Meaning that tens of thousands of incidents remain undiscovered When the committee will vote to hire the candidate If the network can support additional devicesīecause they distort our understanding of freedom The subordinating word or phrase appears in italics: The examples below are dependent clauses. It should be connected to an independent clause, usually with a comma. Such a clause cannot be a complete sentence, as the term “dependent” suggests. The difference is that a dependent clause begins with a subordinating word or phrase like “although,” “if,” “when,” or “which.” This subordinating word suggests that the clause’s meaning is not complete, and it makes the clause dependent. Like an independent clause, a dependent clause also includes a subject and its verb. Independent clauses and dependent clauses look and sound a lot alike, which is why sentence fragments occur. Most sentence fragments occur when a dependent clause is punctuated as a full sentence. Tens of thousands of incidents remain undiscovered. The committee will vote to hire the candidate. They can distort our understanding of freedom. The artist is painting a beautiful landscape. In the examples of independent clauses below, the subject is in boldface the verb is underlined, and the remaining elements of the sentence are in regular type: To be a full sentence, a group of words must include an independent clause, which consists of a subject, its verb, and any remaining elements. Understanding What a Sentence Fragment Is This handout will help you learn how to recognize sentence fragments in your writing and convert those fragments to full sentences. The university should have a policy to guide internet use during tests. Because nearly every student brings a laptop or other device to class. * Which indicates a significant increase in performance.įragments can be confusing if readers cannot determine whether the fragment’s meaning is meant to connect to the sentence that precedes or follows it, as in this example:Ī strong, reliable wireless network on campus is important. * Meaning this essay will focus on recent developments in classroom technology. * Because nearly every student brings a laptop or other device to class. * Although the office closes at 4:30 p.m. The sentences below are examples of fragments: Word Order in Statements with Embedded QuestionsĪ “sentence fragment” is a group of words that that has been punctuated as a full sentence, but that does not actually meet the requirements for a full sentence.Using Reduced Relative Clauses to Write Concisely.The Three Common Tenses Used in Academic Writing.Same Form, but Different Functions: Various Meanings of Verb+ing and Verb+ed.Reducing Informality in Academic Writing.Improving Cohesion: The 'Known/New Contract'.Combining Clauses to Avoid Comma Splices, Run-ons, and Fragments.Choosing Between Infinitive and Gerund: “To do” or “doing”?.

I will watch The Office while you do your homework. I will watch The Office you do your homework.

Some subordinating conjunctions are: when, while, because, as, although, if, though, since Incorrect: adding a subordinating conjunction to make one sentence out of the two clauses. I was too tired to go to the store, but the guys shopped for three hours. I was too tired to go to the store the guys shopped for three hours. The coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, or, so, for, yet, nor. using a comma with a coordinating conjunction to separate the clauses. Mary came home from work early she had been feeling ill all morning. inserting a semicolon between them, if the two clauses are very closely related. Mary came home from work early we worked hard on our project. dividing the clauses into two sentences by inserting a period between them. use a comma with either a coordinating or subordinating conjunction.insert a semicolon between the two clauses.Before deciding how to fix a run-on, however, examine the clauses that make up the sentence.ĭecide what the main purpose of the sentence is, then choose one of the following methods to rewrite the sentence for clarity: There are several ways to correct a run-on sentence. Helen cooked dinner therefore, Ralph will wash the dishes. Helen cooked dinner therefore Ralph will wash the dishes.

He will return. fragment sentence