Page 11 - English Grammar and Composition-Student Textbook short

2. The U.S. Postal Service is usually very reliable. However, sometimes a letter is not delivered for weeks, months,
or even years.
Is there a run-on sentence or comma splice problem in the following?

Because Jonathan is very competitive, he sometimes puts too much pressure on himself.
The sentence is correctly punctuated. Even though both parts of the sentence have a subject and verb, the
dependent word because keeps the first idea from expressing a complete thought. It is dependent on the second
part of the sentence to complete the meaning. Some common dependent words (subordinate conjunctions) are
because, after, although, if, until, since, and while.

Four Basic Methods to Avoid or Correct Comma Splices or Run-ons
1. Use a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so) to form one smooth sentence.

2. Separate the independent sentences with a semicolon. The semicolon may be used whether or not the second
sentence starts with a transitional word or phrase.
3. Make the independent sentences distinct, using a period and capital letter.
4. Restructure the two sentences as one, using a dependent word to introduce the less important idea.

Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. It does not contain even
one independent clause.
Read the following fragment descriptions. Then look at the example. Think about how you could make each
fragment in the example into a complete sentence.
► It describes something, but there is no subject-verb relationship.
Example:
Working far into the night in an effort to salvage her little boat.

► It may have most of the makings of a sentence but still is missing an important part of a verb string.
Example:
Some of the students working in Professor Espinoza's laboratory last semester.
(Remember that an -ing verb form without an auxiliary form to accompany it can never be a complete verb)

► It has a subject-verb relationship, but has been subordinated to another idea by a dependent word and
so cannot stand by itself.
Example:
Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the more powerful speaker.

► It may locate something in time and place with a prepositional phrase or a series of such phrases, but it's
still lacking a proper subject-verb relationship within an independent clause.
Example:
In Japan, during the last war and just before the armistice.

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