Eliminating Sentence Fragments
A sentence fragment is a group of words presented as if it were a complete sentence, with
a capital letter at the beginning and a period at the end. A sentence fragment, however,
lacks a subject or a verb or both and does not express a complete thought. Eliminate
sentence fragments in one of four ways, depending on the type of the fragment.
1.
Add a subject when necessary, or join the fragment to another sentence.
Ex.amples:
INCORRECT
Charlie Chaplin was a multitalented man. Wrote, directed, and starred in his own films.
CORRECT
Add the pronoun HE to begin a new, separate sentence.
Charlie Chaplin was a multitalented man. He wrote, directed, and starred in his own
films.
Add a COMMA after Chaplin, DELETE was to create a nonessential clause.
CORRECT
CharlieChaplin, a mutitalented man, wrote, directed, and starred in his own films.
2.
Add a verb when necessary, or join the fragment to another sentence.
Examples:
INCORRECT
Grigori Rasputin, a Russian monk in Czar Nicholas’s court. He was assassinated in 1916.
CORRECT
Add a COMMA after court, DELETE He to combine the sentences.
Grigori Rasputin, a Russian monk in Czar Nicholas’s court, was assassinated in 1916.
3. Omit the subordinating conjunction, or connect the fragment to an independent
clause.
INCORRECT
Because she tirelessly helped the poor in Calcutta. Mother Theresa was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
CORRECT
Move the proper noun to the first sentence and begin the second sentence with a pronoun.
Mother Theresa tirelessly helped the poor in Calcutta. She was awarded the Nobel
Peace prize in 1979.
4. Attach a phrase to a related sentence.
INCORRECT
Leonard Bernstein received wide acclaim on Broadway. Notable for the score of West
Side Story.
CORRECT
Using a COMMA, attach the two sentences.
Leonard Bernstein received wade acclaim on Broadway, notably for the score of West
Side Story.
The Rio Grande Writing Center