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

The fragments that most students have trouble with, however, are dependent clausesthey have a subject and a verb, so they look like complete sentences, but they don’t express a complete. Some fragments are incomplete because they lack either a subject or a verb, or both. 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. A sentence fragment is an incomplete 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.

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.

The big blue open water calmed her soul.Īdd a subject and predicate to the fragment. 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. SENTENCE FRAGMENT definition: a phrase or clause written as a sentence but lacking an element, as a subject or verb.The sentence fragment is missing a complete predicate.The sentence fragment is missing a complete subject.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. It is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.A sentence fragment is a word or group of words that cannot function as a complete sentence. This chapter is also adapted from “ Writing for Success” by University of Minnesota (on University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing). It is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This chapter is adapted from “ Communication at Work” by Jordan Smith (on Open Library). What is a subordinating conjunction? Grammarly. Run-On Sentences | Verb Tense | Punctuation | Eliminating Wordiness References Now that you are finished with this chapter, you can either click on one of the other sentence-level issues and learn about them, or continue to the next required chapter. There are also different types of fragments: prepositional fragments, subordinate conjunction fragments, and gerund fragments.(Here, the subject is 'the cat' and the verb is 'sat.' The words convey a complete thought. A sentence must contain a subject and a verb (although one may be implied).

The most common issue is that a verb is a missing. A sentence is a group of words giving a complete thought. They can generally be fixed by adding the missing elements to the sentence.

A sentence fragment occurs when it is missing either a subject, verb, or both.

What does sentence fragment mean