Fragments are not Your Friends! Why bad Fragments happen to good people…(just ask your cell phone provider).

Definition of Fragment Unlike a sentence, which contains a subject & verb that expresses a complete thought, a fragment DOES NOT contain a complete thought: After the semester is over in May. The semester is over in May.

There are FOUR causes of Fragments! See WR G5a-d, pp. 259-65

1. Phrases Definition: a group of words that lacks a subject, verb or both. by the table  near the corner before the concert after my last class (Prepostional phrases (WR: B3-a) begin with a preposition and end with a noun.)

Other types of Phrases cause Fragments as well (see WR: B3-B). Banning smoking at Bakersfield College. (Gerund) To spend another semester in English 50. (Infinitive) Written in less than an hour. (Participial)

2. Dependent Clauses Definition: a group of words that contains a subject & verb but CANNOT stand alone. After I drove to school. Since my classes start in the morning. Because I was working all weekend. (Dep. Clauses usually have a subordinating conjunction in front of the S/V. (WR: G5-a)

3. A List Definition: A list contains information but has no subject, verb, or complete thought. Coffee, milk, bread, Cheetos, & Heineken.  Working two jobs, taking fifteen units, volunteering, and coaching a sport.

4. FANBOYS without S/V 1) And driving two hours to work Definition: Using a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) at the beginning of a sentence WITHOUT a subject & verb after it. 1) And driving two hours to work everyday as well. 2) But is all day on Saturday! True or False: You never can start a sentence with And or But!!!

FALSE! Yes, Bart was coaching while going to RULE: You can always start a sentence with one of the FANBOYS as long as a subject and verb follows it: Yes, Bart was coaching while going to school! And he was driving two hours to work every day as well. But the class is all day on a Saturday!

Fixing Fragments 1. Add a subject, verb or both: By the door = I walked by the door. 2. Make Frag. a sentence (by deleting the word causing an incomplete thought). Although I enjoyed bowling last week. I enjoyed bowling last week. 3. Connect Frag to rest of sentence: She took advanced calculus. Yet had no fear. She took advanced calculus yet had no fear.