1. Short Simple Sentences and Fragments
By: Christine Silvana and Michele Collado

2. Short Simple Sentences
A short simple sentence, strictly defined, has a subject and verb:
Consists of one independent clause
A simple sentence may have
A compound subject
A compound verb
A modifier (word that describes subject/noun)
An object or a complement

3. Examples of Short Simple Sentences
Beth reads very slowly.
She runs fast.
Kerri and Cody love each other very much.
The piano or the bookcase has to go.
Neither a tall man nor a short man lives in that house.
Tommy and Harry read and enjoy novels and newspapers.

4. NOT a Short Simple Sentence
To not be a short simple sentence, the sentence would have to have more than one independent clause.
Ex; Tom reads novels, but Jack reads comics.
S.S.S do not have commas.
Hortative/ Imperative sentence: usually a short sentence; urging and often gives a direction.

5. Rhetorical and Stylistic Strategies of S.S.S
S.S.S can get boring, but can be rhetorically effective in a number of situations:
After several long sentences
As a summary of what the writer just said
As a transition between sentences or paragraphs
Essentially, one or two s.s.s create emphasis by contrast.
When you juxtapose (compare) one or two simple sentences with several longer ones, you call attention to the s.s.s.

6. Example
“The question is not whether it is good or bad to import workers or export jobs. The problem is that society has hit an emotional road block. My country is one tremendously divided with pro-business and pro-worker stubbornly pitted against each other. We’re anxious. We’re angry. Neither side wants to give and nothing can be solved until we acknowledge one crucial fact.” –Claudia O’Keefe’s essay “The Traveling Bra Salesman’s Lesson”
Notice the s.s.s stands out and adds emphasis.

7. Practice on Short Simple Sentences
“The air show announcer hushed. He had been squawking all day, and now he quit. The crown stilled. Even the children watch dumbstruck as the slow, black biplane buzzed its way around the air. Rahm made beauty with his whole body; it was pure pattern, and you could watch it happen. The plane moved every way a line can move, and it controlled three dimensions, so the line carved massive and subtle slits in the air like sculptures.” Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life”

8. Practice on Short Simple Sentences
“The air show announcer hushed. He had been squawking all day, and now he quit. The crowd stilled. Even the children watch dumbstruck as the slow, black biplane buzzed its way around the air. Rahm made beauty with his whole body; it was pure pattern, and you could watch it happen. The plane moved every way a line can move, and it controlled three dimensions, so the line carved massive and subtle slits in the air like sculptures.” Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life”

9. Practice on Short Simple Sentences (Continued)
Joe waited for the train.
The train was late.
Mary and Samantha took the bus.
I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.
Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.

10. Practice on Short Simple Sentences (Continued)
Joe waited for the train.
The train was late.
Mary and Samantha took the bus.
I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.
Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.

11. Fragments
A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that readers understand to be complete.
Some fragments are missing a subject, verb, or both.
Others do not have a complete thought.

12. Fragment Example #1
“Wouldn’t it be better for the kids if the mother stayed at home?” No offense, but no.
The sentence has neither a verb nor a subject.
Without the sentence before it, the reader would not know what is being talked about.
“Wouldn’t it be better for the kids if the mother stayed at home?” No offense, but it would not be better.
Written as a complete sentence

13. Fragment Example #2 Hurry, I urge my country. Before it’s too late.
Fragment created by a sentence without a complete thought.
Hurry, I urge my country, before it’s too late.
By connecting the two, you’ve created a complete sentence.

14. Rhetorical and Stylistic Strategies of Fragments
What is important is that you use a fragment the same way you use a s.s.s, deliberately, for a special reason:
To make a transition
To signal a conclusion
To emphasize an important point
Hurry, I urge my country. Before it’s too late.
Fragment is intentionally used as a separate sentence to slow the reader down and emphasize the importance of time.
Both a s.s.s and an effective fragment focus your reader but use them sparingly. Overused, they lose their punch.

15. Fragment Practice