Is Your Sentence a Fragment?

 

Is there a verb? If no, fragment alert! If yes, Is there a subject? If no, fragment alert! If yes, Does your word group begin with because or when (a subordinate clause)? If yes, fragment alert! If no, Congratulations! Your sentence is not a fragment.

Examples

No Verb: A movie with pointless twists. VS. The movie has pointless twists.

No subject: For not doing her own homework, Missy was expelled. VS. Missy was expelled for not doing her own homework.

Beginning with Subordinate Clause: Because the band didn’t know the street address, the party was impossible to find. VS. The band couldn’t find the party because no one knew the address.

License

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About Writing: A Guide Copyright © 2015 by Robin Jeffrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.