SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
The cues that signal a sentence are:
 capital letter at the beginning
 period (question mark, exclamation point) at the end
The readers and writer agree on these being the signals that indicate a sentence has been
written. A group of words that is punctuated in this way—as if it’s a sentence—but is missing one
of the essential three parts (subject, verb, complete thought), is called a sentence fragment.
A SENTENCE FRAGMENT DOES NOT EQUAL A SHORT SENTENCE!
Ex. Jack watches television. = a short sentence
Ex. When Jack watches television. = a fragment
3 COMMON TYPES OF
FRAGMENTS
1) Dependent fragment
The difference between the two groups of words above is the addition of the word “when.”
“When” is a dependent word that signals a dependent clause (DC) or group of words with a
subject and verb that cannot stand on its own. A dependent clause must be attached to a standalone sentence or independent clause (IC) —in order to make sense.
DC
IC
Ex. When Jack watches television, he always turns up the volume. = correct sentence
2) –ING phrase fragment
Ex. Flipping through the channels. = fragment
A phrase is a group of words that is missing either a subject or verb. Unlike a clause, a phrase
can NEVER stand on its own as a sentence, but it can be used as part of a sentence to provide
additional information.
Like the dependent fragment, an ING fragment must be attached to an independent clause in
order to make sense and be considered a correct sentence.
ING phrase
IC
Ex. Flipping through the channels, Jack searched for a good show. = correct
sentence
NOTE: IF an ING form of a verb is not preceded by a form of “to be,” it is part of a descriptive
ING phrase, NOT the verb of the sentence.
Ex. Jack is flipping through the channels. = Correct sentence
“Is flipping” is the main verb phrase
Ex. Jack flipping through the channels. = Fragment
Ex. Jack, flipping through the channels, found a good show. = Correct sentence
3) Added Detail Fragment
These fragments are descriptive phrases that usually begin with these signal words:
 Especially
 Such as
 Like
 Including
 Except
 For example
 For instance
Ex. Especially HBO, Comedy Central, and ESPN. = Added detail fragment
Added detail fragments are usually attached to the sentence before in order to make sense.
Ex. Jack loves the cable channels, especially HBO, Comedy Central, and ESPN. = correct
sentence
IDENTIFYING FRAGMENTS

Always read through your writing and look for any sentences beginning with a dependent
word, an ING word, or an added detail signal.

If a sentence begins with such a word, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve written a
fragment; it just means that you have to double check that you didn’t put the period too
soon, before you got to the stand-alone part of the sentence.

Another possible tactic for identifying fragments is to read your paper aloud from last
sentence to first. It’s usually easier to detect fragments when you read in reverse.
Dependent Words
before
since
after
when
that
even though although
because
unless
while
if
wherever
until
as
whether
that
in order
which
who/whose
Added Detail Signals
such as
including
for instance
especially
for example
except
like
Identifying fragments is only step one; then you have to correct them.
CORRECTING FRAGMENTS

Generally all you need to do to correct a fragment is to attach it to the sentence that
comes before or after it. You change the punctuation by either removing the period or
changing it to a comma.

If an ING phrase or dependent clause appears at the beginning of a sentence, you put a
comma after it. If it appears at the end of the sentence, you don’t need to put a comma
before it.
Ex. When Jack watches television, he always turns up the volume.
Ex. Jack always turns up the volume when he watches television.

Added detail fragments are corrected in the same way, although they usually do have a
comma before them.
Ex. Jack watches cable channels. Including HBO, Comedy Central, and ESPN. =
incorrect
Ex. Jack watches cable channels, including HBO, Comedy Central, and ESPN. =
correct

One exception is to add a verb to the added detail fragment to make it a complete
sentence. This usually works best with “for example” or “for instance” fragments.
Ex. Jack watches cable channels. For example, HBO, Comedy Central, and ESPN. =
incorrect
S
V
Ex. Jack prefers cable channels. For example, HBO, Comedy Central, and ESPN are among his
favorites. = correct

Remember if you want to vary your sentences, you can reverse the order of dependent and
independent clauses or phrases as long as the meaning remains the same:
IC
DC
Ex. Jack watches television until he goes to bed.
DC
IC
Ex. Until Jack goes to bed, he watches television.