3/6/2013
Incomplete Verb, Part One
Often, it’s missing a verb or part of a verb string:
ENG4C – English, Grade 12 College Preparation
Language Lesson – Sentence Fragments
Ms. Linklater, 2013
Adapted from Capital Community College webpage
Say “NO” to fragments!
Don’t let this be you!
© Capital Community College
Introduction
John working extra hard on his
hook shot lately.
Here, for instance, we’re missing an
auxiliary (helper word)
that would complete
the verb string and the sentence.
© Capital Community College
Incomplete Verb, Part One
Often, it’s missing a verb or part of a verb string:
A sentence fragment tries its
best to be a sentence, but it
just can’t make it. It’s missing
something.
© Capital Community College
Introduction
John has been working extra
hard on his hook shot lately.
Here, for instance, we’re missing an
auxiliary (helper word)
that would complete
the verb string and the sentence.
© Capital Community College
Incomplete Verb, Part Two
Often, it’s missing a verb or part of a verb string:
A sentence must contain
both a subject and a
verb.
 Calvin hugs.
 Calvin is hugging Hobbes.
© Capital Community College
Dreaming that March Break would
come quickly.
This time we’re missing a whole verb.
“Dreaming” is a participle wanting to
modify something, but there is no subjectverb relationship within the sentence.
© Capital Community College
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3/6/2013
Incomplete Verb, Part Two
Often, it’s missing a verb or part of a verb string:
Every student in school was
dreaming that March Break
would come quickly.
This time we’re missing a whole verb.
“Dreaming” is a participle wanting to
modify something, but there is no subjectverb relationship within the sentence.
Avoiding Sentence Fragments
Be alert for strings of prepositional phrases that never get
around to establishing a subject-verb relationship:
Immediately after the founding of the
college and during those early years as
the predominant educational
institution in the American Midwest.
What happened “Immediately after the
founding”?
© Capital Community College
© Capital Community College
Avoiding Sentence Fragments
Avoiding Sentence Fragments
Sometimes a sentence fragment can give you a great deal
of information, but it’s still not a complete sentence:
After the coach encouraged him so
much last year and he seemed to
improve with each passing game.
Here we have a subject-verb relationship —
in fact, we have two of them — but the
entire clause is subordinated by the
dependent word after. We have no
independent clause.
Immediately after the founding of the
college and during those early years as
the predominant educational
institution in the American Midwest,
enrollment skyrocketed.
© Capital Community College
© Capital Community College
Avoiding Sentence Fragments
Avoiding Sentence Fragments
After the coach encouraged him so much
last year and he seemed to improve with
each passing game, John tried out for the
varsity team.
OR
Now you never again will have trouble
with sentence fragments!
The coach encouraged him so much last
year and he seemed to improve with each
passing game.
You may now complete your sentence fragments
worksheet!
© Capital Community College
© Capital Community College
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