 Correcting Sentence Fragments Make sure there is a subject and verb relationship.

Fragments without Subjects Needs a subject to modify  Staying up late and watching movies in the basement.  Driving fast to get to the sale. Corrected  The kids were staying up late, and watching movies in the basement.  I was driving fast to get to the sale.  David, driving fast to get to the sale, earned a ticket.

Fragments without Verbs Need a Verb  The teacher, proud of her students.  The technician, working hard. (This sentence needs an auxiliary verb.) Verbs Added  The proud teacher bought the students ice cream.  The teacher, proud of her students, bought them ice cream.  The technician was working hard.

-ing verbs  That last example is tricky. Yes, there is a subject (technician), and a verb (working). However, it does not complete a thought without the auxiliary verb was.)  To make it simple, read the sentence again. The technician, working hard. Do you notice that it doesn’t complete a thought. Is the technician working hard? Was the technician working hard? You just need more information.

-ing verbs as Gerunds  Sometimes –ing can be added to the verb to form a gerund.  Walking is my favorite form of exercise. Because walking is followed by the verb is, this is a complete sentence.  Talking in the theatre. There is no verb, so this is a fragment.  Talking in the theatre is rude. Talking becomes the subject. Is becomes the verb.  Once again, make it simple. Notice that talking in the theatre is not a complete thought.

Subordinating Conjunctions  A subordinating conjunction at the beginning of a sentence indicates a dependent clause. Therefore, it must be followed by an independent clause. Dependent ClauseComplete Sentence Until she leavesUntil she leaves, I’m in charge. As he ran the marathonAs he ran the marathon, he thought about his family. Since he learned the swimSince he learned to swim, we can’t get him out of the water.

Subordinating Conjunctions  Of course you can write the dependent clause at the end of the sentence as well. Notice how the punctuation changes. You do not use a comma if the the dependent clause follows the independent clause. Dependent ClauseComplete Sentence Until she leavesI’m in charge until she leaves. As he ran the marathonHe thought about his family as he ran the marathon. Since he learned the swimWe can’t get him out of the water since he learned to swim.

Common Mistakes  Even great writers have the occasional fragment because it’s easy to forget punctuation, or they don’t carefully edit their work. A common example is written below.  I need to buy supplies for the party. Such as, streamers, plates, and prizes. Corrected:I need to buy supplies for the party such as streamers, plates, and prizes.

More Common Mistakes  She stood watching in horror as the star player fell to the ground in agony holding her leg. While everyone was screaming.  Yes, there is a subject (everyone) and a verb (screaming). However, while introduces the dependent clause. It cannot stand alone.  While everyone was screaming, she stood watching in horror as the star player fell to the ground in agony holding her leg.

Remember  Don’t let the length of a sentence fool you.  Learn your subordinate conjunctions, and make sure the dependent clause does not stand alone.  Reread every sentence and make sure it expresses a complete thought.  A noun and a verb are not necessarily the subject and verb.