![]() SENT Handouts, when full of examples, can be helpful.ģ. Quite often fragments can be built into surrounding sentences, particularly when the fragment is a subordinate clause.įRAG Handouts can be helpful. Incorporate the fragment into an adjoining sentence. SENT Living by the sea with her packs of dogs and llamas has long been her dream.Ģ. Remember to look for missing helping verbs and to account for gerunds as potential subjects.įRAG Living by the sea with her packs of dogs and llamas. Add the missing element if your sentence is missing a subject (main noun) or a main verb. (If it does, you'll need a main clause to complete the sentence):ġ. ![]() ![]() If you're still unsure about whether or not your clause is subordinate, look to see if it begins with one of these subordinating conjunctions. SENT I will be there whenever you are in trouble because you are my friend. Ask yourself if this sentence can stand alone and still make sense.įRAG I will be there whenever you are in trouble. They need to be connected to a main clause to be completed. Subordinate clauses can be tricky because they often do have a subject noun and a main verb. If the sentence cannot stand alone and still make sense, it may be a subordinate clause. SENT The dinosaur magnet fell off the refrigerator and hit the floor.ģ. If you can't answer those questions, you've most likely got a fragment.įRAG The dinosaur magnet fell off the refrigerator. Always ask yourself who/what does, or who/what is, in the sentence. Conversely, your subject might also be a pronoun or a gerund (a verb ending in “ing” that functions as a noun) and may not look like a noun at all. Just because your sentence has a noun, that doesn't necessarily mean it has a subject noun. SENT The professor was waiting all morning for the bus.Ģ. SENT The professor, waiting all morning for the bus, grew impatient. (Sentences lacking a main verb will often sound incomplete when read aloud.)įRAG The professor waiting all morning for the bus. Watch out especially for verb forms that require a helping verb. Remember that just because your sentence has a verb, that doesn't necessarily mean it has a main verb. But don't mistake a sentence that’s simply short for a fragment a sentence like “I do” is correct because it has both a subject (main noun) and a complete verb.įix sentence fragments by adding missing elements, by incorporating the fragment into adjoining sentences, or by dropping the subordinating conjunction.ġ. Though sentence fragments can be used in genres like creative writing and advertising for emphasis or stylistic purposes, in formal academic writing fragments can undermine your authority and distract your reader. Sentence fragments occur when a sentence lacks a subject and/or complete verb, or consists entirely of a subordinate clause.
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