Chapter 9.5 Fragments
What Is a Fragment?
A fragment is a piece of something. In grammar, a fragment is a piece of a sentence, but it cannot be a sentence on its own.
Sentence fragments are very common and easy errors to make. Many of us write with our casual speaking voice in our head, and when we speak, we often do not complete every thought to grammatical perfection. To put it simply, a sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that has been punctuated as if it is a complete sentence.
Sometimes, fragments are missing a verb. Sometimes, fragments are missing a subject. Sometimes, a fragment is simply a dependent clause punctuated like a complete sentence.
Examples
- The business memo that my boss sent out yesterday.
- Because the new policies involve a flexible, hybrid work week.
These sentence fragments might be understood perfectly well in a spoken conversation but, taken out of that context, these sentences are missing key parts.
You always have options about how you correct a sentence fragment, but here are some possible corrections for our two sample sentence fragments:
Examples
- The business memo that my boss sent out yesterday outlined several new, company-wide policies. (simple sentence)
- I am super excited about it because the new policies involve a flexible, hybrid work week. (complex sentence)
There are four common types of fragments.
Subordinating conjunction (dependent word) fragments
- They do have a subject and verb, but they begin with a subordinating conjunction (dependent word), which causes the fragment.
Example
Example: Because there was a mosquito in the room (fragment). I could not fall asleep (complete sentence).
- Corrected: Because there was a mosquito in the room, I could not fall asleep. (complex sentence)
- Corrected: I could not fall asleep because there was a mosquito in the room. (complex sentence)
-ing and to fragments
- When -ing and to appear at or near the beginning of a word group, a fragment may result. They usually lack a subject.
Example
Example: Cliff sat by the phone for hours (complete sentence). Hoping that Lisa would call (fragment)
- Corrected: Cliff sat by the phone for hours, hoping that Lisa would call. (simple sentence)
- Corrected: Cliff sat by the phone for hours. He hoped that Lisa would call. (two simple sentences)
Example
Example: To get to the store (fragment). I needed to borrow a car (complete sentence).
- Corrected: To get to the store, I needed to borrow a car. (complex sentence)
- Corrected: I needed to borrow a car to get to the store. (complex sentence)
Added-detail fragment
- Usually an example or an after-thought.
- Often begin with the following words: like, including, especially, for example, for instance, except, such as.
Example
Example: Almost everyone loves ice cream (complete sentence). Especially vanilla (fragment).
- Corrected: Almost everyone loves ice cream, especially vanilla. (simple sentence)
- Corrected: Almost everyone loves ice cream, and many people love vanilla. (compound sentence)
Missing-subject fragments
Example
Example: The telephone caller kept asking questions (complete sentence). But did not identify herself (fragment).
- Corrected: The caller kept asking questions but did not identify herself. (simple sentence)
- Corrected: The caller kept asking questions, but she did not identify herself. (compound sentence)
Sentence variety is important when correcting fragments, so try to use various methods.
Exercise 9.5.1
On a separate sheet of paper, correct the following fragments.
Try to use a variety of correction options (create simple, compound, and/or complex sentences). One sentence is correct (simply write OK for that sentence).
- My father came home from the store. Without remembering to pick up a loaf of bread.
- Because she was afraid of heights. Deanna did not like hiking at Yosemite National Park.
- Pedro loves all kinds of desserts. Especially chocolate cake.
- Delilah started her essay. But never finished it.
- The cousins said no at first. Although they changed their minds later.
- Finishing a project early. Delia left for spring break.
- The twins may be grounded. If they do not tell the truth.
- Fernando’s desire to become rich may be a problem.
- Since the store was closed. They drove home.
- Tran has to wake up at 6:00 a.m. To get to work on time.
Attributions
Sentence Fragment is from Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL). This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-4.0 International License.
Media Attributions
- Photo of Roof Tiles Brick
- Subordinating Conjuntions
