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Introduction to Exercise 8 - Review: Correcting fragments and run-ons
Grammar Explanation

•  A fragment is an incomplete sentence because it lacks a subject, a verb or part of the verb phrase, or because it is a dependent clause.
  • To fix a fragment that is missing a subject, add a subject.
  • To fix a fragment that is missing a verb or part of the verb phrase, add the verb
    or part of the verb that is missing.
  • To fix a fragment that is a dependent clause, attach the dependent clause to an
    independent clause.
For additional explanation and practice, see Exercise 6: Fixing incomplete sentences (fragments).

•  A run-on is a sentence that contains two independent clauses that are not separated or
connected correctly.
  • To fix a run-on, use a period or semicolon to separate the clauses into two sentences or connect the clauses by using a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, or, so).

•  A comma splice is the most common type of run-on sentence. It occurs when a comma is used between two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, or, so).
  • To fix a comma splice, change the comma to a period or semicolon or add a
    coordinating conjunction after the comma.
For additional explanation and practice, see Exercise 7: Correcting run-ons and comma splices.
PDFDownload Grammar Explanation (PDF)
What You Will Do

Each of the following passages has problems with fragments, run-ons and comma splices. Click on the EDIT PASSAGE button and make the necessary changes in the box provided. Click on the TIPS button for information on how to correct these problems. After typing your answer, click DONE to compare WHAT YOU WROTE with WHAT WE WROTE.  
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