1. In this module you review what a sentence is.
You will also review sentence fragments and
run on sentences.

2. Do you remember what a sentence
is?
You learned this in module 1.
Look at the next slide to check your
answer.

3. What is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words that contains a
subject, a verb, and expresses a complete
thought.
Subject
verb
The girl ate a hamburger.
Subject verb
Juan rides his bike to work.

4. Sentence Fragment

5. Remember that for a sentence
to be a sentence, it needs to
have: a subject, a verb, and
express a complete thought.
If this doesn’t happen, the
group of words is not a
sentence but a fragment.

6. To decide if your group of words
is a sentence or a fragment, ask
yourself the following questions:
 Does it have a subject?
 Does it have a verb?
 Does it express a complete
thought?

7. Fragment
Reason
Complete
Sentence
Bought a
dress.
She a dress.
missing
subject
missing verb
She bought.
doesn’t
express a
complete
thought
She bought a
dress.
She bought a
dress.
She bought a
dress.

8. Sentence fragments often
occur as a result of wrong
punctuation. If you put a
period in the wrong place
you will create a fragment.

9. Example:
Fragment
Corrected Sentence
I saw. The new
teacher.
I saw the new teacher.
“An American in Paris”. “An American in Paris”
A great movie.
is a great movie.
I want to go to the
movies. With you.
I want to go to the
movies with you.

10. Sentence fragments also
occur when a subordinating
conjunction (after, as soon
as, before, when, until,
since, etc.) comes before a
clause, and it is not joined to
an independent clause.

11. Example:
Fragment
Corrected Sentence
Until she started
studying.
She failed all her tests
until she started
studying.
Before I do the
practice activities, I
read the presentations.
Before I do the
practice activity.
As soon as I get home. As soon as I get home,
I do my homework.

12. Run-on Sentences

13. Run-on sentences are two or
more independent clauses
written as though they were one
sentence.
The main cause of run-on
sentences, like fragments is
wrong punctuation.

14. Correcting run-on sentences:
End marks like periods,
exclamation points, and
question marks can make or
break a sentence.
Commas, used with a
conjunction, can transform runon sentences.

15. Example:
Run-on Sentence
Corrected Sentence
Julie is studying hard
she is trying to win a
scholarship.
Julie is studying hard.
She is trying to win a
scholarship.
Isabel sang I played
music.
When I played music,
Isabel sang.
Sara lived in Medellin
now she lives in
Bogota.
Sara lived in Medellin,
but now she lives in
Bogota.