Index
Parts of a Sentence
A sentence requires a subject and a verb. Some verbs require objects. Avoid sentence fragments. SUBJECT + VERB-(OBJECT) = SENTENCE.
Examples:
- I have three cats.
- His cat loves to eat human food.
The important point to remember is that every sentence must have at least one main clause. Otherwise, you have a fragment, a major error. Here are a couple rules of thumb for creating complete sentences.
Subordinate Clauses
Subordinate clauses should generally never stand alone as complete sentences. To complete the thought, you must attach each subordinate clause to a main clause.
Example
Sentence Fragment
His cat, which is actually a witch cat, loves to eat human food.
- Notice how the subordinate clause is attached in the middle of the main clause.
His cat which is actually a witch cat.
- Here there is no main clause because the main verb is missing. The "is" occurs in the subordinate clause.
Relative Clauses
Like subordinate clauses, relative clauses cannot stand alone as complete sentences. You must connect them to main clauses to finish the thought.
RELATIVE PRONOUN OR ADVERB + SUBJECT + VERB = FRAGMENT.
RELATIVE PRONOUN AS SUBJECT + VERB = FRAGMENT.
Examples
Sentence Fragment
The zombie that I clobbered kept moving.
- Notice how the relative clause is started with the relative pronoun "that." The relative clause is attached in the middle of the main clause.
that I clobbered.
- Here there is no main clause. Even though there is a subject and a verb, they occur in the relative clause. RELATIVE PRONOUN OR ADVERB + SUBJECT + VERB = FRAGMENT.
Whoever sees a witch cat is truly a blessed human.
- Notice how the relative clause is started with the relative subject pronoun "whoever." The relative clause is attached in the middle of the main clause and becomes the subject of the main clause.
whoever sees a witch cat.
- Here there is no main clause. Even though there is a subject and a verb, they occur in the relative clause. RELATIVE PRONOUN AS SUBJECT + VERB = FRAGMENT.
Prepositional Phrases
Prepositional phrases cannot stand alone as complete sentences. To complete the thought, you must attach each prepositional phrase to a main clause it modifies.
Example
Sentence Fragment
Developing the skill of having contextual awareness while watching what you are typing (instead of watching the video) is one of the most crucial steps in becoming a good custom scribe.
His cat jumped onto the broomstick and flew away.
- Notice how the prepositional phrase is actually modifying the verb. In this case, it's acting as an adverb.
His cat jumped. Onto the broomstick and flew away.
- Here there is no main clause because the main subject is missing. The subject has been separated from the coordinate verb.
Custom Standards on Where to Split Sentences
Custom transcription involves capturing the precise audio presented in a given job. Because the way people use informal language is varied and nuanced, you must pay attention to context at all times. The context will often determine what specific formatting to use. Developing the skill of having contextual awareness while watching what you are typing (instead of watching the video) is one of the most crucial steps in becoming a good custom scribe.
Break up complete sentences. Sentences contain at least a subject and a verb.
My name is Chris.
Do not punctuate according to speech patterns and cadences. Do not add punctuation whenever a character pauses or takes a breath.
Avoid sentence fragments. Sentences need a subject and a verb.
Example
Audio: A dragon crawled into that cave (pause) a very angry dragon
Transcription: A dragon crawled into that cave, a very angry dragon.
"A very angry dragon" is not a complete sentence. Even if the speaker paused before "A very angry dragon," you would not scribe a period in this situation.
Avoid using subordinate clauses of any kind as sentences.
Avoid splitting up correlative conjunctions.
Avoid splitting a nonrestrictive appositive from the subject it's modifying.
Avoid hanging prepositional phrases. A prepositional phrase is not a sentence by itself.
Example
Audio: A very angry dragon was crawling (pause) into that cave that leaks
A very angry dragon was crawling into that cave that leaks.
Be wary of starting statements with "which" "because" or "since." Aside from the rare introductory clause, because and since clauses should not start sentences, and they should hardly ever be sentences on their own.
Example
Incorrect: He said his cat was actually a powerful witch. Which was somehow reassuring.
Correct: He said his cat was actually a powerful witch, which was somehow reassuring.
Let sentences continue, rather than starting a new sentence, when an independent clause starts with “and,” “but,” or “so,” when the two clauses are directly related to each other, and when the speaker does not take a pronounced pause before the next clause.
Example
It rained for 2 days solid, so we weren't able to start work on the house until Wednesday.
Note: This is more of a guideline than a hard rule as pronounced pauses and related clauses can be a gray area. Use your best discretion.