Fragment: With the ultimate effect of all advertising is to sell the product.Main verb: A record of accomplishment began when you were first hired.Direct object: I've noticed a record of accomplishment beginning when you were first hired.Fragment: A record of accomplishment beginning when you were first hired.Direct object: They found toys of all kinds thrown everywhere.Complete verb: Toys of all kinds were thrown everywhere.Fragment: Toys of all kinds thrown everywhere.Appositive: Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper,' a story with deep thoughts and emotions, has impressed critics for decades.Direct object: She told a story with deep thoughts and emotions.Fragment: A story with deep thoughts and emotions.Some fragments are not clearly pieces of sentences that have been left unattached to the main clause they are written as main clauses but lack a subject or main verb. For academic writing and other more formal writing situations, however, you should avoid such journalistic fragment sentences. This is a conventional journalistic practice, often used for emphasis. You may have noticed that newspaper and magazine journalists often use a dependent clause as a separate sentence when it follows clearly from the preceding main clause, as in the last example above. Possible Revision: Because the current city policy on housing is incomplete as it stands, we believe the proposed amendments should be passed. Which is why we believe the proposed amendments should be passed. Fragment: The current city policy on housing is incomplete as it stands.Possible Revision: I need to find a new roommate because the one I have now isn't working out too well. Because the one I have now isn't working out too well. Fragment: I need to find a new roommate.Possible Revision: Coach Dietz exemplified this behavior by walking off the field in the middle of a game, leaving her team at a time when we needed her. Leaving her team at a time when we needed her. Fragment: Coach Dietz exemplified this behavior by walking off the field in the middle of a game.Possible Revision: Purdue offers many majors in engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. Such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. Fragment: Purdue offers many majors in engineering.Notice that the fragment is frequently a dependent clause or long phrase that follows the main clause. Punctuation and/or words added to make corrections are highlighted in blue. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined sentence.īelow are some examples with the fragments shown in red.

One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. This handout provides an overview and examples of sentence fragments.įragments are incomplete sentences. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.

Sentence fragment mean