Analysis of Fragments, Comma-Splices
and Run-ons
Frag #16 -- Other (and Amplification):
This fragment is particularly interesting because of the complexity involved.
In one sense, it can be seen as part of a compound predicate noun: "There
weren't any woods . . . or places to go. . . ." But it can also be viewd
as a compound sentence with the second subject and verb ellipsed" "There
weren't any woods to go in when I got hot, *and there were* no places to
go sleigh riding . . . ." Still another way of analyzing it is to consider
both "woods" and "places" as appossitives for an implied "anything" --
"There wasn't anything, any woods to go in when I got hot, no places
to go sleigh riding . . . ." [What I have counted as a subject/verb agreement
error, in other words, may actually imply this third version.] The complexity
of the options probably explain the fragment.
If this student were analyzing this passage,
he would find the fragment and probably ask what to do about it. If I wanted
to keep it simple, I would suggest attaching it to the preceding main clause,
with either a comma or a dash.
RO #63 -- Subordination: In some cases, the
run-on is just the opposite of the "afterthought" fragment. In the afterthought
fragment, the writer puts everything that is current in STM down on paper,
followed by an ending punctuation mark. He or she then thinks of something
to add, and, if the addition is not a complete sentence, we get an afterthought
fragment. In some run-ons, the writer probably already knows what he or
she wants to say, but the content goes beyond the writer's "comfort zone"
with sentence structure, i.e., the writer is in a hurry to get it down
(before forgetting it), but doesn't know how to phrase or punctuate it.
Still, the writer senses that the ideas are not "separate," that there
is a logical relationship between them.
In this case, the run-on could be attached
to the preceding sentence with an "although" -- "The best thing [MAJFthat
happened to me]
was [RNPNwhen I was born],
[RAVFalthough
I don't remember to much [RNDOwhen
I was little [RAVRuntil about 4 years
old]] except
for just small things.]
I do not mean to suggest that the preceding is a good sentence; I'm suggesting
that there may be a reason for the run-on.
RO #64 -- Contrast: The two main clauses
imply a contrast between "big responsible boy" and "little irresponsible
boy" -- "I didn't want to ride a wheelie until it was a big bike; then
I wrecked it in a mud puddle."
RO #65 -- Amplification: The second clause
gives details on the bike -- "I got a motorcycle
when I just turned 5 --
it was a JB.50 SVSOK."
RO #66 -- Subordination: See RO
#63. "I hated to live there [RAVFbecause
I was allways used to living in West Virginia,
[RAJFwhere
the school was small] and
[RAJFthe
people acted different.]]"
Note that this is a 25-word main clause, almost twice the writer's 12.6
average. It also has three subordinate clauses, two of which are embedded
in the first.
RO #67 -- Other (possibly contrast, possibly
careless): More intersting than the run-on is the "big and" in place of
"bigger than." Unfortunatley, there is no way of knowing if this was a
performance or a competence error. The student wrote "Then my dad was living
in Virginia [RAVFso
at
the end of the summer I moved to Virginia]\C\and
I hated it more [RAVFbecause the schools
were big and the ones [RAJFI was used
to]] \R\Well,
the one in West Virginia was kindergarden
to 12 grade." We have here a
fast-moving stream of meaning,
and there is much that could be said about it. Our interest, however, is
the run-on, and I simply want to point out the contrast between "Virginia,"
the topic of the preceding clause, and "West Virginia," the topic of the
clause in the run-on. A semicolon would be a possibility here.
RO #68 -- Amplification: The second clause
amplifies "live" -- "That's where I live now -- I
have lived there for a year and a half." |