Fragments & Run-on sentences

Fixing Fragments

Directions: We will identify what is

missing, the subject or the verb/ predicate. We will turn them into sentences.

Verb/predicate

The wild horses.

Put into the fenced off area.

Subject

Lived on the island.

Dogs were

The flock of birds. Verb/predicate?

The flock of birds hovered over the beach.

Fell to the ground.Subject?

The fruit fell to the ground.

Playing in the water.Subject?

The children were playing in the water.

When you keep your subject and verb together, you can be sure yoursentence will make sense.

Fragments & Run-on Sentences

Subject + Verb = Sentence

Run-on Sentences

Directions: How will we correct the

run-on sentence below? 1. The man continued to work hard in the field and it rained and rained it did not let up for a minute he was soaked and tired I could tell from his face.Find where new punctuation can be added to make more than one sentence.

1. The man continued to work hard in the field. It rained and rained! It did not let up for a minute! He was soaked and tired. I could tell from his face he was ready to quit.

Can you see how to change it?

Run-on Sentences

Did you know run-on sentences canbe short, too?

Ex. She walked I ran.

Ex. She walked. I ran.

Why would these 2 small sentences be considered a run on sentence without the separation by a period?

Punctuation will need to be added to fix a run-on sentence.

However, sometimes you need to add words to make the split so that they make complete sentences.

Remember each sentence needs to have a subject and a predicate.Can you locate them both when you change the run-on sentence?

The sun beat down on the hot pavement there was no shade anywhere we were going to need protection soon or we were going to burn badly.

Directions: How will we correct the run-on sentence? Find where new punctuation can be added to make more than one sentence.

Run-on Sentences

2. The sun beat down on the hot pavement. There was no shade anywhere! We were going to need protection soon or we were going to burn badly.

Fixing Run-on Sentences

What did we change?

Grammar

Varying Sentence Length:

Adding sentence variety to your writing makes it interesting to read.It will highlight what you want to emphasize using shorter sentences. However, most sentences are not too short or too long, but mediumin length.

Grammar

Varying Sentence Length:

Short Sentences: Short sentences present one idea clearly, a few wellplaced short sentences can add emphasis.

For example: I was lost!

Grammar

Varying Sentence Length:

Medium Sentences: Medium sentences add some details that are important to the subject or predicate. For example: The howling wind whistled through every crack in the house making it sound like an instrument in need of tuning badly.Simple sentence: The wind whistled through the house.

GrammarVarying Sentence Length:

Lengthy Sentences: Lengthier sentences add separate clauses that can be divided by colons, commas, and usually are long for a specific purpose based on the subject or predicate.

That left her, of course, in a state of extreme joy, which the family took great care to celebrate with her, so her joy would be contagious to all who knew her.

Example of a lengthy sentence that is effective:

GrammarPutting it into Practice

Practice: Identifying Run-On SentencesRead the following sentences aloud and see how they sound. Which ones are correct sentences and which ones are run-ons?

1. Books are very popular gifts for special occasions most kids love getting them.

2. It would be difficult to find a boy or a girl who wouldn't love to get a computer as a gift.

3. Jane wanted to find a bargain she finally found one on the sale rack.

4. If you do a lot of careful shopping, both in local stores and on the Internet, you can usually find a bargain.

5. Holiday shopping is the time when bargains are easy to find Jany found this to be true.

They are sentences 1, 3, and 5.Were you able to find the run-ons?

Grammar

Varying Sentence Length:

Sentences 2 and 4 are correct grammatical sentences.

Can you now fix the three run-ons and make them into correct sentences?

Were you able to locate the correctsentences?

Grammar

Varying Sentence Length:

Grammar

Varying Sentence Length:

1.Books are very popular gifts for special occasions. Most kids love getting them.

3. Jane wanted to find a bargain. She finally found one on the sale rack.

5. Holiday shopping is the time when bargains are easy to find. Jany found this to be true.

Putting it into Practice

Grammar

Read the following passage: Genesis 1:1-31, The Message

Respond in your journal on the

following:

1.What is the main idea of this passage? (Make sure you support your opinion by using the text!)

3. Were there any short sentences used to emphasize a point? Explain.

4. Edit your journal entry for sentence structure and sentence lengths. How did you do?

2. How did the writer of this passage use different sentence lengths to communicate to the reader?

Good-Bye, until next time!

I look forward to teaching you more about good sentence structure in lesson 13.

Until then, keep practicing and remember to enjoy reading while you do the CROPQV!