Sentences and Clauses: Common Sentence Errors

Run-on Sentences

A run-on sentence is a group of words punctuated and capitalized as if they were one sentence, when really they are two or more. For example:

We walked down the steps an old cat followed us.

This pseudo-sentence is really two independent clauses that have been joined incorrectly. This can be fixed by either separating them or joining them correctly. For example:

We walked down the steps. An old cat followed us.

We walked down the steps, and an old cat followed us.

We walked down the steps; an old cat followed us.

Any of those sentences are correct, and not considered to be run-ons. The key to avoiding run-ons is usually correct punctuation and preposition use.

Some run-ons are harder to spot. For example:

I walk down the steps, my friends do too.

This sentence appears to be joined correctly with punctuation; however, a comma alone cannot join two independent clauses. This sentence should either be written with a compound subject or with a conjunction. For example:

My friends and I walk down the steps.

I walk down the steps, and my friends do too.

Fragments

A fragment is a group of words put together as though they were a sentence when really a complete thought is not expressed. For example:

I like to walk. By the road.

The second pseudo-sentence does not express a complete idea because there is no subject or verb. Instead, it is merely a prepositional phrase. Phrase fragments are often formed by breaking up a sentence in the wrong place. This fragment could be fixed by combining it with the previous sentence. For example:

I like to walk by the road.

Subordinate clauses are sometimes mistakenly capitalized and punctuated as if they were a complete sentence. For example:

I ate chocolate ice cream. Which I enjoyed.

Which I enjoyed is not a complete thought and should not be treated as a sentence. This fragment can be fixed by combining it with the sentence before it. For example:

I ate chocolate ice cream, which I enjoyed.

Series fragments are another common sentence problem. Sometimes a series of things is so long, it appears to be a sentence. For example:

I love writing. The fresh package of paper, a new box of black, ballpoint pens, sharp pencils in straight rows on my desk.

In the second pseudo-sentence, no verbs are used. Even though the list is long, that does not make it a sentence. This fragment can be fixed by including a subject and verb. For example:

I love writing. I love the fresh package of paper, a new box of black, ballpoint pens, and sharp pencils in straight rows on my desk.

By adding in the subject, I, and the verb, love, this fragment was made into a complete sentence.

Modifier Mistakes

Misplaced modifiers: In English, a modifier must be placed close to the word it modifies. If the modifier is not placed close to the word it modified, it is called a misplaced modifier. For example:

Flipping in the air, we saw dolphins!

Although logically we assume the modifier flipping in the air is describing the dolphins, grammatically it is modifying the pronoun we. This error can be fixed by rewriting the sentence. For example:

We saw dolphins flipping in the air.

Now the modifier is closest to the word it modifies.

Dangling Modifiers: Sometimes a modifier is mistakenly placed in a sentence where the word it modifies is not present. For example:

Looking through a telescope, a shooting star appeared.

In this sentence, looking through a telescope appears to modify shooting star. However, it was intended to modify the person looking through the telescope. It can be fixed be rewriting the sentence. For example:

Looking through the telescope, I saw a shooting star.

Misused Parallelism

Parallelism occurs when words that are equal are placed in clauses or phrases. For example:

I eat fruits and vegetables.

The words fruits and vegetables are parallel, because they are both nouns.

Parallelism is misused when words or phrases that are not equal are arranged as if they were. For example:

I told you to clean the kitchen, bathroom and that you sweep the floors.

The first two words, kitchen and bathroom, are both nouns. They are parallel. The third group is a noun clause, which is not equal to the other two nouns. In order to use parallelism, all three must be equal. This can be fixed by rewriting the sentence. For example:

I told you to clean the kitchen, bathroom and floors.