Advanced College Grammar-Fragments

Advanced College Grammar
Fragments
Gladdie Mae Razo

No one escapes high school English without being penalized for
writing the odd sentence fragment, but not everyone remembers
what they are and how to fix them. Put simply, a sentence fragment
is a clause that falls short of true sentencehood because it is missing
one of three critical components: a subject, a verb, and a complete
thought.
We often fail to recognize our sentence fragments because our

incomplete thoughts can easily masquerade as sentences. All a
series of words needs is a capital at the beginning and ending
punctuation and voilà! It looks like a sentence. Yet, for a sentence to
be truly complete, it must contain an independent clause, which tells
the whole story even when isolated from its context.
Sentence Fragment Examples
Here is a glaring example of a sentence fragment:
Because of the rain.
On its own, because of the rain doesn’t form a complete thought. It

leaves us wondering what happened because of the rain. To
complete it, we need further explanation:
Because of the rain, the party was canceled.
Now the fragment has become a dependent clause attached to a

sentence that has a subject (the party) and a verb (was canceled).
Our thought is complete.
In that example, making the sentence longer was the solution. But
that doesn’t mean that short sentences can’t be complete. This
teensy sentence is complete:
I ran.
I ran may be a short thought, but it has a subject (I) and a verb (ran).
Nothing in the sentence demands further explanation. Another
famous example of a short-but-complete sentence is “Jesus wept.”
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Avoiding sentence fragments not only makes your writing easier to

read, but it can also make you sound more polished in polite
correspondence. We’ve all had emails ending with:
Looking forward to seeing you.
That sentence lacks a subject. Adding the subject will build a

stronger, more confident-sounding sentence:
I’m looking forward to seeing you.
It’s a subtle psychological difference, but if you are corresponding in

a formal setting, it is worth taking care to write complete sentences.
Fragments can sound as if they are carelessly blurted out.
Mending Sentence Fragments
Fixing a sentence fragment involves one of two things: giving it the

components it lacks or fastening it onto an independent clause.
Consider the following:
There are many ways to frighten little brothers; for example, you
could hide under their beds and wait for dark.
Notice that in order to properly connect these two clauses with a

semicolon, you need to do some rewriting in order to ensure both can
function as independent clauses. In other words, you need to fortify
the fragment with a subject and a verb to turn it into a sentence.
Notice in the example above that by doing so, you’ll need to edit
other parts of your fragment to turn it into a grammatically correct
independent clause.
If a semicolon seems too formal for your purposes, you could write
your text as two sentences—but don’t forget to make sure the second
one has a subject and a verb:
There are many ways to frighten little brothers. For example, you
could hide under their beds and wait for dark.
Both remedies result in structurally sound sentences.
READ MORE: When (And How) To Fix Sentence Fragments
Stylistic Sentence Fragments
Without question, you should avoid sentence fragments in formal

situations and academic writing. That said, a fragment within a clear
context can sometimes serve a valid dramatic purpose. Journalists,
bloggers, and fiction writers often use them. For example:
No one thought that Ethan could make the jump; it was just too high.
All the same, he was determined to astound us. No matter what.
And he did.
Your high school English teacher would find three things wrong with
this description. No matter what is a sentence fragment. And he did is
a sentence beginning with a conjunction, and it’s a one-sentence
paragraph.
Gasp!
As always, judge for yourself who your audience is and how much
wiggle room you have for breaking the rules. 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.
You don’t have to guess whether you’re using certain words correctly
or breaking grammar rules in your writing. Just copy and paste your
writing to check your grammar and get instant feedback on grammar,
spelling, punctuation, and other mistakes you might have missed.

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Advanced College Grammar

Gladdie Mae Razo

We often fail to recognize our sentence fragments because our

Sentence Fragment Examples

Here is a glaring example of a sentence fragment:

Because of the rain.

On its own, because of the rain doesn’t form a complete thought. It

Because of the rain, the party was canceled.

Now the fragment has become a dependent clause attached to a

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great?

Avoiding sentence fragments not only makes your writing easier to

Looking forward to seeing you.

That sentence lacks a subject. Adding the subject will build a

I’m looking forward to seeing you.

It’s a subtle psychological difference, but if you are corresponding in

Mending Sentence Fragments

Fixing a sentence fragment involves one of two things: giving it the

Notice that in order to properly connect these two clauses with a

Both remedies result in structurally sound sentences.

READ MORE: When (And How) To Fix Sentence Fragments

Stylistic Sentence Fragments

Without question, you should avoid sentence fragments in formal

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