HFCC Learning Lab
Sentence Structure 4.3
SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
A word group that expresses an incomplete thought is called a fragment. A fragment often lacks
an essential component of a sentence: a subject or a verb.
Why is it difficult to spot fragments? We have become accustomed to fragments as the currency
of conversation. Fragments often occur in response to questions. If asked why he attends
HFCC, a student might respond ―Because I like the teachers.‖ Is ―Because I like the teachers‖ a
sentence?
The above fragment represents one type of fragment: the subordinate clause contains a subject
and a verb, but a subordinate or dependent clause contains one additional element-- a
subordinating conjunction that introduces the clause. The following list presents the most
common subordinate conjunctions. If the subordinate conjunctions are unfamiliar, write each
one on a separate index card (flash card) and then memorize the conjunction so that you will
recognize it in your own writing.
after
although
as
as if
*who/whom
before
since
so that
whenever
whose
even though
though
in order that
wherever
that
if
until
while
which
*The last five are also known as relative pronouns. Note how easily subordinate conjunctions
turn the following independent constructions into fragments.
Because (his car had stalled).
After (he had left the grocery store).
Subordinate clauses should be used in writing to show logical connections. However, the
subordinate clause must be teamed with an independent or main clause if a sentence is to result.
Perhaps the following comparison might make this point clear (or perhaps it will simply provoke
laughter). Just as a freight car on a train will not move unless it is attached to a locomotive, a
subordinate clause will not ―work‖ unless it is connected to a main clause.
How can we correct a subordinate clause fragment? We can team it with an independent clause,
a clause capable of being a sentence in its own right. Note the following examples.
Because his car had stalled, he missed his dental appointment (independent
clause).
After he had left the grocery store, he discovered that he had forgotten to buy
spaghetti (independent clause).
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He picked up the hammer (independent clause), which was lying on the ground.
Why else might we have difficulty recognizing a fragment as an error? Fragments are frequently
used in advertising copy, in fiction, and in some newspaper articles. Why? To convey
immediacy. Is the pervious construction a sentence or a fragment?
―To convey immediacy‖ is representative of another group of fragments—a verbal phrase.
Although a verbal is indeed a verb form, it is not a verb. A verbal fragment can often be found
immediately after a complete sentence and, in fact, is often read as an extension of that sentence.
Thirty-five million Americans have high blood pressure. Including one out of four persons
over the age of eighteen (verbal).
Air conditioners in care release fluorocarbon into the air. Thus, causing great harm to the
environment (verbal).
Many hours of studying must be devoted to a subject. To succeed in college (verbal).
TIPS FOR ELIMNATING FRAGMENTS
How can we recognize and eliminate the fragments hidden in our own compositions? Fragments
can be detected more readily if we can change from proud author to aloof critic.
One tip is to read all assignments out loud, beginning with the last sentence and continuing until
you read the first sentence. Why would this approach increase the chance that a fragment would
be spotted and not be mistakenly read as part of a previous sentence?
Note THAT many fragments can be corrected by simply attaching the fragment to an adjacent or
nearby sentence. How many of the fragments on page one can be corrected in this fashion?
(Hint: look at verbals).
We can also use the following checklist to find fragments.
CHECKLIST
Is there a subject in the sentence?
If the subject is who, which, whose, or whom, is the sentence a question: If not, the supposed
sentence is a fragment.
Does the sentence contain a verb that can be conjugated? For example, can it be put into the past
tense (does—did, speak—spoke)? If the verb can not be changed, perhaps we have an impostor
or verbal.
Are we mistaking an –ing word for a verb? If so, the sentence is a fragment. If an –ing or –en
form of the verb is used, it must be accompanied by a helping verb (have been working).
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Does the supposed sentence consist of only one clause introduced by a subordinate conjunction
(because we were late to class)?
FRAGMENT EXERCISES:
Part I:
Correct each of the following fragments and compose a complete sentence.
Note that the sentences are not designed to be connected to each other.
1. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor, graduating from the Geneva Medical
Institute in January 1849.
2. Because Robert E. Lee was originally offered command of the Union Army before he
accepted his post with the Confederacy.
3. Since men are six times more likely than women to be struck by lightening.
4. The Empire State Building, which may sway several feet to either side during a sever
windstorm or rainstorm.
5. The price of the average American automobile doubling during the ten-year period
between 1968 and 1976
6. In 1924, a Ford automobile, that had an average cost of $265.
7. If all the blood vessels in a single human body were stretched end to end, forming a rope
capable of going around the world.
8. In medieval Japan, believing that there was a single hair somewhere on the tail of a cat
that could restore life to a dead person.
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Part II:
Each one of the following exercises contains one (1) fragment. Correct the fragment,
perhaps by combining it with another sentence. (Write out the correction in the line below
for additional practice in sentence combining. To improve your style, you should actually
write out the combination, not simply cross out words.)
1. In 1848, the first chewing-gum to be commercially produced was manufactured by John
Curtis on a Franklin stove. Which was located in the kitchen of this home at Bangor,
Maine. The first chewing-gum was called ―State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum.‖
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2. The first bikini swimsuit was worn by Michelle Bernardi, a French dancer, at a Paris
fashion show held on July 5, 1946. Since the show was held four days after Americans
had detonated an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The French designer of the
bikini used the word to describe something he hoped would detonate the fashion world.
He succeeded. Michelle Bernardi received 50,000 fan letters.
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3. Although the first passenger airplane began flight operations on January 1, 1914, it
carried only one passenger at a time. Passengers were carried across the 20-mile wide
Tampa Bay in Florida. The fare was five dollars.
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4. Where were the first parking meters installed? The first parking meters did not control
congestion in large urban areas such as New York or Chicago. IN fact, the first parking
meter was designed in 1933 by Carlton Magee. Who was the editor of a leading
Oklahoma City newspaper and the chairman of a businessmen’s traffic committee. In
1935, the first 150 parking meters came into service in Oklahoma City.
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5. The first television commercial on a commercial television station aired on July 1, 1941.
The ad showed a Bulova clock on the screen and was accompanied by an audio
announcement. Emanating from studio 5FPP in Radio City, New York. The charge for
the twenty second spot was nine dollars.
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6. In 1221, Genghis Khan killed 1,748,00 people at Nishapur in one hour. By turning all of
his shoulders into executioners after every battle. The inhabitants of Nishapur were
ordered to assemble outside the walls of the town, and each Mongoi soldier, armed with a
battle axe, was assigned to kill as many at fifty of the captives. As proof that they had
carried out their orders , the soldiers were obliged to cut an ear off every victim, collect
the ears in the sacks, and bring them to the officers to be counted.
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7. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), one of the great French sculptors, was allowed to freeze to
death by the French government. Even though it knew of his plight and could have saved
him. Rodin, forgotten in the last years of life, was refused finicial aid several times by the
French state, even while the statues he had donated to the country were kept warmly
housed in the meuseum. In the winter of 1917, Rodin’s application for a room in one of
these museums was rejected, and a month later, he died in a garret from frostbite.
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8. Arcording to the Greek historian, Herodotus, Egyptian men never became bald. Because
of children, Egyptian males had their heads shaved, and their scalps were continually
exposed to the health-giving rays of the sun.
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Answer Sheet
1. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor, graduated from the Geneva Medical
Institute in January 1849.
2. Robert E. Lee was originally offered command of the union army before he accepted
his post with the Confederacy.
Or
Because Robert E. Lee was originally offered command of the union Army before he
accepted his pos with the Confederacy, it is obvious that he commanded the respect
of all American Soldiers.
3. Men are six times more likely than women to be struck by lightining.
4. The Empire State building may sway several feet to either side during a severe
windstorm or rainstorm.
5. The price of an average American automobile doubled during the ten-year period
between 1968 and 1978.
6. In 1924 a ford automobile had an average cost of $265.
7. If all the blood vessels in a single human body were stretched end to end, they would
for m a rope capable of going around the world.
8. In Medieval, Japan, it was believed that there was a hair somewere on the tail of a cot
that could restore life to dead people.
Part II
1. In 1848 the first chewing-gum to be commercially produced was manufactured by Johb
Curtis on a Franklin stove, which was located in the kitchen of his home at Bangor,
Maine.
7/28/2010
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