An incomplete sentence is one that is missing a subject, a predicate, or both. It lacks the ability to express a comprehensive idea on its own and requires clarification. Missing subjects, verbs, or dependent clauses that are not connected to independent clauses are only a few of the causes of sentence fragments. An illustration of a sentence fragment is as follows:
“Running in the park.” (No subject)
- Example of a complete sentence: “I enjoy running in the park.”
“Because I was tired and hungry.” (No main clause)
- Example of a complete sentence: “Because I was tired and hungry, I decided to order takeout.”
“With a big smile on her face.” (No main clause)
- Example of a complete sentence: “She greeted us with a big smile on her face.”
“Jumping over the fence and into the yard.” (No subject or main clause)
- Example of a complete sentence: “The cat was jumping over the fence and into the yard.”
To fix sentence fragments, you can either add the missing subject or main clause or combine the fragment with a complete sentence to form a grammatically correct sentence.
Sentence Fragment in English with Examples:
Constructing whole, clear sentences is crucial in the worlds of grammar and writing. However, there are times when sentence fragments get into our writing, interfering with the coherence and flow of our ideas. Our ability to identify and correct sentence fragments as well as understand what they are can greatly improve our writing. We’ll examine the definition of sentence fragments in this blog article and offer practical examples to highlight how they work.
Identifying Sentence Fragments:
Recognizing sentence fragments is crucial for refining our writing. Here are a few key indicators that can help identify them:
- Missing Subject: A sentence fragment can be identified if it lacks a subject, which is the doer of the action or the entity being discussed. For example:
- “Running in the park.” This fragment lacks a subject and can be completed as: “I enjoy running in the park.”
- Missing Verb: A sentence fragment may be missing a verb, which expresses the action or state of being. For example:
- “With a big smile on her face.” This fragment lacks a verb and can be completed as: “She greeted us with a big smile on her face.”
- No Main Clause: A sentence fragment may lack a main clause, which is an independent clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. For example:
- “Because I was tired and hungry.” This fragment lacks a main clause and can be completed as: “Because I was tired and hungry, I decided to order takeout.”
Useful Examples of Sentence Fragments:
Let’s explore some additional examples to illustrate various types of sentence fragments:
Subordinate Clause:
- “After finishing my work.” This fragment is a subordinate clause and can be completed as: “After finishing my work, I went for a walk.”
Prepositional Phrase:
- “In the middle of the night.” This fragment is a prepositional phrase and can be completed as: “I woke up in the middle of the night.”
Infinitive Phrase:
- “To travel around the world.” This fragment is an infinitive phrase and can be completed as: “My dream is to travel around the world.”
Correcting Sentence Fragments:
To fix sentence fragments, we can employ a few strategies:
Add the Missing Subject or Verb:
- Fragment: “Jumping over the fence and into the yard.”
- Correction: “The cat was jumping over the fence and into the yard.”
Connect the Fragment to a Complete Sentence:
- Fragment: “Running in the park.”
- Correction: “I enjoy running in the park.”
50 Examples of Fragment Sentences:
Here is a list of 50 examples of Fragment sentences in English. These sentences will help you to memorize that these kinds or types of sentences are called fragment sentences:
- Running through the forest.
- Without any hesitation.
- Underneath the starry sky.
- Along the winding road.
- Hoping for a better tomorrow.
- Eating ice cream.
- In the corner of the room.
- Jumping over the hurdles.
- On top of the mountain peak.
- Without a care in the world.
- Because I said so.
- After the rain stopped.
- At the crack of dawn.
- Before the guests arrived.
- Without a second thought.
- In the middle of the chaos.
- During the summer vacation.
- After a long day at work.
- With a heavy heart.
- Behind the closed door.
- Without any explanation.
- Across the vast ocean.
- In the palm of my hand.
- Without looking back.
- Waiting for the bus.
- At the end of the movie.
- Without a doubt.
- Singing in the shower.
- In the dead of night.
- Wishing upon a star.
- Without any warning.
- On the other side of the river.
- Until the sun sets.
- Watching the sunset.
- In the back of my mind.
- Without a clear purpose.
- Without any support.
- Along the sandy beach.
- Behind the tall trees.
- With a broken heart.
- Daydreaming about the future.
- Without a plan in place.
- In the blink of an eye.
- Without any hesitation.
- Dancing in the rain.
- On the tip of my tongue.
- With a smile on her face.
- Without a moment’s notice.
- In the depths of despair.
- Without any direction.
Keep in mind that these are only sentence fragments and that full sentences must be added to create grammatically sound and meaningful claims.