3.1: Common Errors - Fragments

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A fragment occurs when a group of words that does not form a complete sentence is punctuated as though it is a complete sentence. Here are three common types of fragments and ways to correct them:

The fragment may lack a predicate because the verb is incomplete:

Fragment: The runners staggering in the 100-degree heat.

Complete sentence: The runners were staggering in the 100-degree heat.

Note

The present participle staggering is not a complete verb without the helping verb were. See Progressive Verb Tenses.

The fragment may be a dependent (subordinate) clause that needs to be attached to an independent clause:

Fragment: Unless she could earn the money for tuition.

Complete sentence: Unless she could earn the money for tuition, she would have to drop out of school.

Note

The fragment here is an adverb clause and does not express a complete thought unless it is attached to an independent clause. See Complex Sentences.

Fragment: Which was the best thing to do.

Complete sentence: My sister decided to sell the house, which was the best thing to do.

Note

The fragment here is an adjective clause and does not express a complete thought unless it is attached to an independent clause. See Complex Sentences.

The fragment may be a subject with modifiers that needs a linking verb.

Fragment: Doubt and mistrust everywhere, fogging the minds of managers and workers alike.

Complete Sentence: Doubt and mistrust were everywhere, fogging the minds of managers and workers alike.

Note

Were supplies the needed linking verb in this sentence. Fogging may seem like a verb, but it is only part of a participial phrase and cannot be a complete verb without a helping verb.

Use these criteria to test for sentence fragments:

Is there a verb? → (NO) It is a fragment

Is there a subject? → (NO) It is a fragment

Does the sentence convey a complete idea? → (NO) It is a fragment

→ (Yes to all of the above) It is a complete sentence

Exercise

Repair any fragment by attaching the fragment to a nearby sentence or by rewriting it as a complete sentence. If the word group is correct, write “correct” after it.

The climate crisis we face.
In Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus, draws himself and his family as a mouse.
The advertisement invoked many emotions. Fear, envy, and lust.
It’s not the past that scares me, but the future.
Although I have difficulty reading Korean. I can speak it with my parents easily.

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