10 English Grammar Demystifi ed
- Being a fi rst-time homeowner and living on a very tight budget.
- The menacing fi gure walking swiftly through the park.
- The community organized a march for food donations many people joined
the march as it progressed we were too tired to do that. - I didn’t buy enough yarn for my new knitting project, I turned around and
went right back to the store.
FRAGMENTS AND RUN-ON SENTENCES IN E-MAIL
When should you be concerned about fragments and run-on sentences? Always.
No matter what form of communication you use, be particularly careful to avoid
the errors you found in the preceding practices. The level of formality in your writ-
ing will not always be the same. You know with whom you can be casual and who
requires a more formal tone. Yet a caution regarding fragments and run-on sen-
tences is always in order. This caution is particularly true when you use e-mail to
communicate.
Written communication is no longer limited to letters. We now enjoy instant
communication through e-mail. This development is a good thing: it speeds your
message along and it can be more casual. Beware! Those positive aspects of
e-mailing can also function to sabotage you. How is that possible? The answer, of
course, is that whether you write a letter, a memo, a fax, or a report, if your name
is on it, you will be judged for the content. Consequently, you should know that all
the concepts in this chapter, and in this book, apply to e-mail as well.
If you send the following e-mail to your best friend, no one will comment on
your omissions, fragments, and punctuation errors.
From: Holly KimballTo: Liz WoodsSubject: