1. An LSCC Learning Center Self-Paced Tutorial
Sentence Fragment s
An LSCC Learning Center
Self-Paced Tutorial

2. Before We Begin… We need to know what a sentence really is.
A sentence is an independent clause.
A sentence has a subject (the person or thing who does something) AND
A predicate (simple verb or verb phrase)
A complete sentence answers the question:
Who did what?

3. Before We Begin… The subject is the actor.
The predicate is the action.

4. What is a Sentence Fragment?
There are four types of sentence fragment errors that most people commit:
No subject : Getting into the car
No one is doing this action!
No verb: James, without a ride to school
What is he doing about it?

5. What is a Sentence Fragment?
Only a phrase: Into the woods at night
Who did what?
Only a clause: While James sat on the couch,
What did he do?
Let’s learn how to fix them…..

6. Add a subject or verb The new Florida governor was
Added subject:
The new Florida governor was
getting into the car.
Added predicate:
James, without a ride to school,
arrived so late he was counted absent.

7. Hints for Recognizing Fragments
Sometimes fragments seem to have a subject and verb. Watch out for:
An “ing” verb without a helping/auxiliary verb:
Allen, working on his homework (fragment)
To fix this fragment, add the helping verb:
Allen was working on his homework.

8. Hints for Recognizing Fragments
An “ing” verb without a helping/auxiliary verb may also be a gerund (a verb form used as a noun):
Getting up early in the morning (fragment)
Getting up early in the morning is difficult for many people. (sentence) Gerund phrase is the subject of the sentence.

9. Hints for Recognizing Fragments 2
Subordinating conjunctions “kill” independent clauses (sentences) and make them dependent.
A subordinate clause also leaves unanswered questions about the main idea of the sentence.
I was planning a trip to the beach. (sentence)
While I was planning a trip to the beach
(fragment) What happened then?

10. Let’s See What You Know In the corner of the room
Fix these fragments:
In the corner of the room
Jane working on the assignment
After the rain began to fall
Settling into the new job
Sounds like a plan
Before we go on to the next step

11. Answers: The desk sat in the corner of the room.
Jane is working on the assignment.
After the rain began to fall, a rainbow appeared.
Settling into the new job may take weeks.
That sounds like a plan!
Before we go on to the next step, we should review what we already have covered.

12. So What Can I Do? Review Auxiliary verbs and how to use them
Subordinating conjunctions
Recognizing and diagramming subjects and predicates
Test with the logical question “who did what?”
Get extra help at the Learning Center