Of the snowstorm, comma, we stayed home from school, period. Of the snowstorm, period, that wouldn't be a sentence. And if it were just we, period, that also wouldn't be a sentence. Home from school, period, that wouldn't be a sentence. So we've got this sentence here, this independent clause, right. Something could happen, but we don't know what that is, so, because of the snowstorm, Have, doesn't really have a subject or a verb. What we call, not even a, I mean it's not even aĭependent clause, right? It, this thing doesn't Why not? - Well youĭon't tell what happened because of that snowstorm.

All right, what aboutīecause of the snowstorm? Is that a sentence, Beth? - Nope. Then you've got the part that finishes the thought, Got a part that names, that's your subject, and Or something performed by that noun our pronoun. Have to have something happen to that noun or pronoun, So you need to have a thing, like a noun, or a pronoun, and then you Order to be a sentence, you need to have both a Right, we're telling about something but we don't know what. To be a sentence either, that's also a fragment. Similarly, if we just had this predicate, and we just said it began ten years ago, oh, that's not enough Here, the whole story, and now we've given it a predicate. All right, so, the whole story began 10 years ago. Would call a predicate, in other words, so we're giving a subject, but we're not telling what Is the whole story missing? - Well we've got a subject but we don't have what we That cannot stand on its own, but nevertheless, incorrectlyĮnds with a period. The way I would put it, is that a fragment is a piece of a sentence So sentence fragments don't tell the whole story. Or it might include who but doesn't tell what happens. Maybe what happens, but doesn't include who, A sentence fragment is whenĪ student writes a sentence and they think it's a sentence, but it's one that tells So today weĪre going to talk about sentence fragments, andīeth you cover these in classes that you teach. I was done with the exam I put my pen and paper down and was waiting for the teacher to start collecting papers.Grammarians, David here along with my cousin Beth whoĪlso happens to be a teacher.

Since I was done with the exam, I put my pen and paper down, waiting for the teacher to start collecting papers. We can join them either using a comma or a conjunction.

Unattached phrases must be made part of a complete sentence. Waiting for the teacher to start collecting papers. Since I was done with the exam, I put my pen and paper down. The easiest way to count the number of clauses in a sentence is to count the number of verbs, then find their corresponding subjects. Since you drew the short straw, you must walk to the gas station while we stay here. I am upset that it is snowing in the middle of April. As the following examples illustrate, a sentence may consist of a single clause or may contain multiple clauses: One clause: In English, a clause is defined as a unit that contains both a verb and its subject. In order to understand how these errors occur, it is first necessary to define clauses in English. This happens to be my life nowadays.Īside from typographical errors, the two most common causes of fragments are the misuse of subordinators and the misuse of prepositions. Correct:Īfter the classes, I am going to the library. In the first sentence, introduce the subject and in the second add the main verb.

There are many ways to correct the sentences above.

Whay does a sentence fragment mean