sentence skills--exercises

Sentence Fragments

A. Revise each of the fragments below to make it a complete sentence.

1)Maybe she has taken the job. That she was talking so much about.

2)Because he had eaten and drunk too much. He had to leave the party early.

His stomach was like a volcano. That was ready to erupt.

3)We lost several hundred dollars. By taking his advice.

4)The office was closed. Because of a strike.

5)He bought a used car. In spite of my warning.

6)He left school two years later. To take over his father’s business.

7)People used to grow up in larger family. For example, a family consisting of

parents, grandparents, and three or four children.

8)I could feel Bill’s anger building. Like a mine ready to explode. I was

silent because I didn’t want to be the one to set it off.

9)It’s always hard for me to get up for work. Especially on Mondays after a

holiday weekend. However, I always wake up early on free days.

B. Turn the fragment(s) in each selection into sentence(s).

1)Gathering speed with enormous force. The plane was suddenly in the

air. Then it began to climb sharply. And several minutes later started

to level off.

2)The officer came to the alley where the man was last seen. And where

the stolen gems were probably hidden.

3)The drive to the city took us across several ranges of hills. The road at

times narrow and curving but never difficult to take at reasonable speeds.

4)Talking with an old friend usually revives old memories. Such as

college pranks, football games, and wartime experience.

5)The next afternoon we made our way through the harbour of Okinawa.

That island, which had made history during World War II.

6)The professor was obviously displeased with the performance of the class.

His eyes looking as angry as lightning bolts.

7)Andy always wins at hide-and-seek. Peeking through his fingers as he

counts to one hundred. Soon the other kids will catch on.

8)Because my neighbours went on vacation. They asked me to keep and

eye on their house. I agreed to check the premises once a day. Since I

am a person who is always ready to help.

9)For some people, life is only boring or painful. Especially if the person

has no purpose, no goal in life.

10)Often I stay up late in my room, studying, writing, or thinking about the

future. While all the other people in the room are asleep.

Run-On Sentences

A.Correct each of the following run-on sentences by inserting a

coordinating conjunction or by inserting a comma plus a coordinating conjunction.

1)All the gifts that we had ordered arrived without damage their delivery was

somewhat delayed.

2)We have studied English for only a year we can act English plays already.

3)Something went wrong with my bike this afternoon I walked home.

4)The car in front of us suddenly stopped, we had to swerve to keep from

hitting it.

5)We were looking for a shady spot we co uldn’t find one.

6)Only a few leaves could be seen the earth was covered with a blanket of

snow.

7)It takes skill to handle fragmentary sentences, the inexperienced writer should

use them rarely or never.

8)I knew him as soon as I saw him I did not say a word.

B. Choose a logical adverbial conjunction and write it in the space provided. In addition, put a semicolon before the conjunction and a comma after the conjunction.

Example: Exams are over; however, I still feel tense and nervous.

1)I did not understand t he teacher’s point ______ I ask her to repeat it.

2)They decided not to go to the movie ______ they went to play badminton.

3)I decided to skip lunch ______ I would be late for class.

4)Conflicts almost always exist within the family ______ it is still the most

enduring of social units.

5)We were a few minutes late ______ we missed the first part of the movie.

C. Correct the following run-on sentences in the way that you feel is most effective.

1)Two volumes of this book are now completed the first will be published next

year.

2)I love Beijing, it is a wonderful city.

3)I don’t know where to go for my vacation, I’ll decide by June.

4)The long, white beaches on Hainan are warm all the year round, tourists

flock there in every season.

5)Up the river on the right were two large islands thickly covered with trees, on

the left was a village once inhabited by cannibals.