SENTENCE SKILLS

FRAGMENTS
• Every sentence must have a subject and a verb
and must express a complete thought. A
word group that lacks a subject or a verb and
does not express a complete thought is a
fragment.

For example: The skies having darkened.

And closed the door quietly.
 COMMON TYPES OF FRAGMENTS
1. Dependent-word fragments
2. -ing and to fragments
3. Added-detail fragments
4. Missing-subject fragments
 Dependent-word fragments
• Some word groups that begin with a dependent
word are fragments. Following is a list of
common dependent words. Whenever you start
a sentence with one of these words, you must
be careful that a fragment does not result.
After, although, though, as, because, before, even
though, how, if, even if, in order that, since, that,
so that, unless, until, what, whatever, when,
whenever, where, wherever, which, whichever,
while, who, whose
Example: After I cashed my paycheck. I treated
myself to dinner.
Revised: After I cashed my check, I treated
myself to dinner.
You can correct a dependent-word fragment by
attaching it to the sentence that comes before it
or you can simply eliminate the dependent word
by rewriting the sentence.
I cashed my paycheck and then treated myself
to dinner.
 -ing and to fragments
When an –ing word appears at or near the start of a word group, a
fragment may result. Such fragments often lack a subject and part
of the verb.
• Ellen walked all over the neighbourhood yesterday. Trying to find
her dog Bo. Several people claimed they had seen him only hours
before.

• We sat back to watch the movie. Not expecting anything special.

To our surprise we clapped, cheered and cried for the next two
hours.

• I telephoned the balloon store. It being the day before our

wedding anniversary. I knew my wife would be surprised to
receive a dozen heart-shaped balloons.
HOW TO CORRECT –ing and to FRAGMENTS

Attach the fragment to the sentence that comes before it or to the

sentence that comes after it, whichever makes sense.
Add a subject and change the –ing verb part to the correct form of the
verb.
Change being to the correct form of the verb be (am, are, is, was, were)

When to appears at or near the start of a word group, a fragment

sometimes results.
Example: At the Chinese restaurant, Tim used chopsticks. To impress
his date. He spent one hour eating a small bowl of rice.

It can be corrected by adding it to the preceding sentence.

 CORRECTED
• Ellen walked all over the neighbourhood trying to find
her dog Bo.

• “We didn’t expect anything special.”

• “It was the day before our wedding anniversary.”

• At the Chinese restaurant, Tim used chopsticks to

impress his date.
 REVISE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE
FRAGMENTS
• The baboon waited for his challenger. Poised for
combat.
• He stared at the woman. Who had once been his wife.
• She hesitated briefly. Then blurted out her idea.
• His sculptures use four materials. Wood, iron, plastic,
and paper.
• A shortage of money, the illness of her father, a fear of
failure. These were her reasons for dropping out of
school.
 ANSWERS
• The baboon waited for his challenger. He was poised for
combat.
• The baboon, poised for combat, waited on his challenger.

• He stared at the woman. She had once been his wife.

• He stared at the woman who had once been his wife.

• She hesitated briefly; then she blurted out her answer.

• His sculptures use four materials: wood, iron, plastic and, paper
• A shortage of money, the illness of her father, a fear of failure –
these were her reasons for dropping out of school.
 ADDED-DETAIL FRAGMENTS
• Added-detail fragments lack a subject and a verb. They
often begin with one of the following words:
also especially except for example
like including such as
• Before a race, I eat starchy foods. Such as bread and
spaghetti. The carbohydrates provide quick energy.
• Bob is taking a night course in auto mechanics. Also, one in
plumbing. He wants to save money on household repairs.
• My son keeps several pets in his room. Including hamsters
and mice.
HOW TO CORRECT Added-detail FRAGMENTS

• Attach the fragment to the complete thought that precedes it.

“Before a race, I eat starchy foods such as bread and
spaghetti.”

• Add a subject and a verb to the fragment to make it a

complete sentence.
Bob is taking a night course in auto mechanics. Also, he is
taking one in plumbing.

• Insert a fragment within the preceding sentence.

“My son keeps several pets, including hamsters and mice, in
his room.
 MISSING-SUBJECT FRAGMENTS
Underline the word group in which the subject is
missing.
1. Alice loved getting wedding presents. But
hated writing thank-you notes.
2. Mickey has drink and potato chips for
breakfast. Then eats more junk food, like
beer and cookies, for lunch.
 RUN-ONS
A run-on is two complete thoughts that are run
together with no adequate sign given to mark
the break between them.
Some run-ons have no punctuation at all to mark
between the thoughts. Such run-ons are known
as fused sentences: they are fused, or joined
together, as if they were only one thought.
 FUSED SENTENCES
• Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet his favourite
show was on.
• My blow-drier shorted out I showed up for work with Harpo
Marx hair.
COMMA SPLICES – a comma is used to connect, or “splice”
together two complete thoughts HOWEVER, a comma is NOT
ENOUGH to connect two complete thoughts:
• Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet, his favourite
show was on.
• My blow-drier shorted out, I showed up for work with Harpo
Marx hair.
 HOW TO CORRECT RUN-ONS
Three common methods of correcting a run-on
are:
1. Use a period and a capital letter to break
the two complete thoughts into separate
sentences:
• Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet.
His favourite show was on.
• My blow-drier shorted out. I showed up for
work with Harpo Mark hair.
 HOW TO CORRECT RUN-ONS
2. Use a comma plus a conjunction(and, yet,
but, for, or, so, nor) to connect the two
complete thoughts:
• Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet,
for his favourite show was on.
• My blow-drier shorted out, and I showed up
for work with Harpo Marx hair.
 HOW TO CORRECT RUN-ONS
3. Use a semicolon to connect the two
complete thoughts.
• Mario told everyone in the room to be quiet;
his favourite show was on.
• My blow-drier shorted out; I showed up for
work with Harpo Marx hair.
• Semicolon with a Transitional Word
A semicolon can be used with a transitional word and a comma to join two
complete thoughts:
1. Larry believes in being prepared for emergencies; therefore, he stockpiles
canned goods in his basement.
2. I tried to cash my check; however, I had forgotten to bring identification.
3. Athletic shoes must fit perfectly; otherwise, wearers may injure their feet or
ankles.
4. A short nap at the end of the day relaxes me; in addition, it gives me the energy
to spend my evening on my homework.
5. Some zoo animals have not learned how to be good parents; as a result, baby
animals are sometimes brought up in zoo nurseries and even in private homes.
6. People use seventeen muscles when they smile; on the other hand, they use
forty-three muscles when they frown.
 ACTIVITY 1
Correct the following run-on sentences by putting a
period at the end of the first thought and a capital
letter at the start of the next thought.
1. The men at the door claimed to have paving
material left over from another job they wanted
to pave our driveway for a “bargain price”.
2. Linh, a paralegal who speaks Vietnamese, helps
other people from her country write wills she
assists others by going with them when they
have to appear in court.
3. Vicky has her own style of dressing she wore a
man’s tuxedo with a red bow tie to her cousin’s
wedding.
4. In the summer, ants are attracted to water they
will often enter a house through the dishwasher.
5. Humans have managed to adapt to any
environment they can survive in Artic wastes,
tropical jungles, and barren deserts.
6. A five year old child knows over six thousand
words he or she has also learned more than one
thousand rules of grammar.
 ACTIVITY 2
Insert the joining word (and, but, for, so) that logically connects the two thoughts in each
sentence.
1. Napoleon may have been a brave general, __ he was afraid of cats.
2. The large dog was growling at me,____ there were white bubbles of foam around his
mouth.
3. The library had just closed, ___ I couldn’t get any of the reserved books.
4. He checked on the new baby every five minutes, ___ he was afraid that something
might happen to her.
5. Angelina thought the milk was fresh,___ it broke up into little sour flakes in her coffee.
6. Elephants have no thumbs, ___ baby elephants suck their trunks.
7. Sattie heard a noise and looked out the window, ___ the only thing there was her
reflection.
8. Although I like most creatures, I am not fond of snakes, ___ I like spiders even less.
9. Troy wants to exercise more and use his car less, ___ he walks to the supermarket.
10.A young woman in our neighbourhood recently tried to kill herself, ___ her friend are
afraid that she will try it again.
 ACTIVITY 3
Add a complete and closely related thought to
go with each of the following statements. Use a
comma plus the indicated joining word when
you write the second thought.
1. But The corner store is convenient…
2. For I decided to leave an hour early…
3. And Iverene studied for an hour before
dinner…
4. So Paul can’t retrieve his E-mail…
 ACTIVITY 4
Correct each run-on with either a period and a capital
letter or a comma and a logical joining word. Do not
use the same method of correction for every sentence.
1. Gwinette got a can of soda from the refrigerator ,
the she walked outside to sit on the porch steps.
2. My dog was panting from the heat I decided to wet
him down with the garden hose.
3. The best-selling item in the zoo gift shop are the
stuffed pandas and the polar-bear T-shirts the profits
from these items help support the real animals in
the zoo.
 ACTIVITY 5
Insert a semicolon where the break occurs between the
two complete thoughts in each of the following sentences:
1. I changed the light bulb just last week now its blown.
2. Tanuja woke up at 2 A.M. to the smell of sizzling bacon
her husband was having another insomnia attack.
3. Sherlock peered into the microscope he saw only his
own eyelashes.
4. Daneshwari angrily punched a hole in the wall with her
fist later she covered the hole with a picture.
5. Three single mothers rent one house they share bills
and help each other out.
 SUBORDINATION
A fourth method of joining related thoughts is to use
subordination.
Subordination is a way of showing that one thought in a
sentence is not as important as another thought.
For example:
1. Because the library had just closed I couldn’t get any of the
required books.
2. I didn’t make good time driving to work today because every
traffic light was red.
3. The weather was cold and windy so Al brought a thick
blanket to the football game.
SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT