Explanation in Fragments

Explanation in fragments
(1st slide)
In the given examples where only predicates are present, these fragment words
can be transformed into a complete sentence by attaching a subject to it.
For example
1. In the car.
2. With a brand-new pen.
3. Running in the woods.
4. Singing a song.
5. At the funeral.
These are all sentence fragments that do not give complete thoughts.
To turn these fragments into complete sentences, we simply attach a subject
phrase like "I saw him" to the sentence fragment.
1. I saw him in the car.
2. I saw him with a brand-new pen.
3. I saw him running in the woods.
4. I saw him singing a song.
5. I saw him at the funeral.
2nd slide
Let’s take a look again at the given examples.
1. In the car.
2. With a brand-new pen.
3. Running in the woods.
4. Singing a song.
5. At the funeral.
These sentence fragments which do not give complete thoughts can be
transformed into complete sentences by revising the fragment by adding
whatever is missing like subject, verb, and complete thought.
Let us again use "I saw him" to revise the fragment sentence but this time we
place this at the end of the sentence fragment. Please take note that a complete
sentence has its subject and verb. Although in several cases, subjects are
usually found at the beginning of the sentence. Sometimes a sentence is in
inverted order so the subject may come in the middle or at the end of the
sentence. So, we have
1. In the car, I saw him.
2. With a brand-new pen, I saw him.
3. Running in the woods, I saw him.
4. Singing a song, I saw him.
5. At the funeral, I saw him.
3rd slide
How to fix sentence fragments Here are three ways to turn a Fragment into a
Complete Sentence:
1. Attach the sentence fragment to another complete sentence.
Sentence Fragment - After getting the money.
As you can see, the sentence fragment here has no subject and
predicate. We use the complete sentence "I bought a new pen" and attach
this to the sentence fragment to make it a complete sentence. Thus,
Complete Sentence - I bought a new pen after getting the money.
How do we know if the sentence is a fragment?
Without complete thought, a phrase is considered a sentence fragment

even if it contains both a subject and a verb. As an independent clause, a
complete sentence must stand on its own. It does not have to rely on
other parts of the sentence to get its point across because it has a clear
subject and accompanying verb phrase or predicate. When the full
thought is not expressed because either the subject or the verb is missing,
you have a sentence fragment. The problem with fragments is that they
don’t tell the whole story. Key elements are missing, leaving the reader
hanging without a sense of the full thought.
To avoid this common error, let’s look at some ways to spot a sentence
fragment.
1. No Subject
The subject is the who or what of a sentence. The subject must complement the
verb to tell us the whole story of a sentence. Without a subject, there is no one
or nothing to do the action, resulting in an incomplete thought.
Example:
 “Certainly requires dedicated practice”

2. No Verb
Verbs tell readers what the subject is doing. When there is no verb
communicating the action of a sentence, we have no idea what is happening.
Make sure there is always a verb that makes clear the action in the sentence.
Example:
 “One of the greatest challenges in the college admissions process”

3. Participle Phrases
Participle phrases often begin with a verb ending in -ing (present) or -ed (past).
These phrases function as adjectives, but they do not result in a complete
thought on their own.
Examples:
 “Preparing themselves for tests”

 “Confused by the assignment”
4. Subordinators/Relative Clauses
Clauses that begin with subordinators (although, because, while, after, etc.) or
relative pronouns (who, which, where, when, that, etc.) are dependent clauses
and cannot stand alone. A dependent clause needs an independent clause to
complete the thought. Even though subordinate and relative clauses may have
both a subject and a verb, they don’t tell the whole story.
Examples:
 “Although there are many topics to cover”
 “Students who want to succeed”
5. Appositives
An appositive is a noun phrase that explains or defines the preceding noun or

pronoun. Appositives, usually offset by commas, essentially add further
identifying or clarifying information to the main subject. Since appositives lack
action verbs, they are always considered fragments.
Example:
 “The most attentive student in class”
Again, there are three different ways to fix a sentence fragment

1. Add a subject
2. Add a predicate or
3. Attach the fragment to a nearby sentence.
So again A sentence fragment is a group of words that looks like a sentence but
actually isn’t a complete sentence. Sentence fragments are usually missing a
subject or verb, or they do not express a complete thought. While it may be
punctuated to look like a complete sentence, a fragment cannot stand on its
own.

Explanation in Fragments

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Explanation in fragments

Sentence Fragment - After getting the money.

Complete Sentence - I bought a new pen after getting the money.

How do we know if the sentence is a fragment?

Without complete thought, a phrase is considered a sentence fragment

 “Certainly requires dedicated practice”

 “One of the greatest challenges in the college admissions process”

 “Preparing themselves for tests”

An appositive is a noun phrase that explains or defines the preceding noun or

 “The most attentive student in class”

Again, there are three different ways to fix a sentence fragment

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