Sentence Fragments

A fragment is a piece of a sentence that lacks a subject or a verb or both. When a sentence fails to tell us who or what is doing the action, it is missing the subject. The following fragments are missing subjects.

  • Mops the floor. (who?)
  • Is slipping on the soapy floor. (who or what?)
  • Opened the book. (who?)
  • Jumping over the fence. (who or what?)
  • Returned to normal breathing. (who or what?)
  • Will handle all governmental affairs. (who or what?)

If we identify the subject (who or what is doing the action), and we do not know what it is doing, the expression is missing a verb. The sentence fragments below are missing verbs.

  • The tallest trees on earth. (do what? are what?)
  • The tourist in the funny hat. (does what?)
  • The doctor at the hospital. (did or was what?)
  • The student with the notebook. (did or was what?)
  • A temporary loss of breath. (does what?)
  • The people in a direct democracy. (do what?)

If the subject or verb is missing, we identify the expression as a fragment. Other errors that result in fragments are leaving out punctuation marks or using the to form and ing form of the verb.

FRAGMENTS

  • The surfer riding a wave.

COMPLETE SENTENCES

  • The surfer rides a wave.
  • The surfer riding a wave saw a dolphin.
  • Carla to play goalie.
  • Coach asked Carla to play goalie.
  • Carla wanted to play goalie.
  • The girl walking her dog.
  • The girl walked her dog.
  • The girl walking her dog smiled at me.
  • Jenny to make her bed.
  • Mom asked Jenny to make her bed.
  • Jenny wanted to make her bed.

Examples 1

Tell whether each of the following is a complete sentence or a sentence fragment.

  1. Mr. McFuddle snores.
  2. A tall redwood tree growing near the coast.
  3. Two quail chicks left their nest.
  4. To cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

Solutions

  1. Complete sentence.
  2. This expression is missing part of the verb, so it is a sentence fragment. [Corrected: A tall redwood tree is growing near the coast. (or) I saw a tall redwood tree growing near the coast.]
  3. Complete sentence.
  4. This expression uses the to form of the verb, and it lacks a subject. It is not a complete thought. It is a sentence fragment. [Corrected: I want to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. (or) Shall we cross the Golden Gate Bridge?

Correcting Fragments

We can correct sentence fragments by adding subjects, verbs, and punctuation marks.

Examples 2

Make a complete sentence from each sentence fragment.

  1. Hissed at me.
  2. The suspension bridge.
  3. Howled all night long.
  4. The cheerleaders' routine.
  5. Returned to normal breathing.
  6. A temporary loss of breath.
  7. The runner catching his breath.
  8. Handle all governmental affairs.
  9. The people in a direct democracy.
  10. The citizens electing representatives.

Solutions

1. There is more than one right answer. We add a subject to tell who or what hissed. 

  • My kitten hissed at me.
  • A snake hissed at me.

2. There are different ways to correct this sentence fragment. We can add an action verb telling "what the suspension bridge does." 

  • The suspension bridge sways in the wind.

We can also add a being verb to tell "what the suspension bridge is."

  • The suspension bridge is very high.

3. There is more than one right answer. We add a subject to tell who or what howled all night long.

  • My dog howled all night long.
  • A wolf howled all night long.

4. There are different ways to correct this sentence fragment. We can add an action verb telling "what the cheerleaders' routine did."

  • The cheerleaders' routine won first place.

We can also add a being verb to tell "what the cheerleaders' routine was."

  • The cheerleaders' routine was outstanding.

5. We add a subject to tell who or what returned to normal breathing. There is more than one correct answer.

  • The athlete returned to normal breathing.

6. We add an action verb telling what "a temporary loss of breath" does. Again, there are various ways to correct this fragment.

  • A temporary loss of breath results in the increase of lactic acid in muscles.

We could also add a being verb to tell what "a temporary loss of breath" is.

  • A temporary loss of breath is short-lived and uncomfortable.

7. Without a helping verb, the ing verb form, catching, creates a sentence fragment. So, we add a helping verb, is. 

  • The runner is catching his breath.

8. We add a subject to tell who or what "handle all governmental affairs." There is more than one correct answer. 

  • Elected officials handle all governmental affairs.

9. We might add an action verb telling what "the people in a direct democracy" do.

  • The people in a direct democracy govern themselves.

We might also add a being verb to tell who "the people in a direct democracy" are.

  • The people in a direct democracy are the governing body.

10. Without a helping verb, the ing verb form, electing, creates a sentence fragment. So, we add a helping verb, are. 

  • The citizens are electing representatives.