Every sentence needs a subject, a main verb, and a completed idea. If one of those three things is missing, it is a mistake called a sentence fragment. A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. Here are some examples of sentence fragments.
- In my country, is very cold in winter. (No subject)
- His roommate watching football all the time. (No main verb)
- Because my country is very cold in winter. (Dependent clause–Incomplete)
- Soccer to be the most popular sport around the world. (No main verb)
To avoid making this mistake, remember that ~ing verbs need the verb be, and infinitive verbs (to go, to take) cannot be the main verb of a sentence. Also, remember that a dependent clause cannot stand alone; it must be connected to an independent clause. Here are the corrected sentences:
- In the country, it is very cold in winter.
- My roommate is watching X Games all the time.
- Because my country is very cold in winter, many people play hockey.
- Soccer is the most popular sport around the world.
Review - Sentence Fragments
Shaun explains the uses of Sentence Fragments.
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.