What are Sentence Fragments?

A sentence fragment is a word or group of words that cannot function as a complete sentence. Sentence fragments are common in informal writing and everyday speech. However, academic writing must communicate ideas as professionally as possible. For this reason, it is important to communicate in complete sentences.

As a reminder, a complete sentence requires an independent clause that contains a complete subject and a complete predicate.

Sentence fragments generally occur for the following reasons:

• The sentence fragment is missing a complete subject.
• The sentence fragment is missing a complete predicate.
• The sentence fragment is missing both a complete subject and a complete predicate.
• The sentence fragment is a dependent clause.

Sentence fragments without complete subjects

A sentence fragment can occur due to the lack of a complete subject.

• Incorrect: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon. Which totally sucked.

In the above example, Which totally sucked is a sentence fragment. It contains a complete predicate (totally sucked) but no subject.

How to correct this type of fragment

Incorporate the fragment into a nearby sentence.

• Incorrect: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon. Which totally sucked.
• Correct: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon, which totally sucked.

Rephrase the fragment so it has a subject.

• Incorrect: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon. Which totally sucked.
• Correct: I caught a cold right before my honeymoon. The timing totally sucked.

Sentence fragments without complete predicates

A sentence fragment can occur due to the lack of a complete predicate.

• Incorrect: Veronica had a great time at the beach. The big blue open water.

In the above example, The big blue open water is a sentence fragment. This sentence fragment can function as a complete subject, but it lacks a complete predicate.

How to correct this type of fragment

Add a predicate to the fragment.

• Incorrect: Veronica had a great time at the beach. The big blue open water.
• Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach. The big blue open water calmed her soul.

Add a subject and predicate to the fragment.

• Incorrect: Veronica had a great time at the beach. The big blue open water.
• Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach. She loved the big blue open water.

Incorporate the fragment into a nearby sentence.

• Incorrect: Veronica had a great time at the beach. The big blue open water.
• Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach, relishing the big blue open water.

Sentence fragments with neither complete subjects nor complete predicates

A sentence fragment can occur when a group of words functions as neither a complete subject nor a complete predicate.

• Incorrect: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college. No matter the cost.

In the above example, No matter the cost is a sentence fragment. It is neither a complete subject nor a complete predicate.

How to correct this type of fragment

Incorporate the fragment into a nearby sentence.

• Incorrect: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college. No matter the cost.
• Correct: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college, no matter the cost.
• Correct: No matter the cost, Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college.

Sentence fragments that are dependent clauses

A sentence fragment can occur when a dependent clause is treated as if it were a complete sentence.

• Incorrect: Helga tended the sheep. While Gretchen milked the cows.

In the above example, While Gretchen milked the cows is a sentence fragment. It contains both a complete subject (Gretchen) and a complete predicate (milked the cows). However, the presence of the word while, a subordinating conjunction, turns the group of words into a dependent clause, so it cannot function as a complete sentence.

How to correct this type of fragment

Remove the subordinating conjunction.

• Incorrect: Helga tended the sheep. While Gretchen milked the cows.
• Correct: Helga tended the sheep. Gretchen milked the cows.

Incorporate the fragment into a nearby sentence.

• Incorrect: Helga tended the sheep. While Gretchen milked the cows.
• Correct: Helga tended the sheep while Gretchen milked the cows.
• Correct: While Gretchen milked the cows, Helga tended the sheep.

What is a run-on?

Run-on sentences

A run-on sentence is a grammatical error that occurs when punctuation is missing at the end of a sentence, causing it to fuse with the sentence that comes after it.

Example of a run-on sentence:

• Incorrect: I climbed up the mountain the view at the top was breathtaking.

A run-on sentence can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a semicolon.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain; the view at the top was breathtaking.
• Note: This is appropriate use of a semicolon because the two sentences are closely related.

A run-on sentence can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses into two sentences.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain. The view at the top was breathtaking.
• Note: While this is grammatically correct, a semicolon would be more appropriate because the two sentences are closely related.

A run-on sentence can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

• Correct: I climbed up the mountain, and the view at the top was breathtaking.

Comma splices

A comma splice is a grammatical error that occurs when a comma is used to incorrectly combine two independent clauses into a single sentence.

Example of a comma splice:

Incorrect: I climbed up the mountain, the view at the top was breathtaking.

Three options for correcting a comma splice:

1. A comma splice can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses into two sentences.

Correct: I climbed up the mountain. The view at the top was breathtaking.

2. A comma splice can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a semicolon.

Correct: I climbed up the mountain; the view at the top was breathtaking.

3. A comma splice can be fixed by separating the two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

Correct: I climbed up the mountain, and the view at the top was breathtaking.

Modifiers

A modifier changes the meaning of another word or word group in a sentence.

• Example: The dog slept.
• Example: The brown dog slept peacefully.

In the above example, the adjective brown modifies the noun dog, and the adverb peacefully modifies the verb slept.

Misplaced Modifiers

When a modifier is placed incorrectly or awkwardly in a sentence, it may cause the sentence to have an unclear meaning. This sort of error is called a misplaced modifier.

• Incorrect: Jen saw a police officer on her way to work.

In the above example, it is unclear if Jen was on her way to work or if the police officer was on her way to work. From a grammatical standpoint, the sentence could have either meaning.

• Correct: On her way to work, Jen saw a police officer.
• Correct: Jen saw a police officer who was on her way to work.

Adverb placement

In many situations, adverb placement does not affect the meaning of a sentence.

• Example: I ran quickly.
• Example: I quickly ran.

However, there are situations where adverb placement can significantly affect the meaning of a sentence. This is especially true for adverbs that place limits on the words they modify, such as only, solely, or just.

• Example: The nanny just fed the toddler.

The above example implies that the nanny recently fed the toddler.

• Example: The nanny fed just the toddler.

The above example implies that the toddler was the only person the nanny fed.

Squinting modifiers

A squinting modifier could possibly be modifying the words on either side of it. This causes the sentence to be awkward and have an unclear meaning.

• Incorrect: Driving slowly makes me tired.

In the above example, the word slowly could modify either driving or makes. Rephrase the sentence to provide clarity.

• Example: Slowly driving makes me tired.
• Example: Driving makes me slowly become tired.

Dangling Modifiers

A dangling modifier modifies a word or phrase that does not actually appear in the sentence.

• Incorrect: After a dip in the ocean, the burgers and watermelon tasted delicious.

In the above example, the prepositional phrase After a dip in the ocean does not clearly have anything it is modifying. Because of this, the sentence seems to take on a bizarre meaning: the burgers and watermelon tasted delicious after they were dipped in the ocean.

• Correct: After James took a dip in the ocean, the burgers and watermelon tasted delicious.

In the above example, James is clearly the one who took a dip in the ocean.

Parallel Structure in Sentences

Parallelism is the idea that parts of a sentence such as items in a series should be phrased in the same grammatical way. The famous quote of Julius Caesar is good example of why parallelism is so powerful.

Parallel Elements could be independent clauses

Parallel: I came; I saw; I conquered.

Here we have three independent clauses (word groups that can stand alone as sentences) in a row with each of them in the simple past tense using the same pronoun. It would be a very different quote if parallelism were not present.

Not Parallel: I came; I saw; they were conquered.

The introduction of the new pronoun, they, is jarring and disrupts the flow of ideas.    

Smaller parts of sentences should also be parallel

Not Parallel: I like going to the beach, to go out to eat, and going to the movies.

Clearly, the phrase to go out to eat is not phrased in the same way as the other two.  Such inconsistencies jar a reader to questioning credibility or authority of a writer.  Good writing requires an even flow.

Parallel: I like going to the beach, going to restaurants, and going to the movies.

Identifying the elements in a series

Sometimes, it is difficult to see the parts of a sentence that should be parallel. Can you see the nonparallel part of the next sentence?

Not Parallel:

The economic problems were caused by lenders who gave mortgages to people who really could not afford them, by credit cards companies who approved too much easy credit, and by people borrowing more than they could repay.

The last clause uses an -ing word (borrowing) instead of a subject - verb (who + verb) combination.

Parallel:

The economic problems were caused by lenders who gave mortgages to people who really could not afford them, by credit card companies who approved too much easy credit, and by people who borrowed more than they could repay.

See how now each of the elements in the list now includes a clause that begins with the word who.

The economic problems were caused

1. by lenders who gave mortgages to people who really could not afford them
2. by credit card companies who approved too much each credit, and
3. by people who borrowed more than they could repay.

Not Parallel:

John played soccer, but tennis was played by Sonja.

Parallel:

John played soccer, but Sonja played tennis.

Not Parallel:

I like ice cream with chocolate syrup and cake which has butter cream icing on it.

Parallel:

I like ice cream with chocolate syrup and cake with butter cream icing.

In the English language, subject-verb agreement is the grammatical rule that the verb/verbs in a sentence must match the number and the person/point-of-view of the subject.

Number

Singular and plural verb forms

When the noun in a subject is singular, the verb in the predicate should be singular. When the noun in a subject is plural, the verb in the predicate should be plural.

If you are unsure about the correct form of a verb, it is best to consult a dictionary.

The most common way to make a verb singular is by adding -s to the end.

• Example: The child runs.
• Example: The knight seizes the castle.

When a verb ends in -ss, -x, -ch, -sh, -o, or -z, make it singular by adding -es to the end.

• Example: Annie goes to the bank.
• Example: The professor teaches.
• Example: The evil witch hexes the prince.
• Example: The security officer buzzes me in.

When a verb ends in a vowel and -y, make it singular by adding -s to the end.

• Example: The child plays with a doll.
• Example: The loud truck annoys me.

When a verb ends in a consonant and -y, make it singular by removing the -y and adding -ies to the end.

• Example: The pilot flies around the world.
• Example: The mother worries about her child.

The most common way to make a verb plural is by leaving it unchanged from its base form.

• Example: The children run.
• Example: The professors teach.

Some verbs have irregular singular and plural forms. Memorize such words or refer to a dictionary for assistance.

• Example: To be a college student is a wonderful opportunity.
• Example: Aiden is a college student.
• Example: Pam, Aiden, and Lex are college students.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to groups of people, places, things, or ideas. 

• Example: team, band, family, jury
• Example: Americans, The Beatles, Metallica

Context determines whether to treat a collective noun as a plural or singular form. If referring to a collective noun as a single entity, treat the collective noun as singular. If referring to a collective noun as a group of individuals, treat the collective noun as plural.

• Example: My favorite band is The Beatles.
• Example: The Beatles are talented and creative musicians.

Indefinite pronouns

An indefinite pronoun is used to talk about something that is not clearly defined. Some indefinite pronouns are singular and some are plural. There are also indefinite pronouns that may be singular or plural depending on context.

There are too many indefinite pronouns to list in this guide. Here are some common ones:

• One
• All
• None
• Some
• Every
• Few
• Several
• Many
• More
• Most
• Nothing
• Nowhere
• Everywhere
• Either
• Neither

Some indefinite pronouns are singular:

• Example: One can never be too careful these days.
• Example: Nothing is set in stone.

Some indefinite pronouns are plural:

• Example: Few are more dedicated than Jamie.
• Example: Several attend the festival each year.

Some indefinite pronouns may be used in either singular or plural form, depending on context:

• Example: All are accounted for.
• Example: All is well.

Point of view

Point of view refers to whether a personal pronoun is in first person, second person, or third person perspective. Each point of view has its own singular and plural personal pronouns. Likewise, each point of view has its own rules for subject-verb agreement.

Point of view table

	Singular	Plural
First person	I	we
Second person	you	you
Third person	he, she, they, it	they

 

Singular personal pronouns

I

Even though I is a singular pronoun, it should be treated as plural for the purpose of verb forms.

• Example: Charlotte travels to New York often.
• Example: I travel to New York often.

You

You can be used as either a singular or plural pronoun. The singular you should be treated as plural for the purpose of verb forms.

• Example: James travels to New York often.
• Example: You travel to New York often.

She and He

She and he are always singular pronouns. She and he use singular verb forms.

• Example: Charlotte travels to New York often.
• Example: She travels to New York often.

 

• Example: James travels to New York often.
• Example: He travels to New York often.

They

They can be used as either a singular or plural pronoun. The singular they should be treated as plural for the purpose of verb forms.

• Example: Sam travels to New York often.

• Example: They travel to New York often.

It

It is always singular. It uses singular verb forms.

• Example: The circus travels to New York often.
• Example: It travels to New York often.

Plural personal pronouns

Plural personal pronouns (such as we, the plural you, and the plural they) always use plural verb forms.

• Example: James and Charlotte travel to New York often.
• Example: We travel to New York often.

 

• Example: James and Charlotte travel to New York often.
• Example: You travel to New York often.

 

• Example: James and Charlotte travel to New York often.
• Example: They travel to New York often.