"Unless it rains" makes no sense by itself, so it should be attached to a sentence: Remember, even phrases which may have a noun and verb can be fragments if they could not stand alone. "We are going to play tennis outside today. If you can't find one, the sentence is a fragment.Įx. When you see such a word at the beginning of a sentence, check for a proper subject and verb. Some are prepositions, others are conjunctions, but both are words that normally join other words:Īfter, although, and, because, before, but, if, though, unless, until, when, where, who, which, and that. If any of the answers are "no," then it is a fragment.įragments often start with words like these. Can the phrase make sense standing alone (is it a dependent clause or phrase)?Īny phrase that answers "yes" to all three questions is a sentence.We also discussed Byron's own life and how it related to his works." "In class today we talked about Byron's poem and its main characters. "In class today we talked about Byron's poem and its main characters, as well as Byron's own life and how it related to his works."Ģ) If the sentence becomes too long or wordy, add the necessary subject-verb to the clause, creating a second sentence. We'll use the example above to demonstrate each method:ġ) Add a comma and connect the clause to the sentence There are two easy ways to correct a fragment. The subject of the first sentence is "we" and the verb "talked." Since the clause is dependant (a clause that makes no sense except when attached to a sentence) it should not form a sentence. Also Byron's own life and how it related to his works."Īgain, the second phrase includes several nouns and a verb, but it cannot stand alone. "In class today we talked about Byron's poem Don Juan and its main characters. Sometimes fragments occur during the editing process, in trying to break up a longer sentence. Learning how we use fragments in our speech will help us avoid sentence fragments in our writing. I have too much homework to finish before class." A corrected response would include a subject and verb: It lacks a subject and verb to define the sentence. Though the remark includes the verb "finish" and several nouns, the sentence is a fragment. Sam's response demonstrates the way we use fragmentation in speech. Too much homework to finish before class." "Hey, Sam, do you want to get some lunch?" Thanks go to Julie for the correction about conjunctions!įragments, or incomplete sentences, occur quite frequently when we speak, so it's no wonder sentence fragments are often found in formal writing. Sentence Fragments And Complete Sentences Writer's Web: Sentence Fragments And Complete Sentences
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