What is Sentence Fragment? Sentence Fragments Definition and Example Sentences
Table of Contents
Sentence Fragment
What Are Sentence Fragments?
A sentence fragment is a combination of words that resembles a complete sentence but isn’t. A subject or verb is generally absent in sentence fragments, and they do not represent a complete notion. A fragment cannot stand alone, even if it is punctuated to appear like a whole phrase.
What Are the Features of Sentence Fragments?
The following are the characteristics of a sentence fragment:
- There isn’t a subject in it.
- Ran to the house faster than a cheetah. (Who ran faster than a cheetah?)
- It lacks a verb or has the incorrect verb form.
- My favorite singer. (What did this singer do or say to her/him?)
- It’s a relic from the past.
- For better one or worse one. (What is a better one or worse one? What is it modifying?)
- It’s a defunct clause.
- When my grandmother married my lovely grandfather. (What happened when “my grandmother married my grandfather?)
- It’s a misuse of phrases like “such as, for example, especially,” and so on.
- Such as, my cousin was practicing his basketball skills. (It is not clear… Did something happen when his/her cousin was practicing his basketball skill?)
Three Techniques for Converting a Snippet into a Complete Sentence
- Join the fragment to a whole statement nearby.
- Incorrect: I forgot to take my vitamins. On the evening of my driver’s test.
- Correct: I forgot to take my vitamins on the evening of my driver’s test.
- Incorrect: If the class’s front door is locked. Go to the back entrance to use.
- Correct: If the class’s front door is locked, go to the back entrance to use it.
- Rewrite the fragment by filling in any gaps – subject, verb, and entire idea.
- Incorrect: Loves to sleep around in our working room all day. (One or more than one subject is missing. Who loves to lie around?)
- Correct: My roommate’s pug loves to sleep around in our working room all day.
- Incorrect: The team to train every day. (A verb is missing. Also, “to train” is the wrong verb form. The team does what every day?)
- Correct: The flag football team trains every day for the league next month.
- Correct: The flag football team is training every day for the league next month.
- Rewrite the snippet, or the complete section, in which it appears.
- Incorrect: Our new homeowner was expected to make changes. Such as fixing the lambs, installing a new washer, and replacing the security door. Has not done any of it yet and months have passed.
- Correct: Our new homeowner was expected to make changes, such as fixing the lambs, installing a new washer, and replacing the security door lock. Months have passed, and she still has not done any of it yet.
