Sentence fragments

​A fragment resembles a sentence in two ways. Both groups of words begin with a capital letter and conclude with  a full stop or another end mark; that is an end mark such as an ! or a ? A fragment, however, does not contain a finite clause. 

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Run on Sentences

Run-on sentences occur when two or more independent clauses are joined without using a coordinating conjunction (i.e., for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or correct punctuation (i.e., semicolons or full stops. For example:

It is nearly half past six we cannot reach home before dark

Correction 1
It is nearly half past six; we cannot reach home before dark.
Insert a semicolon or dash:

Correction 2
It is nearly half past six. We cannot reach home before dark.
Write the two clauses as two separate sentences (Note: this may disconnect related independent clauses and cause some of the meaning to be lost):

Correction 3
It is nearly half past six, so we cannot reach home before dark.
Insert a coordinating conjunction with a comma:

Correction 4
Because it is nearly half past six, we cannot reach home before dark.
Make one clause dependent on the other:

Comma Splices

A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are connected with only a comma. A comma is not strong enough to hold together two clauses. As with a run-on sentence, there are a few different ways to correct a comma splice. This is a comma splice:

My flatmates cook together nearly every night, we then eat everything we make together.

Correction 1:
My flatmates cook together nearly every night. We then eat everything we make together.
The comma splice has been corrected by breaking the sentence into two separate sentences.

Correction 2:
My flatmates cook together nearly every night, and we then eat everything we make together.
The comma splice has been corrected by adding a coordinating conjunction and a comma.

Correction 3:
Nearly every night, after my flatmates cook together, we  eat everything we make together.
The comma splice has been corrected by adding a subordinating conjunction and a comma, and by moving (in this case) and adverbial.

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After viewing the video below, check your understanding with:  this practice quiz: comma splices, run on & fragments