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PART 1 GRAMMATICAL SENTENCES

1. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. Usually fragments omit a subject, a verb/predicate, or both.

Fragment Ingrid spent most of her day on the computer. Tweeting and posting to Facebook.

Fragment She refused to give up her social media time. Even though she needed to do her homework.

Complete Ingrid spent most of her day on the computer, tweeting and posting to Facebook.

Complete Even though it was time to do her homework, she refused to give up her social media time.

A phrase is a small group of related words that may function as a part of speech within a sentence but cannot function as a complete sentence. There are two easy ways to fix fragments that are phrases. You can either link the phrase to a nearby sentence using punctuation, or you can add a subject and verb to the phrase and make it a complete sentence.

Fragment We planned to go to Grandma’s house. Over the river and through the woods.

Fragment Over the river and through the woods.

Correct We planned to go to Grandma’s house, which is over the river and through the woods.

Correct We drove over the river and through the woods.

Unlike an independent clause made up of a noun and a verb and able to stand on its own as a sentence, a subordinate clause—also known as a dependent clause—begins with a word (usually a subordinating conjunction) that does not allow the clause to stand on its own as a sentence. You may remove that conjunction to make the clause independent, or combine the subordinate clause with an independent clause to make it a complete sentence.

Fragment The car hit the tree. When it went off the side of the road.

Correct The car hit the tree. It went off the side of the road.

Correct The car hit the tree when it went off the side of the road.

A participle is a verb form that acts as an adjective by modifying a noun or noun phrase. It can also act as an adverb by modifying a verb or verb phrase. If a fragment contains a participle but no other verb, you may either change the participle to a main verb that describes the action or a state of being, or link the fragment to a nearby sentence.

Fragment Howling at the moon. The dog kept me awake all night.

Correct The dog howled at the moon. It kept me awake all night.

Correct Howling at the moon, the dog kept me awake all night.

A compound predicate tells more than one thing about the subject of a sentence by using two verbs joined by a conjunction. If a fragment is part of a compound predicate, it should be linked to a nearby sentence containing the subject to which the fragment’s verb refers.

Fragment Roberto can speak and write in Spanish. English, too.

Correct Roberto can speak and write in Spanish and English.