A group of words must meet three criteria to form a complete sentence. If it does not meet all three, it is a fragment. Revise a fragment by combining it with a nearby sentence or by rewriting it as a complete sentence.

1. A sentence must have a subject. (31j)

2. A sentence must have a verb, not just a verbal. A verbal cannot function as a sentence’s verb without an auxiliary verb. (31k and l)

VERB	The terrier is barking.
VERBAL	The terrier barking.

3. Unless it is a question, a sentence must have at least one clause that does not begin with a subordinating word. (31h) Following are some common subordinating words:

although	if	when
as	since	where
because	that	whether
before	though	which
how	unless	who