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Every way to fix a fragment

Name the kind of fragment first; the kind tells you which repair to reach for.

Run the two questions from Chapter 11 on the word group. Is there a subject and a complete verb? If not, it's a phrase fragment: add what is missing, or attach the phrase to the sentence next to it. If there is a subject-verb pair, is a subordinator holding it open? If so, it's a dependent-clause fragment: attach it to a neighboring independent clause, or drop the subordinator so it stands alone. Attaching usually reads better when the fragment gives a reason, time, or condition for the sentence beside it; dropping the subordinator works when the idea deserves its own sentence.

Spot it

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A group of words punctuated as a sentence that isn't actually complete.

Punctuated as a sentence, but missing a subject-verb pair or held open by a subordinator.

A dependent clause standing alone

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A clause with a subject and a verb that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Example

Because the bus broke down. → Because the bus broke down, we walked. or The bus broke down.

Fix: attach it to the sentence beside it, or drop the subordinator.

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A word (like because or although) that turns a clause into a dependent clause.

The word that holds the clause open; removing it is the second fix.

A phrase with no subject-verb pair

Term

phrase

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A group of related words with no subject-verb pair of its own.

Example

Running down the hallway. → She was running down the hallway.

Fix: add the missing subject or verb, or attach the phrase to a full sentence.

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A phrase built from a verb's -ing or -ed form that acts as an adjective.

Example

Hoping for a raise. She worked late. → Hoping for a raise, she worked late.

The -ing opener that names no one doing the action; attach it to a sentence whose subject does it.

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A noun together with all of its modifiers.

Example

A decision that changed everything. → The board made a decision that changed everything.

A noun and its describers with no verb, which names something but says nothing about it.

Choosing the repair