Grammar Talks Project

Sentence Fragments:

Sentence fragments are when sentences are not complete. To have a full sentence, you need to have a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. Basically, by taking one of those three things away, your sentence becomes a fragment. Some statements that people commonly say to othere, are often sentence fragments.

An example would be: “Then, volunteered to be a tutor for a local elementary school.”
In the sentence, there’s a verb and a complete thought, but there is no subject. Even though, it may look like a full sentence, it’s still considered a fragment. With the sentence alone, the reader does not know who is volunteering. Therefore making it a fragment because it cannot be understood by itself.

On the other hand, the sentence “I ran.” would not be a sentence fragment. It contains a subject and a verb, and can be fully understood by itself. So, even though it may be very short, the sentence would not be considered a fragment.

As a third example, we’ll use the following sentence: “Mangoes, the best fruit in the world.”
In this sentence, it’s missing a verb. The statement is a complete thought with a subject, but there is no verb that brings them together. Again, making it a sentence fragment.

In the end, sentence fragments are very common in day to day language. We usually use them when talking to one another in person or while texting. But, it’s good to keep in mind that while writing to complete your sentences. Just make sure it contains a subject, a verb and is a complete thought!