A general rule: Every COMPLETE sentence must have a subject and a verb and must express a complete thought. A word group which lacks a subject or a verb or which does not express a complete thought is a FRAGMENT.

Following are the most common types of fragments:

1. Dependent-word fragments

2. "-ing" and "to" fragments

3. Added-detail fragments

4. Missing-subject fragments

5. Missing verb fragments

1. Dependent-word fragments:

Some word groups which begin with a dependent word are fragments. Here is a list of common dependent words:

after, how, until, although, though, if, even, if what, whatever and, in order, that when, whenever as nor where, wherever because or whether before since which, whichever but so while even though that, so that who for unless whose yet

Whenever you start a sentence with one of these words, you must be careful that a fragment does not result.

In the following, the word group beginning with the dependent word After is a fragment:

A dependent statement, that starts with a dependent word like After cannot stand alone. It depends on another statement to complete the thought. "After I stopped drinking coffee" is a dependent statement. We expect in the same sentence to find out what happened after the writer stopped drinking coffee.

When the writer does not complete the thought, a fragment results.

To correct the fragment above, simply complete the thought. Join both sentences together and change the period to a comma, as follows:

REMEMBER! Dependent statements by themselves are fragments: they must be attached to a statement that makes sense standing alone.

2. "-ing" and "to" fragments:

When there is an "-ing" word at or near the start of a word group, a fragment may result. Such fragments often lack a subject and part of the verb.

For example:

"Trying to find a suitable job" is a fragment because it lacks a subject and part of the verb. We can correct the mistake in the above example in the following way: I spent all day in the employment office, trying to find a suitable job.

When "to" appears at or near the start of a word group, a fragment often results:

"To remind people of their selfishness" is a fragment because no verb is needed when an infinitive is the subject. We can correct this mistake as follows:

3. Added-detail fragments:

Added-detail fragments lack a subject and a verb. They often begin with one of the following words:

Look at the following example:

This is how we correct the example above. You must attach the fragment to the complete thought which comes before it. Therefore, the selection above should be:

4. Missing-subject fragments:

People often say and write missing-subject fragments because they think the subject in one sentence will apply to the next word group as well. However, the subject, as well as the verb, must be in each word group to make it a sentence.

For example:

We can correct the example above by simply attaching the fragment to the preceding sentence.

Another example:

By adding a subject such as a pronoun standing for the subject in the preceding sentence, we can correct the selection above as follows:

5. Missing verb fragments:

People also often say or write missing verb fragments, often because they simply forget the verb. For example: My mother the nicest person I know. We can correct this problem by simply inserting the verb into the sentence thus:

Test Your Skill

A run-on sentence, which is a serious grammatical error, consists of two complete thoughts which are run together with no punctuation given to mark the break between them. Such run-ons are known as FUSED SENTENCES. They are fused, or joined together, as if they were only one thought. For example, look at these two fused sentences:

Rita decided to stop smoking she didn’t want to die of lung cancer.

In other run-ons, known as comma splices, a comma is incorrectly used to connect, or "splice together," two complete thoughts. However, a comma alone is not enough to separate two complete sentences. A punctuation sign stronger than a comma, such as a period, is needed. Here are two examples of comma splices:

To correct a run-on there are several options:

1. USE A PERIOD [.] AND A CAPITAL LETTER TO SEPARATE THE TWO THOUGHTS:

2. USE A COMMA [,] PLUS A JOINING WORD CALLED a CONJUNCTION

SUCH AS:

TO CONNECT THE TWO COMPLETE THOUGHTS:

3. USE A SEMICOLON [;] TO CONNECT THE TWO COMPLETE THOUGHTS: