Fragments are pieces of incomplete "sentences". Given that the minimum requirement to make a sentence is a SUBJECT + VERB, fragments either

Examples:

Will answer your question soon.

Was doing push-ups at the gym.

Has been missing since Friday.

Examples:

Antonio, who won the wrestling match.

The class which had won the pizza and ice cream party.

Everyone struggling to pay the bills and stay ahead of the creditors.

The person with the red hair

Examples:

Which means that you have to give the cookie back. (adjectival relative pronoun clause)

To ensure that the flight recorder on the new model airplanes were sound. (infinitive phrase)

Such as putting out a classified advertisement in the local newspaper.

Desperately wanting to finish school and get a job. (participial clause)

The fact that I'm swamped with work and plagued by car-pooling problems.

For example, taking a test or turning in a homework assignment.

Therefore, suffering the consequences of his negligence while driving.

Thus, ruining the architectural design.

Also, mowing the lawn and weeding the garden.

Because he had forgotten to bring his bathing suit. (adverbial clause)

While the pianist was playing at the bar.

After the couple met at the park.

During the extended trial for bank fraud.

Since the war had ended.

Even though the detective had spoken to the distraught woman.

In order to facilitate the lunch time order.

In spite of the fact that he had lost over 50 pounds and quit smoking.

Although the couple had invested in the business.

Read through the piece of writing. As you come to each sentence, make sure that you can identify a subject and a verb in each. Remember that you identify types of words in a sentence by their function within that sentence. Do not assume that a word is always a verb or any certain part of speech.

Stay attentive to the various types of fragments (such as those given above).

Add whatever is missing--be it a subject or a verb or both. Rephrase a fragment so that it is whole.

You may wish to add a fragment on to a sentence which it may belong to--such as one that comes before or after it. An example of this would be a dependent clause which could be attached to an independent clause--for a complete (complex) sentence.

You may wish to omit the fragment if the information it carries is not integral to your writing.

Directions: Write "F" by the fragment and "S" by the complete sentences (independent clauses).

Example: In the town square, I heard that there was going to be a meeting. S

Example: The hit-and-run driver who was caught by police. F

__________ 1. The bank drive-through, which was not open on Saturdays or Sundays.

__________ 2. The professor who flunked me in Statistics 102.

__________ 3. Apartment-sharing makes sense for those on low budgets.

__________ 4. The crew had sailed out for an hour from shore when the winds began to blow.

__________ 5. The unstable house was knocked over during a wind-storm.

__________ 6. The used car lot featured many spiffed-up 1980s models.

__________ 7. The Space Needle, which some refer to as the Eiffel Tower of Seattle.

__________ 8. The office assistant started the coffee at 6 a.m. before everyone started coming.

__________ 9. Child care expenses at $500 a month, apartment fees at $600, utilities at $60, phone charges at $30, and groceries at $200.

__________ 10. The expensive entree at the Italian restaurant with an impossible name.

__________ 11. After she had complained and gone through a lengthy official process of petitioning the board.

__________ 12. The baby spit up milk.

__________ 13. The due date having been moved up and the workers demanding higher pay.

__________ 14. Because the employer had shown discriminatory practices earlier.

__________ 15. The news shocked the nation.

__________ 16. When the sale began, many rushed to the store.

__________ 17. Heading south on I-5, he ran into a traffic jam.

__________ 18. The leather portfolio cost $50.

__________ 19. He marked the tagge board with a black pen.

__________ 20. Her demonstration was unsuccessful because it was poorly planned.

Directions: Correct the following fragments by adding information or details from your own imagination. There will not be set ways to correct the following. Each student's answers should be individualistic and creative. Write out your full sentences or independent clauses. Bring this back to a Writing Center tutor for feedback.

21. jumped into the pool with a splash

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22. whenever I eat food with MSG in it

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23. to get his Ph.D. in psychology

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24. for example, studying the penguins in Argentina or the polar bears in the North Pole

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25. food preservation techniques applied in the West

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26. therefore, resulting from the international agreement

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27. a friend of my uncle's

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28. after the earthquake in Manila

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29. the film I most want to see

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30. the books from the library's history section

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31. to be a high-achiever who has achieved full potential

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32. at the music store after the concert

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33. standing in the middle of the parking garage with his pajamas on

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34. after filing the report away for future reference

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35. grumbling about the rising taxes

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36. rode her bicycle in the rain all the way to work at Boeing

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37. to pay back his $2,000 debt

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38. even though he knew it was wrong and low-down

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39. after finding her diary in the attic

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40. through the bank's drive-through window

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41. because of the friction between the machine's moving parts

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42. when the pay-raises were announced

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43. to meet the basic requirements of an AA or AS degree

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44. because they did not have enough cash on hand

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45. after standing for hours in the rain and waiting in the slow-moving line

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46. by the way when you made that announcement at the meeting

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47. if you really believe this is true

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48. since the group celebrated its 40th anniversary

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49. crying as she ran down the hallway

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50. deciding on a wedding ring at the jewelry store

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Sources:

Peter Dow Adams' Basics: A Grammar and Punctuation Workbook and Ann Raimes's How English Works: A Grammar Handbook with Readings.

(Revised 1998)