Avoiding Sentence Fragments

AVOIDING SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

Kevin Crittenden Version 11/17/12

A fragment is only a piece of a sentence. 

Sometimes a fragment fails to tell who or what is doing something; that is, it may lack a subject.

Came around the corner.  (fragment)

Who or what came around the corner?  a boy?  a truck?  a parade?  The fragment does not say.  A sentence does say:

A policeman came around the corner.  (sentence)

A fragment may have a subject but fail to say what that subject does; that is, it may lack a verb, or predicate.

            The members of the basketball team.  (fragment)

What about them?  Did they lose a game?  Are they good students?

            The members of the basketball team wore their new uniforms today.  (sentence)

Sometimes a fragment lacks both a subject and a verb.

            Taking a short cut.  (fragment)

“Taking” is only part of a verb.   The sentence needs a helping verb.

            Joe was taking a short cut.  (sentence) 

            Joe must be taking a short cut.  (sentence)

Sometimes a fragment is simply a matter of incorrect punctuation and capitalization.

            Wrong:  Lonny was still sitting there.  All by himself.

            Right:    Lonny was still sitting there all by himself.

PRACTICE  - Get rid of each fragment by changing capitalization and punctuation.

1.    During my first year in school, I wore long curls.  Hanging down my back.  The boys would tease me.  And pull my curls.  Finally one day when one of the boys jerked at my curls, I hit him.  With my fist.  But didn’t really hurt him. One of  my friends ran into the schoolhouse.  To tell the teacher.  She brought us into our room.  And separated us.  She put me behind the piano.  And made the boy stand in the corner.  Not liking to stay behind the piano, I started to sneak away.  Over to my table.  The teacher saw me though.  She took me out into the hall.  And spanked me.  That night I told Mother my side of the story.  But didn’t get any sympathy.  Instead, she spanked me.  Harder than my teacher had!

(continued on back side)

2.    One day last summer, two friends and I took a bicycle trip.  About five miles west of town. I was riding in front.  With Harvey, one of the boys.  All of a sudden the other boy, Leonard, decided to pass us.  And tried to speed between Harvey and me.  But bumped into my handle bar.  His bicycle and mine rolled sideways.  I was tossed over both bicycles.  And hit the gravel with my left elbow.  Cutting it wide open.  It hurt terribly, but I managed to ride back to town.  Mother almost fainted at the sight.  But hurried me to the doctor.  He examined my elbow.  And then said that the hospital was the place for me.  there two doctors operated on my elbow.  I had to stay in the hospital.  Over a month.  The doctors said I was lucky.  not to have had my arm amputated.  I knew it, too!