What is a fragment sentence in writing with examples? What are the types of sentence fragments? 

Back to: Academic and Professional Writing Unit 3

What is fragment sentence in writing with examples. What are the types of sentence fragments?

A sentence fragment refers to a phrase or clause that is written in the form of a sentence but does not have an element present as a subject or verb. Therefore, this makes it appear as an independent sentence in normative written English. A complete sentence in the English language is one that has a main clause with a subject and verb. However, a sentence fragment does not have one of the mentioned elements and hence, it isn’t able to present a complete thought independently. 

Types of Sentence Fragments

There are three main types of sentence fragments:

Missing a Subject:

In this type of sentence fragment, the subject may be missing even if the verb is present. 

For example: 

● is taking the car 

● sings under the moonlight 

● ran quickly towards the station 

Missing a Verb:

In this type of sentence fragment, the verb may be missing even if the subject is present. 

For example: 

● thin, fresh cucumbers 

● the rare scholar 

● a partridge in a pear tree, three french hens, and two turtle doves

Subordinate Clause Fragments:

This type of sentence fragment modifies a main clause or some part of it and always begins with a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions are followed by a comma before the clause they modify. Although a subordinate clause has both a subject and a verb, it cannot be used on its own. 

For example: 

● Although it was raining

● Until everyone knows her name 

● Once they learned the true meaning of Halloween 

The following tips should be taken note of to fix sentence fragments: 

1. Always add a subject. 

2. Do not forget to add a verb.

3. Use conjunctions to connect one fragment of a sentence with another. 

According to the Collins Dictionary, a sentence fragment is

“a phrase or clause written as a sentence but lacking an element, as a subject or verb, that would enable it to function as an independent sentence in normative written English.”