Basics about Fragments
Now that you understand what a sentence needs to be complete, we can discuss how to avoid and fix incomplete sentences (called "fragments"). Read the following sections to learn about this common writing error.
Fragment Red Flags
Dependent
word fragments can be the trickiest to spot because they generally do
contain a subject and a verb (which would indicate a complete sentence
were there not a dependent word there). Anytime you see a dependent
word, you should check the sentence to make sure it has a complete
thought. However, there are a number of other words and types of words
that you should also think of as "red flags" if they are at or near the
opening of a sentence because they often lead to fragments.
- verbs that end in "ing" (such as "walking")
- verbs that have "to" in front of them (such as "to walk")
- for example
- especially
- including
- such as
*It should be noted that if the only verbs a sentence contains are verbs that end in "ing" or verbs that have "to" in front of them, it is missing a technical verb and is a fragment