Sentence Fragments What is a fragment Sentence fragments

Sentence Fragments

What is a fragment? �Sentence fragments occur when phrases are punctuated as sentences even though they are not actually sentences. �They may be missing a subject, a predicate, or are not a complete thought. (In other words…they might be dependent clauses, or phrases that are punctuated as sentences. )

Sentence fragments can be identified by using the following test: � 1) Turn the statement into a question by adding “wasn’t it? ” or “didn’t it? ” at the end. If you can not answer the question it is a fragment. Example: “The cold weather. ” � Test #1) The cold weather, didn’t it? � We cannot answer this because we don’t know what the cold weather did. Therefore this is a fragment. Example: “The cold weather delayed the game. ” � Test #1) The cold weather delayed the game, didn’t it? � Yes, it did. Therefore this is a sentence.

Sentence fragments can be identified by using the following test: � 2) Ask yourself whether the statement would convey a complete thought by itself, without the sentences surrounding it. �Ex. Because the cold weather delayed the game. This statement does not convey complete information. Since the phrase begins with “because, ” we expect some further piece of information to be related to the weather and the delayed game. This statement is a dependent clause.

Ways to fix fragments: � 1) If there is not a subject, add one. � 2) If there is not a predicate (verb), add one. � 3) If there is a dependent clause without an independent clause, you can: a) Add an independent clause, to make a complex sentence. � “Because the rain ended the game, we headed back home. ” b) Remove the subordinating word or words (Because, Due to, As a result of…) � “Because the rain ended the game. ”

Step 1= Identify the fragments � Although women's college basketball in Connecticut is a marvellously entertaining and popular sport. It is not hard to remember when it was not so popular. Hard to believe. Only a few years ago, my friends and I would go to a women's basketball game, and we could get seats for free near center court. Especially on Sunday afternoons. Of course, that was before names such as Rebeccca Lobo, Jenn Rizzotti, and Kara Wolters became household words. Lobo's book, HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE, which she wrote with her mother. A best-seller in Connecticut. If more than a couple of hundred fans showed up for a game it was considered a big turnout. Games were played in practically silent gyms. Because of the fans. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to buy tickets to a women's game, and you can't get seats. Unless you know someone.

Step 2= repair the fragments by combining sentences, or adding the missing part of the sentences. � Although women's college basketball in Connecticut is a marvellously entertaining and popular sport. It is not hard to remember when it was not so popular. Hard to believe. Only a few years ago, my friends and I would go to a women's basketball game, and we could get seats for free near center court. Especially on Sunday afternoons. Of course, that was before names such as Rebeccca Lobo, Jenn Rizzotti, and Kara Wolters became household words. Lobo's book, HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE, which she wrote with her mother. A best-seller in Connecticut. If more than a couple of hundred fans showed up for a game it was considered a big turnout. Games were played in practically silent gyms. Because of the fans. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to buy tickets to a women's game, and you can't get seats. Unless you know someone.

� 1. Although he had been an often decorated soldier during World War II and had fought many battles for the losing cause of liberalism in Congress. A. There is nothing wrong with the structure of this sentence. B. Run-on: put a comma after World War II. C. Run-on: put a semicolon after World War II. D. Fragment: put a comma after Congress and finish the sentence. � The correct answer is D

� 2. This is going to be the most difficult exam of your school career, you had better start studying for it immediately. A. There is nothing wrong with the structure of this sentence. B. Fragment: put a comma after immediately and finish the sentence. C. Run-on: replace that comma with a semicolon. � The correct answer is C

� 3. Right after the Christmas holidays and during those three weeks before class begins in January. A. There is nothing wrong with the structure of this sentence. B. Fragment: put a comma after January and finish the sentence. C. Run-on: put a comma after holidays. � The correct answer is B

� 4. She ran. A. There is nothing wrong with the structure of this sentence. B. Fragment: the sentence is too short and needs more details to be a complete thought. � The correct answer is A

� 5. Perplexed by the rising rates of inflation and alarmed by the decline in major construction projects. A. There is nothing wrong with the structure of this sentence. B. Run-on: put a comma after inflation. C. Fragment: put a comma after projects and finish the sentence. � The correct answer is C

� 8. Anabel realizes what she is doing, I think, but she doing it anyway. A. There is nothing wrong with the structure of this sentence. B. Fragment: we're missing part of a verb. C. Run-on: change the comma after doing to a semicolon. � The correct answer is B

� Indeed, who would have predicted ten years ago? That women's basketball so wildly popular? People have watched the growth of women's basketball in southern states. The enormous campus arenas at the state universities in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. The coach for Tennessee's team, Pat Summitt. She has achieved nearly godlike stature in that state. A tall, striking figure on- and off-court. Summitt commands respect. Wherever she goes. My youngest sister, Ruth Ann, who lives in Tennessee. She says you can't get near Pat Summitt after a game. "You'd think she was a rock star, " she says. Although Geno Auriemma, coach of the UConn women's team does not enjoy that kind of support. He is rapidly becoming a widely recognized figure. Because he appears frequently on TV news and sports shows.