In Independent and Dependent Clauses you saw that only an independent clause can stand alone. A fragment is a piece of a sentence punctuated as if it were whole: it starts with a capital and ends with a period, but something is missing.
- No subject: “Ran all the way to the bus.” (Who ran?)
- No verb, or only an -ing word: “The man with the green umbrella.” “Running for the bus.” (See participles.)
- A dependent clause alone: “Because it rained.” “When the game ended.” “Which surprised everyone.”
Key idea
Every sentence needs a subject, a verb and at least one independent clause. A capital letter and a period don’t make a sentence.
Why it works
A fragment leaves the reader waiting: because it rained, what? Strunk’s sixth rule (1918) was “Do not break sentences in two,” or, as he put it, “do not use periods for commas.” Most fragments are pieces broken off the sentence next to them, so the fix is usually to join them back.
Worked example: Join a dependent clause
“We left early. Because the roads were icy.”
- “Because the roads were icy” has a subject and a verb, but because makes it dependent.
- It belongs to the sentence before it.
- Join them (no comma needed when the because-clause comes last).
Answer: We left early because the roads were icy.
Worked example: Join an -ing phrase
“Running for the bus. I dropped my lunch.”
- “Running for the bus” has no subject and no full verb.
- Attach it to the next sentence as an opener, with a comma.
- Check that the subject right after it is the one running: I. Good.
Answer: Running for the bus, I dropped my lunch.
Worked example: Add a verb
“The man with the green umbrella.”
- There is a subject, the man, but no verb.
- Add what he does.
Answer: The man with the green umbrella waved to us.
Common mistake
Writing a dependent clause or an -ing phrase as a sentence, often right after the sentence it belongs to. Read each sentence alone, out of order: does it make a whole statement? Writers sometimes use a fragment on purpose for effect (“Not a chance.”), in stories and ads. In school and formal writing, use complete sentences.