MEANING OF PHRASE SENTENCE FRAGMENT FULL

A complete sentence starts with a capital letter.

The reason is that they cannot afford to work part-time. A complete sentence is a sentence that has a subject, a verb, and an object. (3) Many single parents leave their babies in day nurseries for the whole day. What Is a Sentence Fragment Meaning and Definition. The solution is to either use a comma instead of a full-stop, as in (2), or to make the dependent clause into a sentence, as in (3): (2) Many single parents leave their babies in day nurseries for the whole day, because they cannot afford to work part-time. They have to be part of some larger structure, such as a main clause. The problem is that the second orthographic sentence (see definition below) is just a dependent clause, and dependent clauses cannot stand on their own. Because they cannot afford to work part-time. In (1) we can see a typical example of a sentence fragment: (1) Many single parents leave their babies in day nurseries for the whole day. The examples below are intended to show how a fragmentation can affect a sentence, and what can be done to improve the sentence in question. an orthographic sentence, see definition below), but which does not contain a main clause.

MEANING OF PHRASE SENTENCE FRAGMENT FULL

Another way of putting this is to say that a fragmented sentence is something that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (i.e. If you are telling a story, a few fragments might suit your purpose and style well, but if you are writing an essay or crafting a business document, it’s best to steer clear of them.A fragmented sentence is a sentence that cannot stand on its own, since it is not a complete sentence. And he did is a sentence beginning with a conjunction, and it’s a one-sentence paragraph.Īs always, judge for yourself who your audience is and how much wiggle room you have for breaking the rules. Your high school English teacher would find three things wrong with this description. All the same, he was determined to astound us. No one thought that Ethan could make the jump it was just too high. Journalists, bloggers, and fiction writers often use them. That said, a fragment within a clear context can sometimes serve a valid dramatic purpose. Without question, you should avoid sentence fragments in formal situations and academic writing. READ MORE: When (and how) to fix sentence fragments Stylistic sentence fragments Fragments can sound as if they are carelessly blurted out. It’s a subtle psychological difference, but if you are corresponding in a formal setting, it is worth taking care to write complete sentences. Adding the subject will build a stronger, more confident-sounding sentence: Another famous example of a short-but-complete sentence is “Jesus wept.”Īvoiding sentence fragments not only makes your writing easier to read, but it can also make you sound more polished in polite correspondence. Nothing in the sentence demands further explanation. I ran may be a short thought, but it has a subject ( I) and a verb ( ran). But that doesn’t mean that short sentences can’t be complete. In that example, making the sentence longer was the solution.

Sam is my friend and Melanie is my friend. A sentence fragment is an incomplete thought or line that lacks the grammar or punctuation that would make it form a whole sentence. Run-on sentences can be corrected by separating them into two sentences, by making a compound sentence, or by making a complex sentence. Now the fragment has become a dependent clause attached to a sentence that has a subject ( the party) and a verb ( was canceled). A run-on sentence (or fused sentence) has two or more clauses that are not correctly connected. Sentence fragments are usually missing a subject. They can occur when the subject or the main verb in a sentence is missing OR when the sentence begins with a word that forces it to be dependent on another sentence to complete its meaning (dependent clause). To complete it, we need further explanation:īecause of the rain, the party was canceled. A sentence fragment is a group of words that looks like a sentence, but actually isnt a complete sentence. Fragments are sentences that are not complete or cannot stand alone. It leaves us wondering what happened because of the rain. On its own, because of the rain doesn’t form a complete thought. Here is a glaring example of a sentence fragment: Complete sentence/independent clause SUBJECT + VERB. For example, you could hide under their beds and wait for dark.īoth remedies result in structurally sound sentences. Fragments are sentences that are not complete or cannot stand alone. There are many ways to frighten little brothers.

Meaning of phrase sentence fragment