The Learning Commons

Sentence Fragments

 

What exactly is a sentence fragment?

A sentence fragment is basically a wanna-be sentence. Fragments pretend to be sentences by containing capital letters in the beginning and periods/question marks at the end. However, sentence fragments are not complete sentences, they are simply word groups with higher aspirations.

To have a complete sentence, a group of words must:

  • make sense as a complete thought
    and
  • contain a subject and a verb

Watch out for fragments that hide between sentences. These fragments know they are incomplete but try to sneak in by surrounding themselves with complete sentences.


Example:

  • I always lose my keys. Almost every week. My R.A. has to let me into my room at least twice a month.

Notice that in the above example, "almost every week" does not contain a verb at all, so is not a sentence.

How do I correct a sentence fragment?

Fragments can be eliminated in one of two ways:

  1. Add the fragment to the sentence before or after it, making sure the new sentence makes sense.

Example:

  • I lose my keys almost every week.

or

  1. Add a new subject/verb to the fragment to form a complete sentence.

Example:

  • I always lose my keys. It happens almost every week.

Grammarland

 

Clauses

Apostrophes & Possessives

Sentence Fragments

Dangling Modifiers

Coordination & Subordination

Commas, Dashes, & Parentheses

Parallelism

Subject/Verb Agreement

Semicolons

Comma Splices and Fused Sentences