Repair sentence fragments.
A sentence fragment is a word group that pretends to be a sentence. Sentence fragments are easy to recognize when they appear out of context, like these:
When the cat leaped onto the table.
Running for the bus.
When fragments appear next to related sentences, however, they are harder to spot.
We had just sat down to dinner. When the cat leaped onto the table.
I tripped and twisted my ankle. Running for the bus.
Recognizing sentence fragments
To be a sentence, a word group must consist of at least one full independent clause. An independent clause includes a subject and a verb, and it either stands alone or could stand alone.
To test whether a word group is a complete sentence or a fragment, use the flowchart at the bottom of the page. By using the flowchart, you can see exactly why When the cat leaped onto the table is a fragment: It has a subject (cat) and a verb (leaped ), but it begins with a subordinating word (When). Running for the bus is a fragment because it lacks a subject and a verb (Running is a verbal, not a verb). (See also 48b and 48e.)
Repairing sentence fragments
You can repair most fragments in one of two ways:
- Pull the fragment into a nearby sentence.
- Rewrite the fragment as a complete sentence.
Multilingual
Unlike some other languages, English requires a subject and a verb in every sentence (except in commands, where the subject you is understood but not present: Sit down). See 30a and 30b.
Test for fragments
*Do not mistake verbals for verbs. A verbal is a verb form (such as walking, to act ) that does not function as a verb of a clause. (See 48b.)
**The subject of a sentence may be you, understood but not present in the sentence. (See 47a.)
***A sentence may open with a subordinate clause, but the sentence must also include an independent clause. (See 19a and 49a.)
If you find any fragments, try one of these methods of revision (see 19a–19c):
- Attach the fragment to a nearby sentence.
- Rewrite the fragment as a complete sentence.