Sentence Fragments Explained: How to Fix Sentence Fragments

\A sentence fragment is a kind of incomplete sentence, meaning it doesn’t express a complete thought, or it does so in a confusing, incomplete way. Some sentence fragments lack a subject, others lack a verb or complete verb phrase, and some even miss both. Common errors include writing too quickly or not carefully revising your writing. Paying attention to sentence structure will help you avoid this mistake.

In English grammar, the basic unit for the expression of a complete thought is a sentence. A simple sentence contains a subject and a predicate. The subject of the sentence is what the sentence is about, and will contain a noun or pronoun, and the predicate, containing a verb phrase, makes that information clear and complete.

This basic unit of meaning is also referred to as an independent clause. Oftentimes, a sentence will contain more than one independent clause. This is what’s known as a compound sentence, and the different clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (such as “and” or “but”), as well as a punctuation mark, such as a comma or a semicolon.

When looking at a group of words you think might be a sentence fragment, ask yourself if it expresses a complete thought or idea. It’s often helpful to determine if the words prompt a question. If you find yourself with an immediate follow-up inquiry, it is probably a sentence fragment. Consider the following examples:

• “My childhood pet.” This sentence fragment can be made into an appositive phrase, and included in a complete, correct sentence: “Whenever I see a schnauzer, I think of Rusty, my childhood pet.” An appositive phrase is a substitute for a noun, often providing additional information and completing a thought.
• “Combined with flour, sugar, and water.” When reading this incomplete sentence, you’ll probably wonder “What is being combined with the listed ingredients?” To make this sentence complete, add a subject and a helping verb. For example, “The eggs are combined with flour, sugar, and water.”
• “Showed me the best way to kickflip.” This sentence is a fragment because it is missing a subject noun. It naturally prompts the question “who showed me how to kickflip?” To make it a complete sentence, add a subject. For example, “Lizzie showed me the best way to kickflip.”
• “Wide, colorful arcs through the sky.” This fragment lacks a main verb phrase, making its meaning uncertain. It uses the preposition “through” to make the prepositional phrase “through the sky,” but it does not tell who or what is performing this action, and leaves the action itself unclear. A complete sentence might read “The stunt planes traced wide, colorful arcs through the sky.” which provides a direct object, or a verb phrase, that completes the thought, illustrating exactly what happened.

In academic writing, as well as other formal kinds of writing, sentence fragments are likely to cause confusion. Sentence fragments can be useful in some kinds of literary writing, though, or even some kinds of journalism. Consider the following uses:

• Everyday speech: “How did you afford the new bike?” “Saved up for it.” In this exchange, the response has a missing subject, but the question posed provides the necessary context. The person responding omits the pronoun “I,” because it’s clear to them, and the reader, who the subject of the clause is.
  
• Special emphasis: “In Zengzhou, China, the amount of rain usually received in an entire year fell in just three days. Think about that. One year’s worth of rain. In three days.” In this passage, the sentence fragments at the end contribute additional urgency. The repetition and the use of fragments draws a higher degree of attention to the information that’s being conveyed.
• Stylistic use of voice: “The Wilsons had tried farming. Didn’t take. Too many early mornings.” This passage features a complete sentence and two sentence fragments, which help establish that the narrator has a particular way of expressing themself, using spare, matter-of-fact statements. This adds mood and characterization to the narrative. Since the larger context is present in the initial sentence, no meaning is lost, but additional information and feeling is gained.

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