Fragments

A simple definition of a fragment is “a string of words that ends with a period but is not a complete sentence.”  Although we often speak in fragments, we have to be careful not to write fragments.

A sentence is a complete thought.  A fragment isn’t a complete thought.

Use this trick to find fragments:

Read the sentence out loud to yourself with the words “I think that…” at the beginning.  For example, if you had the sentence

Gasoline is too expensive.

you would say out loud:

I think that gasoline is too expensive.

Does that make sense?  If so, then “Gasoline is too expensive” is a sentence.

Try this one:

To stop global warming from cooking the planet.

To check this one, say out loud:

I think that to stop global warming from cooking the planet.

That doesn’t really make sense, does it?  “To stop global warming from cooking the planet” is not a sentence.

Which ones of the following are fragments and which are not?

1.	I like Thailand.

2.	The people who drive gas-guzzling cars.

3.	Before we vote on the measure.

4.	The mayor will meet with me today.

5.	The happy-go-lucky young man winked at the lady in the yellow dress.

6.	Attempting to reduce the smog over Los Angeles.

7.	She rode her mountain bike through the Appalachians.

8.	When it is ready.

9.	It was all set except for that last problem.

Length Mistake

Many students think that if something is long, it can’t be a fragment.  They also think that something that is short must be a fragment.  But this is not true.  Whether a sentence is a fragment or not has nothing to do with length!

The following sentence is short, but it is still a complete sentence:

I ran.

This one is very long, but it is still a fragment:

Without thinking about the situation very carefully, and with only the desire to hurry up and get home so I could final, at long last, take that long, hot, bubble bath that I had been dreaming of throughout that frustrating and exhausting day.

Whether a sentence is a fragment or not is a matter of grammar, not length.  This means that you have to pay attention to what the sentence is actually saying, rather than just trying to guess by how long it is.

 Which ones of the following are fragments and which are not?

1.	It’s great!

2.	Whenever the sun sets over the ocean and the clouds line the top of the sky with their brilliant red-gold fringe.

3.	To dream.

4.	Joe sat.

5.	The little stream flowed at the end of the lawn bordered by a row of cottonwood trees which filled the air with their cotton.

6.	Students eager to begin learning everything there is to know about English and to improve their reading and writing skills.

Group Work

Find and fix all the fragments in these exercises.  Notice how you actually have to stop and think about each sentence separately to see if there is a fragment.

1.	I am going to make a big dinner.  Because I am very hungry.

2.	He really annoys me because he is always chattering on and on.  After I have told him many times to stop.

3.	Sandra is the best employee we have ever had.  She is the most conscientious employee.  The hardest working one, too.

4.	The reason why I can’t go to the party.  My best friend’s girlfriend just dumped him, and I have to be there so he can cry on my shoulder.

5.	I’ll have to ask my mother.  If it is ok for me to stay at the party until midnight.

6.	Joe will take 18 units this semester.  Although he could barely handle 15 units last semester.

Find and fix all the fragments in this paragraph.  You can join sentences or change the words.  When you are done rewriting the sentences, read the last one first, and check it, then keep moving up to the next one, and so on, until they are all checked.

According to most scientists.  The world is already seeing the effects of global warming.  The melting ice in Antarctica and Greenland.  The greater number of hurricanes.  Some animals are moving farther north to find the temperatures they are used to.  Scientists predict that the climate will change.  Even more rapidly in the next ten years.  Carbon dioxide in the air is a major cause of global warming.  Because it insulates the earth like a warm coat, stopping heat from escaping into space.  There is 30% more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than at the start of the Industrial Revolution.  Emissions from cars, trucks, and other machines.