1. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
FRAGMENTS
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

2. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Fragment:
A group of words that does not have a subject, verb or does not make sense.
Fragments are serious grammatical errors and should be avoided at all costs. In fact, if you continue to write fragments, you will not pass any writing class.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

3. Think of a fragment as uncompleted puzzle
Think of a fragment as uncompleted puzzle. There is an essential part which is missing.
We were under the umbrella.
When the rain began.
fragment
sentence
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

4. Correct! we were under the umbrella. When the rain began, sentence
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

5. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
When you are not sure whether a group of words is a fragment, ask yourself three questions.
Does it have a subject?
Does it have a verb?
Does it make sense?
If you answer, “ Yes!,” to all three, then you have a sentence! 
If one part is missing, you have a fragment. 
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

6. Examples of fragments What’s missing?
Went to the store.
Ate the biggest pizza in history.
Saw the grand canyon in the middle of the night.
Jumped into the convertible in a split second.
Scored some points with a friend.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

7. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Subject is missing!
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

8. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
What’s missing?
The deer hunter who was the bravest of them all.
The Saturday when all of us got together.
The book which had a red cover.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

9. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Verb is missing!
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

10. More fragments What’s missing?
After the football game was over.
Unless you bring your assignment to class on Monday.
If you are in the area and would like to use my car.
Before the telephone call was made.
When we were completing our phone call.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

11. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Do not make sense!
You might have been confused by the last group of fragments because all of them did have what might have been considered a subject and a verb. But when you read them closely, they still don’t make sense.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

12. Now we are ready for some practice.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

13. Identify and correct if necessary.
1. An orange tree and a vine.
2. Behind the old shed where much lumber was piled.
3. Put the tea here.
4. It is interesting and humorous.
5. When the dawn came at last.
6. Fluffy, our long-lost dog.
7. Pitching and tossing on the ocean at night.
8. That is a good idea.
9. The operation table which is in room 204 in the west wing.
10. The conclusion, therefore, is valid.
Cheat notes:
Subject?
Verb?
Makes sense?
Answers on next slide
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

14. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Answers
F 1. An orange tree and a vine are planted.
F 2. Behind the old shed where much lumber was piled, we found a horseshoe.
C 3. Put the tea here.
C 4. It is interesting and humorous.
F 5. When the dawn came at last, we were happy.
F 6. Fluffy, our long-lost dog, came home.
F 7. Pitching and tossing on the ocean at night, the sail boat made it through the night.
C 8. That is a good idea.
F 9. The operation table which is in room 204 in the west wing is a lucky table.
C 10. The conclusion, therefore, is valid.
Although corrections have been added, these fragments can be corrected in a variety of ways. To be able to identify fragments is the first step, but to be able to correct fragments is the next important step. For uncorrected fragment is still a fragment.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

15. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
correct
Cheat notes:
Subject?
Verb?
Makes sense?
1. Whenever he plays Bach’s music.
2. Let’s go the the park.
3. As he lay the music on the podium.
4. She sang beautifully.
5. The ocean waves were huge.
6.. Listening to the Beatles at two in the morning.
7. The train is whizzing along its merry way.
8. That is a great piece of music.
9. Was working for him last night.
10. Making some breakfast coffee at five in the morning.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

16. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Answers
F 1. Whenever he plays Bach’s music, he goes crazy.
C 2. Let’s go the the park.
F 3. As he lay the music on the podium, the conductors hands were trembling.
4. She sang beautifully.
5. The ocean waves were huge.
F 6. We were sipping some tea while listening to the Beatles at two in the morning.
7. The train is whizzing along it’s merry way.
8. That is a great piece of music.
F 9. The accountant was working for him last night.
F 10.While we were making some breakfast coffee at five in the morning, we made plans for the day.
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC

17. Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
Assignment
1. The ocean breeze is usually moist.
2. The boat with a huge sail.
3. The waves were thunderous.
4. Surfing all afternoon long.
5. We all slept in a popup trailer.
6. Unless you put up the umbrella.
7. While we were preparing to fry some fish.
8. Under the bridge, the fish were gathering.
9. Under the tent.
10. We were going to the beach to sunbath.
Cheat notes:
Subject?
Verb?
Makes sense?
Creator, José J. González, Jr., Spring 2002
STCC