Sentence Fragments Worksheet
A sentence fragment is a string of words that does not form a complete sentence; there is a necessary component of a complete sentence missing. This missing component may be a subject (usually a noun) or a predicate (verb or verb phrase) and/or when the sentence does not express a complete idea.
Here is an example of a fragment with a missing subject.
Example of a fragment: Shows no improvement in any of the vital signs.
(The sentence above is a fragment since there is no subject (Who shows no improvement?).
Fragments can be corrected by identifying the missing element and including it.)
Revision: The patient shows no improvement in any of the vital signs.
Here is an example of a fragment with a missing predicate, or action.
Example of a fragment: The doctors, who were using peer-reviewed research articles that contributed to the body of knowledge in their fields, which was obstetrics.
(Notice here that although the sentence is quite long, it still contains no action (What are the doctors doing?).
Once identified, the sentence can be corrected easily.)
Revision: The doctors, who were using peer-reviewed research articles that contributed to the body of knowledge in their field, improved their knowledge of obstetrics.
