Grammar Guide

A sentence fragment is a group of words that looks like a sentence, but actually isn’t a complete sentence. Sentence fragments are usually missing a subject or verb. A sentence fragment does not form a complete thought and therefore can't stand on its own.

Here are some common issues with sentence fragments:

1. It is missing a subject
   • Example: Danced all night. (Who danced?)
2. It is missing a verb or has the wrong verb form
   • Example: My favorite  teacher.  (What did the teacher do?)
3. It is a leftover phrase
   • Example: For better or worse.  (What is better or worse? What is it modifying?)
4. It is an abandoned clause
   • Example: When my aunt went to the mall with my uncle.  (What happened when “my aunt went to the mall with my uncle?”)
5. It is a misuse of “such as, for example, especially,” etc.
   • Example: Such as, my sister was reading.  (It is unclear; did something happen when my sister was reading?)

Here are some ways to fix a sentence fragment:

1. Attach
   Attach the fragment to a nearby complete sentence
   • Incorrect: Willie Wrangler. Went to the rodeo.
   • Correct: Willie Wrangler went to the rodeo.
2. Revise
   Revise the fragment by adding whatever is missing, usually a subject or verb
   • Incorrect: Likes to lie around in the sun. (A subject is missing. Who loves to lie around?)
   • Correct: My cat likes to lie around in the sun.
3. Rewrite
   Rewrite the fragment or the entire passage that contains the fragment.
   • Incorrect: Our new landlord was supposed to update the property. Such as fixing the air conditioning, installing a new oven, and replacing the locks. Has not done any of it yet and months have passed. 
   • Correct: Our new landlord was supposed to update the property, such as fixing the air conditioning, installing a new oven, and replacing the locks. Months have passed, yet he has not done any of it.

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are not joined correctly, which makes the information lose its clarity.  

E.g. The bear ate the honey the dog ate the steak. 

Use a period. The easiest way to fix a run-on is to split the sentence into smaller sentences using a period.

Example: The bear ate the honey. The dog ate the steak.

Use a semicolon. Adding a semicolon is a potential option. Just make sure the two sentences are closely related.

Example: The bear ate the honey; the bear did not eat the steak.

Use a comma and coordinating conjunction. A comma, paired with a coordinating conjunction (e.g., "and," "but," or "or"), corrects a run-on sentence. 

Example: The bear ate the honey and the dog ate the steak.

Use a subordinating conjunction. Turn one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause. Then, use a subordinating conjunction (e.g., "because," "unless," and "although"), which connects two clauses.

Example: Because the bear ate the honey, the dog ate the steak.

Semicolons

Semicolons are often used to show how to independent clauses are closely joined together. Colons are used generally before the beginning of a list. ​

• Semicolon: We went to the mall; we needed to buy shoes. ​
• Colon: When I went to the mall, I needed to buy several items: shoes, dresses, and socks.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes sometimes show possession or contractions. ​

Possession:

• Singular Possessive: The dog’s ball was yellow. ​
• Plural Possessive: The dogs’ food bowls were all different colors. ​

Contractions​:

• don’t, can’t, won’t​, etc.

The exceptions is it’s and its. It's is short for "it is". Its means something belongs to "it".

Examples: 

• It's: It's over there. (It is over there)
• Its: Its ball is over there. 

Serial Comma/Oxford Comma

The serial comma, also known as the Oxford comma, is used when listing things. Always make sure to include a comma before the conjunction (usually "and"). ​

• e.g., lions, tigers, and bears

Bracketing Commas

There should be a pair of commas whenever there is a weak interruption in a sentence. ​This interruption could be taken out and the sentence would still make sense.

• Incorrect: Stanley was a determined even ruthless figure.​
• Correct: Stanley was a determined, even ruthless, figure.

Comma Splice 

Writers make this error when they try to separate the two independent clauses in a compound sentence with a comma alone. A comma is not a strong enough punctuation mark to separate the two independent clauses by itself; thus, using it causes the clauses to be spliced together.   

Comma Splice: The puppy was sweet, I wanted to take it home with me. 

You can revise the comma splices in various ways. 

It can be revised into two independent sentences: 

The puppy was sweet. I wanted to take it home with me. 

It can also be revised by adding a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so): 

The puppy was sweet, so I wanted to take it home with me. 

If the two sentences are closely related, a semicolon can also be added: 

The puppy was sweet; I wanted to take it home with me.