The fragment includes the verb “going,” but doesn’t establish who or what is going to the store. In the first example, the subject is missing.
Sentence fragment definition example how to#
How to Correct Sentence FragmentsĬorrecting sentence fragments is easy you need to identify the missing puzzle piece and then add it in. These examples are missing one or more crucial components that prevent them from being a complete sentence. See if you can identify which element is missing from each of the following sentence fragment examples. Many dependent clauses start with a coordinating or subordinating conjunction, like "although," "until," or "while." If your sentence starts with one of these phrases, that might be a sign that it needs another sentence to tell a complete story. This sentence fragment has both a subject (“the clock”) and a verb (“struck”), but it doesn’t express a complete thought. It needs to be connected to an independent clause because it cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence.įor example, consider the sentence fragment, “When the clock struck nine.” Some sentence fragments are dependent clauses.Ī dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb, but doesn’t tell a whole story. We don’t know who’s running away from home. This sentence fragment contains a verb (“ran”), but it lacks a subject. Some sentence fragments are missing a subject.įor example, consider the sentence fragment, “Ran away from home.”Ī grammar guru, style editor, and writing mentor in one package. We don’t know what the girl is doing, so this sentence requires additional information to make sense. This sentence fragment contains a subject (“a girl”), but it lacks a verb. Some sentence fragments are missing a verb.įor example, consider the sentence fragment, “A girl with a yellow backpack.” Let’s look at each of these three possible issues in more detail.
To fix a sentence fragment, you need to identify which element is causing the issue. There are three things that can cause a sentence fragment-a missing subject, a missing verb, or an incomplete thought. For example, “Ate a cheeseburger.” and “The hungry dog.” are both sentence fragments. When one element of an independent clause (the subject, verb, or complete thought) is missing, you have a sentence fragment. It has a subject (“the hungry dog”), a verb (“ate”), and it expresses a complete thought. This is a complete sentence, also known as an independent clause, because it fulfills all three sentence requirements.
Some kinds of fragments have a subject and a verb, but need more information to be a complete idea. In the example above, there is a subject (we), verb (played), and complete idea. Sentence: We played all day at the beach. Now, let’s add a subject and a verb to the fragment: We do not know who was at the beach and we do not know what happened at the beach.
In the example above, there is no subject, verb, or complete idea. A sentence fragment is missing a subject, a verb, OR a complete idea. So, dogs is the subject of the sentence.Ī fragment is a “piece” (or part) of a sentence because it is missing information to make a complete sentence. So, we could ask, “Who is eating?” We know it is dogs. To find the subject, we need to ask who/what is “doing” the verb. In this sentence, the verb (the action) is eat. Nouns or pronouns that perform the action of the verb are called the subject of the sentence. Remember, a sentence only needs a verb and a noun (or pronoun) to be complete. Grammar: Sentence Fragments What are Sentence Fragments and How to Avoid Them Subjects and Verbs
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