1. Run On Sentences 9 th Grade

2. Look at the following sentences: I saw a teacher who cares. I saw a teacher. Who cares?

3. Using periods (and other forms of punctuation) and knowing when to end a sentence are very important. – If you don’t end a sentence appropriately, the intended meaning can be changed, or it can be misunderstood. – Sometimes the meaning is simply incomprehensible.

4. When a person learns to write English compositions, one common problem is writing sentences that are too long. – When a sentence ends too quickly, it is called a sentence fragment. – When a sentence has too many ideas and runs on too long, it is called a run-on sentence

5. The first thing you need to do is identify when a sentence is a run-on. – A run-on is a sentence that really has TWO sentences (or complete ideas) INCORRECTLY combined into one. – It is okay to combine two sentences into one, but you must follow some rules.

6. A sentence consists of 3 things: 1SubjectThe person, place, or thing performing or doing the action 2VERBThe action 3Complete IdeaThe reader isn’t left waiting for another word.

7. Murray takes the train to school Mom rides the bus. Subject = Murray AND Mom Verb = takes AND rides Is it a complete idea? It is TWO complete ideas.

8. Summary If you put two sentences (or independent clauses) together without a sufficient amount of signals (commas, semicolons, or connecting words), you have created a run-on.

9. Method #1 – Write the two independent clauses as separate sentences using periods. INCORRECTCarmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. CORRECTCarmen loved traveling in Italy. She felt Rome was too hot.

10. Method #2 – Use a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses. – INCORRECTCarmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. CORRECTCarmen loved traveling in Italy; she felt Rome was too hot

11. Method #3 – Use a comma and any one of the following connecting words: Forandnorbut oryetso INCORRECTCarmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. CORRECT Carmen loved traveling in Italy, but she felt Rome was too hot.

12. Directions: The following sentences are all run-ons. Correct them using any of the three methods. 1.The girls played basketball the boys played tennis. 2.Titanic is my favorite movie I love eating popcorn. 3.Americans shake hands when they meet the Japanese bow. 4.Mother’s Day is always on a Sunday Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. 5.William loved visiting Montreal Sally preferred just to stay in Quebec.

13. Some people may ask, « Which of these methods is best? » – That answer is not so simple – Sometimes any of the methods are equally correct; at other times, only one or two methods may truly be appropriate for a situation. – Don’t overuse any one method. – Correctly using different methods often shows good writing.

14. Sentence Fragments Since he came to New York. Because my dog loves it. Unless you see me. – Is there anything wrong with these sentences? – All of these sentences end too quickly.

15. A sentence fragment has nothing to do with the size or amount of words. – A very short sentence with a complete idea is NOT a sentence fragment. – A sentence fragment is a sentence that is incomplete.

16. Rules to Remember! 1.Sentence fragments can make your writing very confusing! Avoid sentence fragments in professional writing, formal writing, essays, business letters, and compositions. 2.Sentence fragments are written and acceptable in the following types of writing: 1.Poetry 2.Quotes and quoted speech 3.Plays - Sentence fragments are acceptable in these situations because the author wants to capture what was actually said or felt.