Let’s learn how to identify and fix a sentence fragment.
What is a Sentence Fragment?
A group of words marked by a period isn’t automatically a sentence. Recall from your basic English lessons that a sentence consists of a subject, verb, and complete thought, therefore the absence of any of these leads to sentence fragments. Sentence fragments are clauses or phrases that lack the components of a sentence. Although they appear complete, they’re only pieces of a sentence detached from an independent clause.
Examples of Sentence Fragments:
The best example of a sentence fragment is a subordinate clause (also called a dependent clause) removed from its independent clause and made to stand alone.
FRAGMENT: Because he arrived late.
The incomplete thought in the fragment leaves us with the question: What happened because he arrived late? To complete it, insert an independent clause.
SENTENCE: He didn’t see the meteor shower because he arrived late.
Now the fragment officially serves as a subordinate clause of the independent clause, which has a subject (he), verb (didn’t see), and object (the meteor shower).
Notice that removing the subordinating conjunction also leaves us with a sentence or an independent clause. Here it is:
SENTENCE: He arrived late. [This sentence has a subject (he), verb (arrived), and adverb (late).]
Although shorter, the above example is a sentence, just like these: “She left,” “We won,” and “I do.” Be cautious to distinguish fragments from sentences. Here are more examples of fragments:
FRAGMENT: When she left. [This leaves us wondering what happened when she left?]
SENTENCE: His world fell apart when she left. [Subject: his world; verb: fell apart]
FRAGMENT: Since we won. [What happened since they won? What’s the effect of their win?]
SENTENCE: Since we won, we have earned their respect. [Subject: they; verb: have earned; object: their respect]
Related Reading: Conjunctions – Connecting Words and Phrases
Fix Sentence Fragments:
The main goal of fixing a sentence fragment is to complete its thought. You can do any of the following to achieve that: Supply the missing subject or verb; fuse the fragment and a nearby independent clause using a punctuation; or rewrite the whole fragment to form a sentence.Â
In the following examples, the sentence fragments are in bold while the added phrases and clauses are italicized.
1. Supply the missing subject, verb, or thought.
FRAGMENT: Caused chaos at the party. [What or who caused chaos?]
SENTENCE: Mark and his drunk friend caused chaos at the party. [A subject was added]
FRAGMENT: The handsome mailman. [What did the mailman do or say?]
SENTENCE: The handsome mailman drives a pink bike. [The verb and modifier were added]
FRAGMENT: People believing he is god-sent. [A main verb is missing here.]
SENTENCE: People believe he is god-sent. [The participle believing was changed into the verb believe with the subject people.]
2. Fuse a sentence fragment and an independent clause by inserting a punctuation between them.
FRAGMENT: He forgot to buy the supplies I need. Paint brush, manila paper, and glue stick.
SENTENCE: He forgot to buy the supplies I need: paint brush, manila paper, and glue stick.
FRAGMENT: Mindy married Barry after all his misgivings. Forgiving and big-hearted.
SENTENCE: Forgiving and big-hearted, Mindy married Barry after all his misgivings.
3. Rewrite a sentence fragment to form a complete thought.
In addition to the aforementioned methods of fixing sentence fragments, sometimes you’ll need to rewrite the fragments to form a complete sentence. Also, don’t forget to remove unnecessary words that don’t contribute to the meaning of the sentence.
FRAGMENT: By loving his country so much takes a toll on his personal life.
SENTENCE: Loving his country so much takes a toll on his personal life.
FRAGMENTS: A Jane of all trades. Angela wears several hats, an athlete, a writer. She’s a doctor, too. [This string of sentence fragments can be revised as one sentence]
SENTENCE: A Jane of all trades, Angela wears several hats: she’s an athlete, a writer, and a doctor.
Sentence Fragments in Creative Writing:
Great writers sometimes abandon grammar rules for the greater purpose of carving an emotional and visual impact. Therefore, it is important to remember that sentence fragments don’t always need fixing.
- From Brida by Paolo Coelho
“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.”
- From Inferno by Dan Brown
“Only one form of contagion travels faster than a virus. And that’s fear.” - From Joan Didion’s Commencement Address at UC Riverside In 1975
“I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. . .”
With time and practice, you can make excellent use of sentence fragments for dramatic effect. Just make sure you leave them where they are appreciated, such as poetry, fiction, or short stories. Sentence fragments may not work well with formal writing, such as in a business letter or academic paper. So, as always, write carefully.
Thank you for reading. We hope it’s effective! Always feel free to revisit this page if you ever have any questions about sentence fragments.