A common mistake in student writing assignments is the sentence fragment, which simply means an incomplete sentence. The word "fragment" means piece, and sentence fragments are usually phrases or clauses that are missing main verbs or fail to make a complete thought. There are three main types of sentence fragments.

#1

  • Problem: incomplete sentence - only has a dependent clause
  • Incorrect: Although he had very little experience.
  • Solutions:
    1. Make it an independent clause: He had very little experience.
    2. Add an independent clause: Although he had very little experience, he was given the position.

#2

  • Problem: incomplete sentence - noun phrase without a verb
  • Incorrect: In addition, deliberate attempts to mislead or confuse.
  • Solutions:
    1. Add the main verb to the noun phrase: In addition, deliberate attempts to mislead or confuse are a big source of fake news.
    2. Add an independent clause and use the noun phrase as the object of that clause: In addition, we need to stop deliberate attempts to mislead or confuse.

#3

  • Problem: incomplete sentence - gerund or infinitive form of the verb only (main verb missing)
  • Incorrect:
    1. Students wanting to take the entrance exam for EAP 140.
    2. To see a movie with my friends.
  • Solutions:
    1. change the gerund or the infinitive form of the verb into the main verb
      1. Students want to take the entrance exam for EAP 140.
      2. I saw a movie with my friends.
    2. add the main verb to make an independent clause
      1. Students wanting to take the entrance exam for EAP 140 can sign up in the office.
      2. To see a movie with friends is one of my favorite things to do on a rainy Sunday.

Review - Sentence Fragments

Shaun explains sentence fragments

Exercise

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