1. The Frustrating Fragment

2. Fragment means piece! A sentence fragment is a group of words, only a piece of a sentence, pretending to be a sentence… A sentence needs 3 things: it must have a subject It must have a verb it must be a complete thought. felt alone in the house is a fragment, it has no subject. She alone in the house is a fragment, it has no verb. Although he was alone in the house is a fragment, because it is not a complete thought.

3. What causes fragments? Dependent word fragments - “ing” and “to” fragments Added detail fragments Missing subject fragments

4. Dependent word fragment After her boyfriend left Since he made his first million Whoever opened my mail A dependent-word fragment is created when you have a dependent clause all by itself. Remember that dependent clauses are needy and must combine with independent clauses to become complete. To correct them, an independent clause is needed. After her boyfriend left, she could not sleep. Since he made his first million, he’s been a snob. Whoever opened my mail is very nosy. These are no longer fragments, they are now complete sentences.

5. Practice correcting dependent word fragments Check the exercises on page 165-6.

6. “ing” and “to” fragments “He was still in the house, trying to find his keys.” Or you can add a subject to the fragment: “He was still in the house. He was trying to find his keys.” A “to” fragment is similar: “Juanita went to the store. To buy some tortillas.” The easiest way to fix it is to make it one sentence: “Juanita went to the store to buy some tortillas.” Sometimes using a verb that ends in –ing or begins with “to” can result in a fragment. “He was still in the house. Trying to find his keys.” You can correct it by putting a comma after house and making the capital letter a small one instead:

7. Practice correcting –ing and to fragments Check the exercises on pages 168-9.

8. “added detail fragments” An “added detail” fragment lacks a subject and a verb. They often begin with a word like: also especially except for example including such as “My car has problems. Such as, a broken windshield.” To fix it, you can add it to the previous sentence: “My car has problems, such as, a broken windshield. Another solution is to add a subject and verb: “My car has problems. One problem with my car is the broken windshield.

9. Practice correcting added detail fragments Check the exercises on page 170-1.

10. “Missing subject fragments” Missing subject fragments are missing a subject. Well, duh! “My dog loves to stick out his tongue. And drool all over the place.” There are two ways to fix this fragment: First, make it all one sentence by dropping the period and the capital letter: “My dog loves to stick out his tongue and drool all over the place.” Or make it two complete sentences: “My dog loves to stick out his tongue. He drools all over the place.”

11. Practice correcting missing subject fragments Check the exercise on page 172.

12. Don’t be Frustrated by Fragments Just proofread for a sentence that is missing a subject or a verb and you are well on your way to fixing that fragment.