Let’s go through each line one by one and decide if it’s a
sentence,
fragment, or
run-on.
Remember:
- A
sentence has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.
- A
fragment is missing something — maybe no verb, or it doesn’t make sense on its own.
- A
run-on is two sentences stuck together without proper punctuation or connecting words.
---
1. “I have big problems.”
→ This has a subject (“I”) and a verb (“have”), and it makes sense.
✔ Sentence
2. “I can describe the issue you must listen.”
→ Two ideas here: “I can describe the issue” AND “you must listen.” But they’re just smashed together with no comma or word like “and” or “so.”
✘ Run-on
3. “The girl will go to school she will go to the library.”
→ Again, two full thoughts: “The girl will go to school” + “she will go to the library.” No connection between them.
✘ Run-on
4. “The baby who is crying in the crib.”
→ Starts with “The baby,” then adds “who is crying...” — but there’s no main verb telling us what the baby *does*. It feels incomplete.
✘ Fragment
5. “The college with the best basketball team.”
→ Just a noun phrase. Who did what? What about the college? Nothing happens.
✘ Fragment
6. “Jane always tells the truth.”
→ Subject: Jane. Verb: tells. Complete idea.
✔ Sentence
7. “There is another side to the story.”
→ Subject: “There” (used as placeholder), verb: “is”, and it makes sense.
✔ Sentence
8. “The policeman who is wearing the hat.”
→ Like #4 — starts with “The policeman,” then describes him with “who is wearing...”, but no action or main verb for what he does.
✘ Fragment
9. “The mayor voted he cares about the issues.”
→ Two ideas: “The mayor voted” + “he cares about the issues.” Smashed together. Needs a comma or word like “because” or “and.”
✘ Run-on
10. “The family will move they want a bigger house.”
→ Two complete thoughts: “The family will move” + “they want a bigger house.” No connector.
✘ Run-on
---
Final Answer:
1. sentence
2. run-on
3. run-on
4. fragment
5. fragment
6. sentence
7. sentence
8. fragment
9. run-on
10. run-on
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of fragments and run ons worksheets with answer key.
