Fragments are grammatically incomplete sentences—they are phrases and dependent clauses. These are grammatical structures that cannot stand on their own: they need to be connected to an independent clause to work in writing. So how can we tell the difference between a sentence and a sentence fragment? And how can we fix fragments when they already exist?

Common Causes of Fragments

Part of the reason we write in fragments is because we often speak that way. However, there is a difference between colloquial speech and standardized academic English. Additionally, fragments often come about in writing because a sentence may already seem too long.

Gerunds, participles, and infinitives can often trip people up as well because they appear to be verbs, but when they occur in phrases, they need an additional verb that acts as a verb in the sentence. Let’s look at a few examples of these fragments:

• Running away from my mother.
• To ensure your safety and security.
• Beaten down since day one.

Words like since, when, and because turn an independent clause into a dependent clause. For example, “I was a toddler in 1999” is an independent clause, but, “Because I was a toddler in 1999” is a dependent clause. This class of word includes the following:

Relative pronouns, like that and which, do the same type of thing as those listed above.

Coordinating conjunctions (our FANBOYS) can also cause problems. If you start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction, make sure that it is followed a complete clause, not just a phrase.

As you’re identifying fragments, keep in mind that command (a.k.a. imperative) sentences are not fragments, despite not having a subject. Commands are the only grammatically correct sentences that lack a subject:

• Drop and give me fifty!
• Count how many times the word fragrant is used during commercial breaks.

Fixing Sentence Fragments

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:

1. Nicola appeared at the committee meeting last week. And made a convincing presentation of her ideas about the new product.
2. The committee considered her ideas for a new marketing strategy quite powerful. The best ideas that they had heard in years.
3. Ana spent a full month evaluating Matthew’s computer-based instructional materials. Which she eventually sent to her supervisor with the strongest of recommendations.

The phrase, “And made a convincing presentation of her ideas about the new product,” in example one contains no subject, so the easiest fix is to simply delete the period and combine the two statements:

Nicola appeared at the committee meeting last week and made a convincing presentation of her ideas about the new product.

There is no verb contained in the phrase “the best ideas they had heard in years.” By adding “they were” to the beginning of this phrase, we have turned the fragment into an independent clause, which can now stand on its own:

The committee considered her ideas for a new marketing strategy quite powerful; they were the best ideas that they had heard in years.

What about example three? Let’s look at the clause “Which she eventually sent to her supervisor with the strongest of recommendations.” This is a dependent clause; the word which signals this fact. If we change “which she eventually” to “eventually, she,” we also turn the dependent clause into an independent clause.

Ana spent a full month evaluating Matthew’s computer-based instructional materials. Eventually, she sent the evaluation to her supervisor with the strongest of recommendations.

As with run-on sentences, there are often multiple ways to solve the problem of fragments. We’re modeling some options for you here, but our models aren’t necessarily the only answers.