1. Sentence Fragments

2. You might be wondering: "What is a sentence?" A sentence consists of 3 things: 1 subjectthe person, place, or thing performing or doing the action 2verbthe action 3complete ideathe reader isn't left waiting for another word/s When giving a command or instruction, the subject is often omitted because it is implied.  Sit down  Open your book  Stop talking This is known as imperative mood

3. Take a look at this sentence: I hit the ball. Subject=I Verb=hit Is it a complete idea? Yes.

4. A sentence doesn’t have to be long. Birds fly. Subject=birds Verb=fly Is it a complete idea? Yes.

5. What about… Although I went to the shop. Subject= I Verb= went Is it a completed idea?- No

6. Possible Errors… A sentence fragment tries its best to be a sentence, but it just can’t make it. It’s missing something. John working extra hard on his homework lately. This is missing part of the verb. John has been working extra hard on his homework lately. What’s it missing?

7. Possible Errors… John has been working extra hard on his homework lately. Has been spending hours on it every day after school. What’s it missing? This is missing a subject. He has been spending hours on it every day after school.

8. Correct these sentences if needed 1. John to the shop. 2. Is singing very well. 3. Open your book. 4. The opening of UIC in 2005 and for the first 10 years, was the only English speaking university in China. 5. I run. 6. He running late. 7. Am eating dinner right now. 8. We are learning grammar today.

9. Most Common Error… What’s it missing? Because I was hungry. This doesn’t give a completed idea. You are waiting to hear what happened because I was hungry. Because I was hungry, I ate lunch early. Because I was hungry, I started crying. Because I was hungry, I ate a whole chocolate cake.

10. Dependent-word fragments This type of error is a dependent-word fragment. Some words cannot be used to start an independent clause. These are called dependent words or subordinate conjunctions. A clause beginning with a dependent word needs additional information (in the form of an independent clause) to express a completed idea Because at the start of this clause leaves the reader asking “Because WHAT???”

11. Common dependent words

12. Be careful… Sometimes a sentence fragment can give you a great deal of information, but it’s still not a complete sentence : After the coach encouraged him so much last year and he seemed to improve with each passing game. Here we have a subject-verb relationship — in fact, we have two of them — but the dependent word after means that the idea is not complete, and therefore, not a sentence.

13. Correct/finish these sentences… 1. Before I went to the cinema. 2. While she was walking and listening to music. 3. Since the discussion on global warming. 4. Because I like singing and dancing. 5. Although they worked really hard. 6. Until I moved to China and became a teacher at UIC.