ABE Writing: Conjunctions, Fragments, and Run-On Sentences

Yay, Grammar!

I know you guys all love my sarcasm... Lol.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions (C.C.) are words that join equally important ideas. When you use a C.C. to join a complete sentence to a fragment sentence, you do NOT need a comma. When you use a C.C. to join to complete sentences, you DO need a comma directly before the C.C. The coordinating conjunctions are:

FANBOYS -- For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Examples:

• John and Steven talked to Cody on break. (No comma)
• Jessica walked and laughed in the hallway. (No comma)
• Emily went outside, and she was cold. (Yes comma)

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions (S.C.) are words that show relationships between ideas. S.C.'s also make one idea more important than the other idea. When you use a S.C. at the beginning of a sentence, you will have a comma where the ideas break. When you use a S.C. in the middle of a sentence, you do not need the comma. Subordinating conjunctions include:

• after 
• although 
• as 
• because 
• before 
• even though 
• if, even if 
• in order that 
• once 
• provided that 
• since 
• so [that implied], so that 
• than 
• that 
• though 
• unless 
• when, whenever 
• where, wherever, whereas 
• whether 
• while

Examples:

• Because he was cold, Jeremy put on his jacket. (Yes comma)
• Jeremy put on his jacket because he was cold. (No comma)
• Erica missed the chair when she sat down. (No comma)
• When she sat down, Erica missed the chair. (Yes comma)

Fragments of Sentences

Sentences fragments are words that don't express a complete thought. Fragments may be missing a subject or an action, or they might be a subordinated clause (a sentence beginning with one of the S.C.'s). Sentence fragments are not necessarily short! Clauses can be 20 words long and still be fragments.

Examples and corrections:

• Worked hard throughout the day. (Missing subject)
• The students worked hard throughout the day.
• The girl who was in orientation with us. (Missing an action)
• The girl who was in orientation with us didn't show up today for class.
• Whenever it was rainy and cold outside. (Subordinated clause)
• Whenever it was rainy and cold outside, the students complained.

Run-On Sentences

Two complete ideas cannot be joined to each other just with a space or a comma, or they will create a run-on sentence. We've already explored how to join two ideas with our C.C.'s and S.C.'s, but you can also fix a run-on sentence with a semicolon (;). Here is a review of the run-on sentence fixes:

Run-on: Frank wanted a hot breakfast so he went to Cracker Barrel. (Remember a C.C. like "so" is not strong enough to hold two complete ideas together!)

Fix 1: Frank wanted a hot breakfast, so he went to Cracker Barrel. (Add comma before C.C.)

Fix 2: Frank wanted a hot breakfast; therefore, he went to Cracker Barrel. (Add semicolon, transition, and comma)

Fix 3: Because Frank wanted a hot breakfast, he went to Cracker Barrel. (Use S.C. with comma)

Fix 4: Frank went to Cracker Barrel because he wanted a hot breakfast. (Use S.C. without comma)

Fix 5: Frank wanted a hot breakfast. He went to Cracker Barrel. (Use a period between thoughts)

See? That wasn't so bad, was it? :)

Until next time, peeps.

-Jc

I'm BAAAACK!

Firstly, I apologize for being away so long!

I have been writing so much for my graduate studies that I couldn't keep up with my blogging. However, I have learned a new trick to give me more time to blog...

I deleted Facebook!

Lol. Yes, that's right, ladies and gents. I have sacrificed the mother of all social media so that I can focus more on writing and teaching. :) 

Today's Topic: Civics!

Today in AE, we looked at U.S. government documents. Doesn't that sound thrilling??

Ok, maybe not. But here's the thing: If you never study the Constitution or Bill of Rights, you'll never fully understand the way our government works. And believe it or not, government is a big part of our daily lives. 

Now, whenever I teach civics (the study of citizens' rights and roles in government), I always have those Negative Nancies (maybe you're one of them) who like to say things like, "I hate government. I don't vote because it changes nothing. Government has never done anything to help me." However, I find that those people are usually just hiding behind ignorance or illusion. When they truly learn about government -- what it is, who is involved, how it works -- then, they become empowered as citizens. So let's start this lesson with a review of what civic power is.

Government is not just some authoritative body created to take your money and tell you what to do. I am the government. You are the government. We all are the government, especially when we know and act on our civic duties. If you liked the video above, I highly recommend Eric Liu's TED Talk on civics and power.

Your Assignment

...should you choose to accept it...

Read the following documents:

• The United States Constitution
• The U.S. Bill of Rights
• Constitutional Amendments 

Now, this may seem like a lot of gobbley-gook, which is why you should have come to class where I explained these documents in every-day language! Lol. But since you missed my lesson, here's the best online resource I know for learning civics and history:

Think about the following questions:

• Why is the "separation of powers" using a "system of checks and balances" important?
• What are your rights as a citizen?
• How can you exercise your rights?
• In what ways could you get involved in government?

I had hoped to make a big vocabulary list for this post, but I'm running short on time.

Womp womp. Lol. That's ok. I'm sure no one was waiting with baited breath for some good, old fashioned vocabulary words and definitions. Remember, the quickest way to learn a new word is to type define and then the word into your Google search bar. No need for a dictionary when you have Google! 

Until next time, friends.

-Jc