Download Sentence Fragments In order to punctuate sentences correctly and

Sentence Fragments
In order to punctuate sentences correctly and avoid fragments, we need to know the difference between two
kinds of word group: phrases and clauses.
We can see the difference in the following group of words:
1. birds from the big tree
2. birds fly from the big tree
In the second group of words, we can identify a subject-verb unit, while in the first we cannot.
A clause is a group of words with a subject-verb unit. A clause is a complete sentence.
A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb unit. A phrase is a fragment.
Here are some examples, see if you can determine which group of words is a clause and which is a phrase.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Thinking about how to pass the course.
He is my best friend.
A world in which no one listens to anybody else.
Her friend standing in the corner.
He has a favorite place to study.
There are special kinds of phrases that can look like clauses because they do have a subject-verb group but are
in fact fragments.
1. –ing phrases. When you look for verbs in sentences, remember that the –ing form of a verb cannot be a
verb all by itself, so the group of words:
The sweat dripping from his forehead
is a phrase not a clause. It is also a fragment.
2. Who, Which, That Phrases. The examples below all contain subjects and verbs, but they are not clauses.
They are phrases, otherwise known as fragments.
Noun + who
Noun + which
Noun + that
people who are happy
habits which annoy me
dogs that live next door
Now not all clauses are complete sentences. There are actually two types of clauses: dependent and
independent. To see the difference between the two kinds, read the examples below:
1. Mary likes the clown.
2. because Mary likes the clown
(independent clause)
(dependent clause)
Worlds like because are called subordinators. When we use subordinators at the beginning of a clause, the
clause becomes dependent (or subordinate) and can no longer stand alone as a sentence. Dependent clauses
(subordinate clauses) should always be attached to independent clauses.
Examples:
Because Mary likes the clown, she goes to the circus often. = sentence
dependent clause
+ independent clause
Some Common Subordinators
as
as long as
as soon as
after
before
by the time
until
when
whenever
wherever
while
though
although
even though
even if
if
unless
whether
as if
as though
because
since
so that
that
who/whom
whose
which
Remember: When we join two logically-related ideas with subordinators, the two ideas must be in the same
sentence. A dependent clause is a fragment.
Here are some examples of fragments. See if you can spot the phrases and the dependent clauses:
On that morning, I sat in my usual spot. On the old wooden stool in the corner of my grandmother’s kitchen.
Americans have come to fear the West Nile virus. Because it is transmitted by the common mosquito.
If Eric doesn’t get his way, he into a fit of rage. For example, lying on the floor screaming or opening the
cabinet doors and then slamming them shut.
Source:
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference: with Writing About Literature. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin, 2007.