Description
A sentence fragment refers to an assembly of words that resemble sentences but are not complete sentences (Lab, 2020). They are typically characterized by missing subjects or verbs, while not expressing complete thoughts. Fragments are parts of a sentence that are not connected to the primary clauses. While proper punctuation makes the words may resemble a complete sentence, a fragment is not complete on its own ("What Is a Sentence Fragment?” 2020). The different forms of sentence fragments that exist include;
Missing-Subject Fragment
A missing-subject fragment in a number of words that do not have a subject. Take this example,
I got a C on my assignment. For not editing the sentence fragments in the essay I completed.
While the second part of the sentence has a verb-like word- 'editing'- it may look like a sentence. But 'editing' is actually a noun (a gerund established from the addition of 'ing' to a verb). The fragment can be combined with an independent clause that precedes it to fix this. This can be seen below,
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
I got a C on my assignment for not editing the sentence fragments in the essay I completed.
Missing-Verb Fragment
A missing-verb fragment is an assembly of words that do not have a primary verb. An example of this,
The temple damaged at the time of the fire.
While 'damaged' looks like a verb due to the –ed ending, it's not because it defines the condition of the temple as opposed to making identification of what the temple did. The best way of fixing this fragment is to add a verb for which the temple can be the subject.
The temple damaged at the time of the fire required drastic repairs.
Now 'damaged at the time of the fire' identifies which 'temple' requires repairs, and 'required' explains what the 'temple' did it 'required drastic repairs.'
Incomplete-Verb Fragment
An incomplete-verb fragment is an assembly of words which need a helping as the primary verb is a present participle (-ing) or a passive verb (-ed or –en), that cannot stand on their own as a main verb. An example of this is a fragment caused by a present participle placed in the position of the main verb by itself:
The flowers floating in the breeze.
This type of fragment can be fixed through the addition of a helping verb (such as ‘are’) to replace the -ing verb with a simple past or present form, which are recognized as a main verb:
The flowers are floating in the breeze. Or
The flowers floated in the breeze. Or
The flowers float in the breeze.
Incomplete-Thought Fragment
An incomplete-thought fragment refers to an assembly of words that depend on clauses or phrases with subjects and verbs but require objects.
Dependent clause fragments
Several words or phrases are utilized for the introduction of subordinate or relative causes may cause fragments as they do not stand on their own.
| Subordinating Conjunctions | Relative Pronouns | Adverbs |
| After | Who, whom | Where |
| Although, though | Whose | |
| As | That | |
| Because | Which, whichever | |
| Before | What, whatever | |
| Even though | Whoever, whomever | |
| Whether or not | ||
| When, Whenever | ||
| If, even if |
In this example, the subordinate conjunction in the second aspect of the fragment turns it into a fragment even when a subject exists (‘everyone’) and a verb (‘cried’).
It was really frightening. Particularly after everyone cried.
This can be corrected through the attachment of a subordinate clause to an independent clause:
It was really frightening, particularly after everyone cried.
Phrase-Only Fragments
In these fragments, a present-participial clause attempts to stand on its own as a sentence:
My sister has several artistic talents. Including music, poetry, and painting.
As the phrase has been included for modifying a noun, in this case, "talents," the independent clause can be attached like this:
My sister has several artistic talents, including music, poetry, and painting.
Within this example, the present phrase comes at the start. Despite this, it’s still a fragment:
Not believing I would be right. I kept my hands down.
Because 'I' was the one who was 'not believing,' the participial phrase can be simply attached to the start of the independent clause:
Not believing I would be right, I kept my hands down.
Missing-Object Fragments
Some verbs need an object that receives the action of the verb ("What Is a Sentence Fragment?", 2020). Without the presence of the object, a fragment exists in this example:
A parent argued.
The reader will be left wondering what the 'parent argued.' For the completion of the thought, an object should be added:
A parent argued with the principal about the discipline policy.
A second example demonstrates the challenge:
The dolphin jumped.
Similarly, to fix this fragment, an object should be added.
The dolphin jumped out of the paper.
Checking a paper for Sentence Fragments
To ensure that a paper does not have sentence fragments, there are several steps that can be taken to check the paper for sentence fragments. The first step is to read the paper aloud from the beginning sentence to the last. Reading the paper aloud will enable the reader to identify any sentence fragments that may exist. The second step involves reading the paper backward one sentence at a time. This also emphasizes the structure of the sentences that are included in the paper. The last step should be an evaluation of whether the sentences have a subject and complete verb while also expressing a complete thought. This should be done when reading the paper aloud while reading the paper backward.
References
Lab, P. (2020). Sentence Fragments // Purdue Writing Lab . Purdue Writing Lab. Retrieved 23 June 2020, from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/sentence_fragments.html .
What Is a Sentence Fragment? . What is a Sentence Fragment? | Grammarly. (2020). Retrieved 23 June 2020, from https://www.grammarly.com/blog/mistake-of-the-month-sentence-fragments/ .
