How to Spot a Sentence Fragment

People often have trouble deciding if a sentence is complete or not. If it is not complete, it is a sentence fragment. Follow the steps below to learn how to identify and fix sentence fragments.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Know the difference between independent and dependent clauses. Clauses are groups of words that contain a subject and a predicate. An independent clause is one that can stand on its own as a complete sentence. For example:I went to the store.A dependent clause is one that cannot stand on its own, usually because it is preceded by a subordinating conjunction. For example:Because I needed milk.

2. Make sure your sentence contains at least one independent clause. If it does not, it is a fragment. For example:Because I needed milk.This is a fragment because it consists of only a dependent clause with no independent clause.

3. To fix a fragment caused by a dependent clause, link it to an independent clause. Most dependent clause fragments can be remedied by making them part of the preceding or succeeding sentence. For example:I went to the store. Because I needed milk. This can be corrected by linking the fragment with the sentence preceding it:I went to the store because I needed milk.

4. Make sure transitive verbs have an object. A transitive verb is one in which the action is transferred from the subject to the object. For example: John threw hard.This is a fragment. Since "threw" is a transitive verb, John needs something to throw and thus the sentence requires an object. Intransitive verbs do not need an object. For example:You talk too much.This is a complete sentence even though there is no object.

5. To fix a fragment caused by a missing object, simply give the sentence an object. For example:John threw the ball hard.