Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. This handout provides an overview and examples of sentence fragments.įragments are incomplete sentences. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.Could you achieve the same effect without it? In the second example above, a dash after movie would achieve the same effect that the fragment does. Also, be sure using a fragment is warranted. Why should you consider a two‐year rather than a four‐year college? For many reasons.īefore you consider using an intentional fragment, be sure you understand correct sentence structure, because an unintentional fragment is a glaring error. The chance of a lifetime! My girlfriend wanted me to turn it down. Scorsese had offered me a bit part in the movie. Many of the people who drove by refused to stop and help. In other situations, fragments can create a desired effect, make a point emphatically, or answer a question they've asked: In dialogue, fragments are appropriately conversational. Experienced writers may use fragments for specific reasons. It's particularly important to check a complicated sentence to make sure it isn't a complicated fragment.Ī few sentence fragments are acceptable, although a teacher may prefer that you always avoid them. Keep your eye on the three key requirements: subject, verb, and complete thought. The last example is typical of the sophisticated fragments that might escape your notice. To make it a complete sentence, add a predicate for example: The chair of the committee, whose term was dependent on his party's being in power, which was, according to the polls, unlikely to be the case after the next election, insisted on bringing the motion to a vote. You don't need to identify all the elements in this fragment, but you should realize that a predicate for the subject of the sentence ( chair) is missing. This example is more complicated, but it's still a fragment, consisting of a subject and two subordinate clauses, each containing phrases. The chair of the committee, whose term was dependent on his party's being in power, which was, according to the polls, unlikely to be the case after the next election. Collectively, all of the words in italics act as an appositive identifying Tanya, and the appositive should be joined to the main clause with a comma. The pronoun who makes this a relative clause that can't stand alone. The woman who wore the hard hat and the tool belt. The problem could be solved if the period after there were changed to a comma. (fragment)Ī sentence here is followed by a fragment, a participial phrase that cannot stand alone. Laughing and throwing cans all over the front lawn. When you write a sentence beginning with a subordinating conjunction, make sure that an independent clause follows the subordinate clause. It is missing an independent clause that would complete the thought.īecause the mayor wanted more coverage than a single newspaper story, we called a press conference for all media. When you look more closely, you'll see that the group of words is missing one or more of the elements required to make it a sentence: a subject, a verb, and a grammatically complete thought.īecause the mayor wanted more coverage than a single newspaper story. A sentence can be two words ( He jumps) and a sentence fragment can be fifty words.Īt first glance, a sentence fragment may look like a sentence because it begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. Don't let the length of the sentence be your guide. Most sentence fragments are phrases, or subordinate clauses, or combinations of the two.
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