SENTENCE FRAGMENTS Sohail Ahmed

WHAT IS A SENTENCE FRAGMENT?

A sentence fragment is a phrase or clause

that is punctuated as a sentence but is not

a grammatical sentence because it does

not express a complete thought.

A fragment is a group of words that looks

like a sentence complete thought;

therefore, it is an incomplete sentence but

is missing a subject, a verb, or a complete

idea.

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FOLLOWING ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS.

1. In the car.

2. With a brand-new hat.

3. Running in the woods.

4. Singing a song.

5. At the party.

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SOLUTIONS TO SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

Notice that none of the five examples above

contains a specific action (or predicate)

A person (or subject) to perform the action.

To transform all five sentence fragments into

full-fledged sentences, then, all we need to

do is to add a subject and a predicate.

Lets’ use the subject “I,” and the predicate “saw

him.”

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USE THE SUBJECT “I,” AND THE PREDICATE

“SAW HIM.”

1. I saw him in the car.

2. I saw him with a brand-new hat.

3. I saw him running in the woods.

4. I saw him singing a song.

5. I saw him at the party.

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OTHER SOLUTIONS

Likewise, sentence fragments can be

transformed into a full-fledged sentence by

placing a subject and predicate on the other

side of the fragment, as in the following

examples:

1. In the car I saw him.

2. With a brand new hat I saw him.

3. Running in the woods I saw him.

4. Singing a song I saw him.

5. At the party I saw him.

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LETS INSPECT ELEMENTS OF SENTENCE

A sentence consists of 3 components

Subject: the person, place, or

thing performing or

doing the action

Verb: the action

Complete idea: the reader isn't left

waiting for another word

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TAKE A LOOK AT THIS SENTENCE

I read a book.

Subject: I

Verb: read

Complete Idea: a book

The book is a direct object. Not all sentences

require a direct object.

Thus we can call it a complete Sentence

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TAKE A LOOK AT OTHER SENTENCE

Birds Fly.

Subject: birds

Verb: fly

Is it a complete idea? Yes.

There is no direct object here; however, it is

still a complete idea and a good sentence.

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AN OTHER EXAMPLE

I take.

Subject: I

Verb: Take

Is it a complete idea? NO.

This sentence requires a direct object. This

sentence is called a Sentence

Fragment.

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TRANSITIVE OR INTRANSITIVE VERB

If the sentence requires a direct object, it is called

a transitive verb.

If the verb does not need a direct object, it is

called an intransitive verb.

It is actually the verb which determines

whether the sentence requires a direct object

or not.

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SO! WHAT'S A SENTENCE FRAGMENT?

A sentence fragment is a sentence that

lacks a subject or lacks a verb or is not a

complete idea (one reason could be

because it does not have a direct object if

the verb needs one).

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HOW TO FIX SENTENCE FRAGMENTS?

There are three Methods to fix sentence fragments

Method #1

Attach the sentence fragment to another

sentence. That other sentence could be before or

after the sentence fragment.

After getting money. {Sentence Fragment}

I bought a new dress after getting money.

{A Complete Sentence}

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HOW TO FIX SENTENCE FRAGMENTS?

Method #2

Add a subject, verb, or both to make the sentence

complete.

“The person I hate most in life” {Sentence Fragment}

“Sonia is the person I hate most in life.”

{Complete Sentence}

“I saw the person I hate most in life.”

{Complete Sentence}

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HOW TO FIX SENTENCE FRAGMENTS?

Method #3

Take away/Erase the word or phrase that makes it

a sentence fragment.

While Sahil was in Paris. {Sentence fragment}

Sahil was in Paris. {Complete Sentence}

Because people do not believe in birth control.

{Sentence fragment}

People do not believe in birth control.

{Complete Sentence}

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RULES TO REMEMBER

Sentence fragments can make your writing very confusing.

Avoid sentence fragments in professional writing, formal writing, essays, business letters, and compositions.

Sentence fragments are written and acceptable in the following types of writing:

Poetry

Quotes

Quoted speech

Plays

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SUGGESTION

Don’t Ask Questions Avoid

Sentence Fragments

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