Clauses, Fragments & Run-Ons

What you’ll learn

• A complete sentence needs a subject, a predicate, and a complete thought; if any one is missing, it is not a sentence
• A clause has a subject and a verb; an independent clause can stand alone, while a dependent (subordinate) clause cannot
• Signal words like because, although, when, if, and since turn a clause into a dependent clause that needs an independent clause to lean on
• A fragment is missing a piece (subject, verb, or complete thought); a run-on jams two independent clauses together without the right punctuation or conjunction
• Fix a run-on four ways: a period, a semicolon, a comma plus a FANBOYS word (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), or by making one clause dependent
• A transitive verb passes its action to a direct object; an intransitive verb does not; ask "verb what?" or "verb whom?" to find the object