In this lesson,
you'll learn what a sentence fragment is, the three most common causes
for sentence fragments, and how to eliminate sentence fragments in
your writing.
What Is a
Fragment?
A sentence
fragment is an incomplete sentence. A fragment occurs when a sentence
is missing either a subject or a predicate, or when a dependent phrase
or clause is mistaken for a sentence.
A writer sometimes
uses a sentence fragment to create a particular effect. The purposefully
written fragment can be especially powerful when the writer usually
writes in complete sentences and rarely uses the fragment. However,
student writers should always try to compose complete sentences when
writing essays for their classes, unless their instructor specifically
tells them that the occasional fragment-for-effect is acceptable.
Fragments
Due To Missing Subjects
A complete sentence
needs to contain a subject, which is the word or words that
tells who or what the sentence is about. A subject consists of a noun
or a pronoun.
If a "sentence"
is missing its subject, the main "who" or "what" the sentence is about
will be unknown:
Swam in the
pool.
Because there's
no subject in this "sentence," readers don't know who or what swam
in the pool. To eliminate this sentence fragment and to create a complete
sentence, the subject needs to be supplied:
Her niece
swam in the pool.
Fragments
Due To Missing Predicates
A complete sentence
also needs to contain a predicate, which is the word or words
in a sentence that express the action or state of being of the subject.
A predicate consists of a verb.
If a "sentence"
is missing its predicate, the main action or being of the subject
will be unknown:
Her niece
in the pool.
Because there's
no predicate in this "sentence," readers don't know what the niece
is doing or being in the pool. To eliminate this sentence fragment
and to create a complete sentence, the predicate needs to be supplied:
Her niece
swam in the pool. (verb of action)
Her niece
was in the pool. (verb of being)
Fragments
Due to Dependent Phrases or Clauses
A complete sentence
needs to contain at least one independent clause, which consists
of a subject, a predicate, and an appropriate mark of punctuation.
If a sentence consists solely of a dependent phrase or clause, it
will be incomplete.
A dependent
phrase is a group of words that's missing either a subject or
a predicate:
Skipped down
the street. (no subject)
Her toothy
grin. (no predicate)
Because a dependent
phrase is missing one of the essential parts of a sentence, it will
always be a fragment.
A dependent
clause, however, has both a subject and a predicate. And yet,
because it begins with a subordinating element, it is dependent upon
a separate independent clause to be complete.
Because she
skipped down the street.
Although her
toothy grin was wide.
Even though each
clause contains a subject ("she" and "grin") and a predicate ("skipped"
and "was"), the subordinating words "because" and "although" make
both examples fragments. To make these fragments into complete sentences,
a separate independent clause must be connected:
Because she
skipped down the street, her shoes became scuffed. Her
shoes became scuffed because she skipped down the street.
Although her
toothy grin was wide, it was crooked.
Her toothy grin was crooked although it was wide.
The first sentence
now is complete because the fragment has been connected to an independent
clause (her shoes became scuffed) that explains the result
of the action. The second sentence also is complete because the fragment
has been connected to an independent clause (it was crooked)
that explains the other side of the contrast.
Note: When
the dependent phrase/clause comes before the independent clause, a
comma must follow the dependent clause. When the dependent phrase/clause
comes after the independent clause, no comma is needed.
Eliminating
Sentence Fragments
There are four
basic ways to eliminate a sentence fragment:
Add the missing
subject
Add the missing
predicate
Connect the
dependent phrase or clause to an existing independent clause
Rewrite the
fragment as a complete sentence
(1) Adding the
Missing Subject
When a fragment exists because the subject of the sentence is missing,
supply the necessary subject — the noun or pronoun that tells
who or what the sentence is about:
Jumped on
the trampoline.
(fragment: no subject)
The young
girls next door jumped on the trampoline.
(complete sentence created by adding "who" did the jumping)
(2) Adding the
Missing Predicate
When a fragment exists because the predicate of the sentence is missing,
supply the necessary predicate—the verb that tells the action
or state of being of the subject:
The young
girls next door on the trampoline.
(fragment: no predicate)
The young
girls next door jumped on the trampoline.
(complete sentence created by adding the action of the girls)
(3) Connecting
the Dependent Phrase or Clause to an Existing Independent Clause
When a fragment
is a dependent phrase or clause, connect it to an existing independent
clause (if connecting the two makes reasonable sense):
At the beginning.
All went well for the business.
(fragment: "at the beginning" is a dependent phrase)
At the beginning,
all went well for the business. (complete sentence created by
connecting the fragment to an existing independent clause)
Because it
happened at the beginning. All went well for the business.
(fragment: "because it happened at the beginning" is a dependent clause)
Because it
happened at the beginning, all went well for the business.
(complete sentence created by connecting the fragment to an existing
independent clause)
(4) Rewriting
the Fragment as a Complete Sentence
When a fragment exists, regardless of the reason, it can be set aside,
or "scrapped," and the idea can be rewritten as an entirely new yet
complete sentence:
At the beginning
went well for the business.
(fragment)
The business
experienced its most profitable period during its first few weeks.
(complete sentence)
Therefore, if
the first three methods don't seem to be useful in helping you eliminate
fragments in your writing, try this last one: Keep in mind that your
new, complete sentence needs to contain a subject, a predicate, and
an appropriate mark of punctuation.
Exercise 1: Identify the following as either complete sentences or fragments.
1. Having a dental appointment used to be a terrible experience for Susie.
Complete
Fragment
2. Either the dentist would try to fill a cavity.
Complete
Fragment
3. Without numbing the tooth.
Complete
Fragment
4. Or would poke and prod her gums until they bled for hours.
Complete
Fragment
5. However, the dental office she found in her college's local community was just the opposite.
Complete
Fragment
6. The dentist gentle.
Complete
Fragment
7. Always asking whether he was causing her any pain.
Complete
Fragment
8. And the hygienist explained every step of the cleaning process.
Complete
Fragment
9. Even allowing her to examine the tools used.
Complete
Fragment
10. Now, a dental appointment was an experience Susie didn't dread.
Complete
Fragment
Exercise 2: Using the examples from Exercise 1, identify the reason for
each fragment — missing subject, missing predicate, dependent phrase, dependent clause.
Summary
Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences caused by a missing subject
or a missing predicate, or by mistaking a dependent phrase or clause
for a complete sentence. Supplying the missing subject or predicate,
connecting the dependent phrase or clause to an existing independent
clause, or rewriting the sentence entirely can eliminate these fragments.
As writers, it's important to be able to identify and eliminate fragments
because they cause readers confusion. In fact, being able to eliminate
fragments will help you to present your ideas in complete sentences
that are easy for readers to comprehend.
