Complete, incomplete, and run-on sentences

Front

What is a complete sentence?

Back

A complete sentence expresses a complete thought and includes a subject and a verb.

Front

What is an incomplete sentence?

Back

An incomplete sentence lacks either a subject or a verb, or does not express a complete thought.

Front

What is a run-on sentence?

Back

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or conjunctions.

Front

Example of a complete sentence: 'The cat meowed fiercely.' What makes it complete?

Back

It has a subject ('The cat') and a verb ('meowed'), expressing a complete thought.

Front

Example of an incomplete sentence: 'When John rode his bike.' What is missing?

Back

It lacks a complete thought; it does not tell what happened when John rode his bike.

Front

Example of a run-on sentence: 'John rode his bike when he fell he skinned his knee.' What is wrong with it?

Back

It improperly connects two independent clauses without punctuation.

Front

How can you fix a run-on sentence?

Back

You can fix it by adding a period, semicolon, or conjunction to separate the clauses.

Front

What punctuation can be used to correct a run-on sentence?

Back

A period, semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction (like 'and' or 'but').

Front

Identify the type of sentence: 'The squished banana was oozing slimy stuff it was really gross.'

Back

This is a run-on sentence because it connects two independent clauses without proper punctuation.

Front

Identify the type of sentence: 'Bored from years in the same habitat, the tiger paced back and forth all day long.'

Back

This is a complete sentence; it has a subject ('the tiger') and a verb ('paced').