Sentence Fragments are incomplete statements that are presented as a full sentence. We often use sentence fragments conversationally when speaking, but it is important to avoid fragments when writing academic papers to maintain a formal tone.
Sentence fragments occur when a sentence does not feature a subject or verb. Beginning a sentence with a subordinating word can also produce a fragment. Take a look at these examples:
No Subject
Fragment: Went to the store and didn’t buy anything.
Who went to the store? To fix this sentence fragment, add a clear subject.
Full sentence: I went to the store and didn’t buy anything. (A clear subject, “I”, is added to the sentence)
No Verb
Fragment: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, a book with great emotion.
This fragment has no verb. To fix this fragment, remove the comma and add a verb.
Full sentence: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a book with great emotion.
Sentence begins with a Subordinating Word
Subordinating words include: after, although, because, since, until, when, where, while, which
Fragment: Although I missed the bus.
This fragment begins with the subordinating word “Although.” To fix this fragment, either remove the subordinating word or change the structure of the sentence.
Full sentence: I missed the bus. (Subordinating word is deleted)
Full sentence: Although I missed the bus, I still arrived on time. (Additional explanation is added to complete the sentence)
Guide created by: C. Jones 3/2/2021
Revised by: B. McCoid 1/22/2024
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