Hey there, 6th-grade writer! Have you ever been reading a sentence and suddenly thought, "Huh? Wait, what's happening here?" Chances are, you’ve bumped into a sentence fragment or a run-on sentence.
These are two of the most common writing bugs, but guess what? They're also the easiest to fix once you know how. Mastering complete sentences is like unlocking a writing superpower—it makes your stories, essays, and even emails sound clear, powerful, and professional.
Let’s transform you into a sentence superhero!
The Building Blocks of a Super Sentence
Before we can fix a broken sentence, we need to know what a healthy one looks like. Every single complete sentence must have three secret ingredients:
1. A Subject: The who or what the sentence is about. (This is the main character.)
2. A Predicate: The action or what the subject is doing. This always includes a verb.
3. A Complete Thought: The sentence must make sense all by itself and not leave your reader hanging.
Think of it like a skateboard: You need the deck (the subject) and the wheels (the verb) for it to work. The complete thought is you successfully riding it without falling off!
Example: "The dragon soared." It's short, but it's complete! Subject = dragon, verb = soared, complete thought = We know what happened.
Taming the Sentence Fragment
What is a Sentence Fragment?
A sentence fragment is a sneaky imposter. It looks like a sentence because it starts with a capital letter and ends with a period, but it’s missing one or more of its essential building blocks. It’s an incomplete thought that can’t stand on its own.
Spotting the Different Types of Fragments
Fragments come in a few disguises. Let's learn to spot them:
The Missing Subject: "Leaped over the fence." Who leaped? We have no idea!
Fix it: The dog leaped over the fence.
The Missing Verb: "The gigantic pizza with extra cheese." What about the pizza? It's just sitting there!
Fix it: The gigantic pizza with extra cheese smelled amazing.
The "-Because" Clause Left Alone: This is a super common one! When a clause starts with words like because, since, when, if, after, or although, it can't be alone.
Fragment: "Because I finished my chores." Okay... what happened next?
Fix it: "I got extra screen time because I finished my chores." Now the dependent clause has a complete sentence to lean on!
Your Fragment-Fighting Tool Kit
How can you hunt down fragments in your own writing? Try these two tricks:
1. Read It Aloud: Your ear is a powerful tool. If a sentence sounds like it suddenly stops or leaves you with a "wait, what?" feeling, it's probably a fragment.
2. Ask a Question: Turn the sentence into a yes-or-no question. If it sounds weird or impossible, it's a fragment.
Complete Sentence: "The game was exciting." -> "Was the game exciting?" (Makes sense!)
Fragment: "After the game ended." -> "Did after the game ended?" (Nonsense! Fragment alert!)
Defeating the Run-On Sentence Monster
What is a Run-On Sentence?
If a fragment gives too little information, a run-on sentence gives too much—all at once! It smashes two or more complete sentences together without the correct punctuation or connecting words. It's like a never-ending train of thought that leaves your reader out of breath.
The Two Main Run-On Villains
1. The Fused Sentence: This villain just rams two sentences together with no punctuation.
Run-On: "I love astronomy my favorite planet is Saturn."
2. The Comma Splice: This one is trickier. It uses a wimpy comma to try and hold two sentences together, but a comma isn't strong enough for the job!
Run-On: "We went to the beach, it was a sunny day."
Your Run-On Repair Kit
You have four awesome superpowers to fix any run-on sentence. Let's use this one as our example: "The movie was scary I hid under my blanket."
| Superpower | How to Use It | Fixed Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Period Power | Chop into two separate sentences | "The movie was scary. I hid under my blanket." |
| 2. The Comma + FANBOYS | Use comma plus: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So | "The movie was scary, so I hid under my blanket." |
| 3. The Semicolon Strike | Use semicolon (;) between related sentences | "The movie was scary; I hid under my blanket." |
| 4. The Subordinating Conjunction | Use because, since, although, while, etc. | "Because the movie was scary, I hid under my blanket." |
Time to Train: Your Superhero Practice Zone
Ready to test your new powers? Let's operate on some sentences!
Activity 1: Identify the Problem
Label each one as Fragment (F), Run-On (RO), or Correct (C).
1. Raced down the street on his new bike.
2. My sister plays the piano, she practices every day.
3. Although we arrived early.
4. The ancient tree provided shade for the entire park.
5. I need to borrow a pencil I left mine in my locker.
(Answers: 1. F, 2. RO, 3. F, 4. C, 5. RO)
Activity 2: Fix the Run-On
Fix this sentence using TWO different methods: "The science experiment failed, we learned a lot from it."
Method 1 (Period): "The science experiment failed. We learned a lot from it."
Method 2 (Comma + FANBOYS): "The science experiment failed, but we learned a lot from it."
Activity 3: The Editing Challenge
This paragraph has at least one fragment and one run-on. Can you find and fix them?
- Last weekend, my family went hiking. The trail was very steep. Until we reached the top. The view was incredible we took a bunch of photos.
One Way to Fix It:
- Last weekend, my family went hiking. The trail was very steep until we reached the top. The view was incredible, so we took a bunch of photos.
You’ve Mastered the Power!
Boom! You’ve done it. You now have the knowledge to spot sentence fragments and run-ons from a mile away and the tools to fix them like a pro. Remember, the goal isn't to never make a mistake—it's to know how to clean it up during your final edit.
