![]() They were the best ideas that they had heard in years. The committee considered her ideas for a new marketing strategy quite powerful. The committee considered her ideas for a new marketing strategy quite powerful.Karen appeared at the committee meeting last week and convincingly presented her ideas about the new product. She convincingly presented her ideas about the new product. Karen appeared at the committee meeting last week. Karen appeared at the committee meeting last week.link the incomplete fragment with the phrase or sentence that comes before or after, as appropriateĮxamples: fragments are highlighted and enclosed in brackets.add the missing element: a subject or actor, a verb or action, words to complete the thought.There are two ways to fix sentence fragments: Alice, as an elementary teacher, was therefore very sensitive to other students with learning disabilities. Make sure to keep your passwords in a separate place, which you keep private.As a child, Henry liked to run away from his mother.In writing, sentence fragments also occur because they seem to link with other phrases or sentences, as in the following examples: fragments are highlighted and enclosed in brackets While it’s fine to speak in partial sentences, it’s important to write in full sentences, because your reading audience will not have access to the gestures, inflections, and other visual cues that make partial sentences in speech understandable. However, there is a difference between writing and speech. Part of the reason we write in fragments is because we often speak that way. Ensuring his own survival with his extensive cache of supplies (food, water, rope, tarps, knives, and a first aid kit).If you are telling a story, a few fragments might suit your purpose and style well, but if you are writing an essay or crafting a business document, it’s best to steer clear of them.Sentence fragments are simply grammatically incomplete sentences-they lack one of the three important parts. So how can you tell the difference between a sentence and a sentence fragment? And how can you fix sentence fragments?Īs you learn about fragments, keep in mind that sentence length is not very helpful in identifying a fragment. Both of the items below are fragments: And he did is a sentence beginning with a conjunction, and it’s a one-sentence paragraph.Īs always, judge for yourself who your audience is and how much wiggle room you have for breaking the rules. Your high school English teacher would find three things wrong with this description. All the same, he was determined to astound us. ![]() No one thought that Ethan could make the jump it was just too high. Journalists, bloggers, and fiction writers often use them. That said, a fragment within a clear context can sometimes serve a valid dramatic purpose. Without question, you should avoid sentence fragments in formal situations and academic writing. READ MORE: When (and how) to fix sentence fragments Stylistic sentence fragments Fragments can sound as if they are carelessly blurted out. It’s a subtle psychological difference, but if you are corresponding in a formal setting, it is worth taking care to write complete sentences. Adding the subject will build a stronger, more confident-sounding sentence: Another famous example of a short-but-complete sentence is “Jesus wept.”Īvoiding sentence fragments not only makes your writing easier to read, but it can also make you sound more polished in polite correspondence. Nothing in the sentence demands further explanation. ![]() I ran may be a short thought, but it has a subject ( I) and a verb ( ran). ![]() But that doesn’t mean that short sentences can’t be complete. In that example, making the sentence longer was the solution. Now the fragment has become a dependent clause attached to a sentence that has a subject ( the party) and a verb ( was canceled). To complete it, we need further explanation:īecause of the rain, the party was canceled. It leaves us wondering what happened because of the rain. On its own, because of the rain doesn’t form a complete thought. Here is a glaring example of a sentence fragment: For example, you could hide under their beds and wait for dark.īoth remedies result in structurally sound sentences. There are many ways to frighten little brothers.
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