Sentence Fragments. Part I: Finding the Subject

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1 Sentences Fragments Sentence Fragments Every well-formed sentence in English must have a subject (what the sentence is about) and a predicate (what is being said about the subject). A sentence fragment is missing one of these parts, while a run-on sentence has too many parts. The subject of a sentence is a noun or a pronoun. It usually comes first, and may contain extra information in the form of adjectives or prepositional phrases. The predicate must contain a verb. It may contain extra information in the form of direct objects, adjectives, adverbs, or prepositional phrases. In the examples below, the main noun and the main verb are in bold type. Each sentence is split down the middle, in order to keep the subject stuff and the predicate stuff together. Subject Predicate The cat jumped up on the bookshelf. She is very quick. The shaggy black dog was chasing her because she had stolen his food. Everyone in the house laughed. Part I: Finding the Subject When trying to locate the subject of a sentence, ask yourself, Who or what is doing the action in the sentence? From a grammatical point of view, the subject governs the verb. Exercise 1 Determine the subject in each of the sentences below. Circle the noun, then underline any extra information that goes with the noun. 1. Pizza is my favourite food. 2. My favourite food is pizza. 3. Our children spent the afternoon playing street hockey. 4. The oak table by the door must be moved. 5. Pencils are usually located in the top drawer of the file cabinet. 6. I found today s homework very difficult. 7. My husband and I go out to dinner every Friday night.

2 8. Jogging is excellent exercise. 9. All of our guests are asked to remove their shoes at the door. 10. Calgary has a reputation for friendliness. Sentences Fragments Part II: Finding the Verb Once you become skilled at determining the subject of a sentence, it s time to move on to predicates. The heart of a predicate is the verb. Verbs are either action words (like eat, give, run, travel), or they express states of being (like be, seem, become). Do not be fooled! Some words that look like verbs are actually serving other functions in a sentence. For example, the singing child is a sentence fragment, not a complete sentence. This is because singing is being used as an adjective to describe the child. The phrase does not contain a verb. The singing child skipped across the street is a good sentence because skipped serves as the main verb. Exercise 2 Identify the verbs in the sentences below. Underline the main verb twice and any other verbs once. Be careful not to underline adjectives or nouns based on verbal forms. 1. Michael and his wife danced at the wedding. 2. Elephants cover themselves in mud to protect themselves from the sun. 3. Susan enjoys her morning coffee very much. 4. The accident was the result of drunk driving. 5. The trees on the trail scratched her arms. 6. The sign says that the elevator stopped working last week. 7. When the lion roared, the frightened deer leapt into the air. 8. The table and chairs were left behind when they moved. 9. Corn and tomatoes are growing in the garden outside. 10. The frightening movie scared my little brother. Identifying subjects and verbs is the first step toward recognizing a sentence fragment. If a sentence is lacking a subject or a verb, then it cannot be a complete sentence.

3 Part III: Analyzing Subjects and Predicates Sentences Fragments As we have seen, the subject of a sentence can contain more than a noun, and the predicate can contain other information besides a verb. The dog hid. The shaggy brown dog that followed my son home last night hid in the basement for so many hours that I wondered if something bad had happened to her. Both of these sentences have the same basic subject (dog) and the same basic verb (hid), but the second example adds a large amount of extra detail. Note, however, that the subject and the predicate are not complete sentences by themselves, even if they are very long: both parts must be present for the sentence to be correct. The following section describes some common errors that students make when dealing with these complicated types of sentence fragments. Prepositional Phrase Fragments The purpose of a preposition is to show how a noun is connected to another noun. The butterfly is on the flower explains that the butterfly has a certain relationship to the flower in space. I took a nap after dinner explains that the nap followed dinner in time. Some common prepositions are listed below. of in by to at up behind into under across beneath before without toward off from within with between over around amid through below along about for down near among above beside during at after A prepositional phrase is not a complete sentence. For example, on the flower is not a sentence by itself, because the on is not connected to anything. It is a sentence fragment since it does not contain a subject. It is easy to fix these types of sentence fragments by adding a subject and a verb. Sometimes all you need to do is connect the fragment to the previous sentence or to the following one.

4 The butterfly landed. On the flower. The butterfly landed on the flower. On the flower. A butterfly slowly opened her wings. On the flower, a butterfly slowly opened her wings. Sentences Fragments As you can see in the examples above, when a prepositional phrase is the first part of a sentence, a comma is used. When the subject comes first, there is usually no comma. Exercise 3 Identify the fragments in each of the following sentences. Suggest a change to improve each sentence. 1. Some people knocked on our door. While we were watching hockey on TV. 2. Throughout the entire house. The echoes of children s voices could be heard. 3. Are you usually hungry in the morning? After you have woken up. 4. Within a short hour. She had completed all her assignments. 5. Across the river from the big, old house. 6. Under rocks, in the tidal pools. Crabs sometimes live there. 7. Before you call the mechanic. Make sure that the machine is plugged in. 8. They found the lost child walking. By the side of the road. She was crying but unhurt.

5 Sentences Fragments Verbal Phrase Fragments Some verbal forms in English can function as adjectives or nouns. When they are doing this, they are no longer real verbs. Every sentence needs a main verb, so you must either change the form of the word or add a new verb in order to correct these sentences. Present Participles (-ing forms) with Helping Verbs Verb forms ending in -ing cannot stand alone. They require helping verbs. Driving happily down the road. This is a sentence fragment since it contains neither a subject nor a main verb. He drove happily down the road. This is a good sentence. He is the subject and drove is the main verb. He is driving happily down the road. This is a good sentence. He is the subject and is (not driving) serves as the main verb. Driving happily down the road, he remembered the day he got married. This is a good sentence. The subject is he and the main verb is remembered. Driving provides extra information in a dependent clause (see below). Present Participles (-ing forms) as Nouns and Adjectives Words ending in -ing are formed from verbs, but they often function as adjectives or nouns. Drawing is a lot of fun. Drawing is a noun. It s the subject of this sentence. The pouring rain made him late. Pouring is an adjective, modifying rain. These are good sentences since they have subjects (drawing, rain) and verbs (is, made). The pouring rain. Fragment. Past Participles (-ed forms) as Adjectives Words ending in -ed can be verbs in the past tense. However, they can also be adjectives, which are sometimes used to modify nouns. It is important to learn to tell the difference. She painted the wall yellow. Painted is a verb, governed by the subject She. The painted wall cheered her up. Painted is an adjective. Cheered is the main verb. The painted wall. Painted is an adjective. No main verb. Fragment.

6 Other Participles Sentences Fragments Some irregular verbs have different forms for the past tense and the past participle. In these cases, the difference between fragments and good sentences is clear: She broke the glass. Broke is a verb, governed by the subject She. The broken glass hurt her feet. Broken is an adjective. Hurt is the main verb. The broken glass. No main verb. Fragment. Infinitives (to forms) Like participles, infinitives cannot stand on their own. They must either follow or govern a real verb. My father loves to sail. Loves is the main verb. To sail is a great pleasure. Is is the main verb. (To sail is a noun here.) To sail across the ocean. No main verb. Fragment. Exercise 4 Identify the verbal phrase fragments in each of the following sentences. Rewrite the sentences correctly in the space provided. There is more than one correct way to rewrite each sentence. 1. Writing a letter to the mayor. 2. Dinner was terrible. Frozen peas and burnt lasagna. 3. To raft down the beautiful Bow River. 4. The rising sun over the mountains. 5. Boredom flooding her entire body as she got ready. To work on the report. 6. Spilled oil all over the freshly waxed floor. 7. Brightly coloured toys for the children.

7 Sentences Fragments 8. Fifty telephones ringing at the same time. Making a lot of noise. 9. Striped scarves and knitted hats. 10. Voting in the election. Dependent Clauses as Fragments Dependent clauses are not complete sentences, but they sometimes look like complete sentences since they can have both a subject and a verb. They are incomplete because they are introduced by conjunctions that signal to the reader that more information is coming. These clauses can be completed either by deleting the conjunction or by adding a new, independent clause. My daughter played in the mud. After my daughter played in the mud. After my daughter played in the mud, I had to do another load of laundry. The word after tells the reader that something will follow the girl s playing. If you do not say what happened afterward, the sentence will feel incomplete. Some common subordinating conjunctions are listed below. Exercise 5 after although as because before even if even though if in order that once rather than since so that than that though unless until when/whenever where whereas wherever whether while why Underline the subordinating conjunctions in the following sentences. Then, add an independent clause so that the sentences are correct. 1. Because we were very late last night. 2. Although I really like spinach salad.

8 Sentences Fragments 3. Before you leave the house. 4. Since you have finished your homework. 5. That my sister ate on Friday. Part IV: Exceptions There are three main exceptions to the rule that requires a subject and a predicate in every sentence. The first exception is imperatives (commands, requests, or instructions). In English, the subject you is dropped from these sentences. Close the door! Mix a cup of flour and a cup of sugar with a cup of warm water. The second exception is certain interjections (emotional expressions). These are usually slang, and should be avoided in formal writing. For crying out loud! Really? Yes! No! This idiom expresses frustration. This idiom expresses disbelief. These words should not stand alone in formal writing, but they are acceptable in conversation. The final exception is calling people s names. Charles? This does not look like a complete sentence, but it has a hidden predicate. For example, the full meaning of the sentence could be Charles, are you there? or Charles, are you listening to me? It is easy to understand these sentences from their context, but they should not be used in formal writing.

9 Sentences Fragments Exercise 1 Answer Key The simple subject (the bare noun) is in bold type. 1. Pizza 2. my favourite food 3. Our children 4. The oak table Exercise 2 1. danced 2. cover, protect 3. enjoys 4. was Exercise 3 5. Pencils 6. I 7. My husband and I 8. Jogging 5. scratched 6. says, stopped 7. roared, leapt 8. were, moved 9. All of our guests 10. Calgary 9. are 10. scared There is more than one right way to answer these questions. The following are examples of correct answers, but yours may be different. If you are not sure, ask a tutor. 1. Some people knocked on our door while we were watching hockey on TV. 2. Throughout the entire house, the echoes of children s voices could be heard. 3. Are you usually hungry in the morning after you have woken up? 4. Within a short hour, she had completed all her assignments. 5. I went across the river from the big, old house. 6. Crabs sometimes live under rocks, in the tidal pools. 7. Before you call the mechanic, make sure that the machine is plugged in. 8. They found the lost child walking by the side of the road. She was crying but unhurt. Exercise 4 There are many correct ways to rewrite these sentences. If your answers do not match these examples, they may still be fine. Ask the tutor for help if you are not sure. 1. I am writing a letter to the mayor. 2. Dinner was terrible. The peas were frozen and the lasagna was burnt. Dinner was terrible. We had frozen peas and burnt lasagna. 3. I like to raft down the beautiful Bow River. 4. The sun is rising over the mountains. The rising sun over the mountains is very pretty.

10 5. Boredom flooded her entire body as she got ready to work on the report. 6. There is spilled oil all over the freshly waxed floor. I spilled oil all over the freshly waxed floor. 7. I bought brightly coloured toys for the children. Brightly coloured toys are nice for the children. 8. Fifty telephones were ringing at the same time. They made a lot of noise. Fifty telelphones ringing at the same time make a lot of noise. 9. Striped scarves and knitted hats are warm in winter. I made striped scarves and knitted hats for the family. 10. Voting in the election is very important. My sister and I are voting in the election. Exercise 5 Sentences Fragments The following are only examples. The independent clauses you add may be different. 1. Because we were very late last night, I slept in this morning. 2. Although I really like spinach salad, I don t want any today. 3. Please lock the door before you leave the house. 4. Since you have finished your homework, you can take a break. 5. I caught the fish that my sister ate on Friday.

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