16 | Incomplete Sentences
16|Incomplete Sentences
A fragment fails to qualify as a sentence because it lacks a subject or a predicate (or both) or it fails to express a complete thought. However, a sentence with the essentials can still miss the mark. If it lacks a crucial word or phrase, the sentence may be incomplete. When you make comparisons and use elliptical constructions, be certain that you complete the thought you want to express.
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Comparisons
16aMake your comparisons clear by stating fully what you are comparing with what.
| INCOMPLETE | Roscoe loves spending time online more than Diane. |
Does Roscoe prefer the company of a keyboard to the company of his friend? Or, of these two people, is Roscoe (and not Diane) the online addict? Adding a word would complete the comparison.
| CLEAR | Roscoe loves spending time online more than Diane does. |
| CLEAR | Roscoe loves spending time online more than with Diane. |
16bWhen you start to draw a comparison, finish it.
The unfinished comparison is a favorite of advertisers—“Our product is better!”—because it dodges the question “Better than what?” A sharp writer knows that any item must be compared with something else.
16cBe sure the things you compare are of the same kind.
A sentence that compares should reassure readers on two counts: the items are similar enough to compare, and the terms of comparison are clear.
| INCOMPLETE | The engine of a Ford truck is heavier than a Piper Cub airplane. |
What is being compared? Truck engine and airplane? Or engine and engine? Because a truck engine is unlikely to outweigh a plane, we can guess the writer meant to compare engines. Readers, however, should not have to make the effort to complete a writer’s thought.
| CLEAR | The engine of a Ford truck is heavier than that of a Piper Cub airplane. |
| CLEAR | A Ford truck’s engine is heavier than a Piper Cub’s. |
For more on parallel structure, see 18.
In this last example, parallel structure (Ford truck’s and Piper Cub’s) helps make the comparison concise as well as clear.
16dTo compare an item with others of its kind, use any other.
A comparison using any shows how something relates to a group without belonging to the group.
Alaska is larger than any country in Central America.
A comparison using any other shows how one member of a group relates to other members of the same group.
Death Valley is drier than any other place in the United States.
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EXERCISE 16-1 Completing Comparisons
Revise the following sentences by adding needed words to any comparisons that are incomplete. (There may be more than one way to complete some comparisons.) Some sentences may be correct. Example:
Or
The movie version of The Brady Bunch was much more ironic.
Taking care of a dog is often more demanding than a cat.
I received more free calendars in the mail for 2016 than any year.
The crime rate in the United States is higher than Canada.
Liver contains more iron than any meat.
Driving a sports car means more to Jake than his professors.
People who go to college aren’t necessarily smarter, but they will always have an advantage at job interviews.
I don’t have as much trouble getting along with Michelle as Karen.
A hen lays fewer eggs than a turtle.
Singing is closer to prayer than a meal of Chicken McNuggets.
Elliptical Constructions
Robert Frost begins his well-known poem “Fire and Ice” with the following lines:
Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.
When Frost wrote that opening, he avoided needless repetition by implying certain words rather than stating them. The result is more concise and more effective than a complete version of the same sentence would be:
Some say the world will end in fire, some say the world will end in ice.
This common tactic produces an elliptical construction—one that leaves out (for conciseness) words that are unnecessary but clearly understood by readers. Elliptical constructions can be confusing, however, if a writer gives readers too little information to fill in those missing words.
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16eWhen you eliminate repetition, keep all the words essential for clarity.
An elliptical construction avoids repeating what a reader already knows, but it should omit only words that are stated elsewhere in the sentence, including prepositions. Otherwise, your reader may fill the gap incorrectly.
16fIn a compound predicate, leave out only verb forms that have already been stated.
A compound predicate is a predicate consisting of two or more verbs linked by a conjunction (see 5a).
Compound predicates are prone to incomplete constructions, especially if the verbs are in different tenses. Be sure no necessary part is missing.
16gIf you mix comparisons using as and than, include both words.
For more on comparative forms, see 13d–13f.
To contrast two things, use the comparative form of an adjective followed by than: better than, more than, fewer than. To show a similarity between two things, sandwich the simple form of an adjective between as and as: as good as, as many as, as few as. Often you can combine two than or two as comparisons into an elliptical construction.
The White House is smaller [than] and newer than Buckingham Palace.
Some elegant homes are as large [as] and as grand as the White House.
However, merging a than comparison with an as comparison won’t work.
EXERCISE 16-2 Completing Sentences
Revise the following sentences by adding needed words to any constructions that are incomplete. (There may be more than one way to complete some constructions.) Some sentences may be correct. Example:
Eighteenth-century China was as civilized and in many respects more sophisticated than the Western world.
Pembroke was never contacted, much less involved with, the election committee.
I haven’t yet but soon will finish my research paper.
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Ron likes his popcorn with butter, Linda with parmesan cheese.
George Washington always has been and will be regarded as the father of this country.
You have traveled to exotic Tahiti; Maureen to Asbury Park, New Jersey.
The mayor refuses to negotiate or even talk to the civic association.
Building a new sewage treatment plant would be no more costly and just as effective as modifying the existing one.
You’ll be able to tell Jon from the rest of the team: Jon wears white Reeboks, the others black high-tops.
Erosion has and always will reshape the shoreline.