#WHAT DOES A FRAGMENT SENTENCE MEAN HOW TO#

A fragment will be missing a subject or a verb or both. It must end with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.Ī comma splice, fragment, and run on do not meet the criteria for a complete, correct sentence.Ī fragment is an incomplete sentence.Native speakers of English will usually recognize an independent clause by itself as a complete sentence.Ī complete sentence must meet five simple criteria: Remember, an independent clause is a unit of meaning with a subject and a verb that can be punctuated as a complete sentence.

#WHAT DOES A FRAGMENT SENTENCE MEAN HOW TO#

It’s important to understand how to write complete sentences and fix errors related to making complete sentences (fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences).

In other words, it is only part of a sentence, not a complete one.

Correct: While Gretchen milked the cows, Helga tended the sheep.The most common sentence errors have one thing in common: they are mistakes about sentence boundaries and what punctuation to use. A sentence fragment is exactly as it sounds: a fragment of a sentence.

Correct: Helga tended the sheep while Gretchen milked the cows.

However, the presence of the word while, a subordinating conjunction, turns the group of words into a dependent clause, so it cannot function as a complete sentence. It contains both a complete subject ( Gretchen) and a complete predicate ( milked the cows). In the above example, While Gretchen milked the cows is a sentence fragment. Sentence fragments that are dependent clausesĪ sentence fragment can occur when a dependent clause is treated as if it were a complete sentence.

Correct: No matter the cost, Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college. A fragment occurs when a group of words that does not form a complete sentence is punctuated as though it is a complete sentence.

Correct: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college, no matter the cost.

It is neither a complete subject nor a complete predicate. In the above example, No matter the cost is a sentence fragment.

Incorrect: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college.

Sentence fragments with neither complete subjects nor complete predicatesĪ sentence fragment can occur when a group of words functions as neither a complete subject nor a complete predicate.

Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach, relishing the big blue open water.

Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach.

While there are many ways to end up with a fragment, almost every. The big blue open water calmed her soul.Īdd a subject and predicate to the fragment. A sentence fragment is a group of words that lacks one or more of these three things.

Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach. Sentence fragments, unless artfully used, suggest that thinking is underveloped, because only a piece of a complete thought is presented.

This sentence fragment can function as a complete subject, but it lacks a complete predicate. In the above example, The big blue open water is a sentence fragment.

Incorrect: Veronica had a great time at the beach.

Sentence fragments without complete predicatesĪ sentence fragment can occur due to the lack of a complete predicate.

Correct: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon.

Rephrase the fragment so it has a subject.

Correct: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon, which totally sucked.

Incorporate the fragment into a nearby sentence. It contains a complete predicate ( totally sucked) but no subject. In the above example, Which totally sucked is a sentence fragment.

Incorrect: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon.

Sentence fragments without complete subjectsĪ sentence fragment can occur due to the lack of a complete subject.

The sentence fragment is a dependent clause.

The sentence fragment is missing both a complete subject and a complete predicate.

The sentence fragment is missing a complete predicate.

It will start with a capital letter and ends with punctuation however, it is a dependent clause.

The sentence fragment is missing a complete subject. A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence.

Sentence fragments generally occur for the following reasons: For this reason, it is important to communicate in complete sentences.Īs a reminder, a complete sentence requires an independent clause that contains a complete subject and a complete predicate. However, academic writing must communicate ideas as professionally as possible. Sentence fragments are common in informal writing and everyday speech. A sentence fragment is a word or group of words that cannot function as a complete sentence.

What does a fragment sentence mean