Our incomplete sentence checker not only identifies fragments it also enables you to fix sentence fragments online free by recommending corrections for the errors it detects. An alternative is to use sentence fragment corrector software like ours to identify incomplete sentences in your text. Identifying them is not as easy as it sounds and proofreading and editing for sentence fragments can be a time-consuming and difficult process and you still may miss some mistakes. If they are missing a subject, a verb or fail to express a complete thought then they are a sentence fragment. Q: How do you identify incomplete sentences and how can I check if a sentence is correct online?Ī: Sentence fragments can be detected by checking to see if they have all 3 of the elements required to make a complete sentence. These are generally caused by beginning a phrase with the transitions especially, for example, for instance, like, such as, including, excluding, and except. They are usually offset by commas and add additional clarifying or identifying information to the main subject but lack action verbs. An appositive defines or explains the preceding noun or pronoun. A participle phrase usually begins with a verb ending in “-ing” or “-ed” are not able to express a complete thought on their own. Subordinating conjunction such as because, although, since or when at the beginning of a sentence makes it a dependent clause and a sentence fragment unless supported by an independent clause. ✓ Starting a sentence with subordinating conjunction.To be a complete sentence a group of words must have a subject and a verb. Some of the most common causes of incomplete sentences include: Example: “Lisa passed the test because she studied hard.”Ī: Sentence fragments can happen for many different reasons. The error can be corrected by adding an independent clause. Example: “Because she studied hard.” In this case, the fragment doesn’t express a complete thought due to the subordinating conjunction making the sentence a dependent clause.

There are several reasons a group of words may not express a complete thought including participle phrases, subordinating conjunctions and phrases that begin with an infinitive. A group of words can have a subject and a verb but still fail to be a sentence because it fails to express a complete thought. Example: “The horse jumped over the fence.” Example: “Over the fence.” To fix the incomplete sentence add a subject and verb. When both subject and verb are missing the reader doesn’t know who did what. Example: “One of the greatest challenges in golf is hitting a hole-in-one.” The fragment can be corrected by adding a verb.

Example: “One of the greatest challenges in golf.” There is no verb telling us what the challenge is. When there is no verb in the sentence the reader has no idea what is happening. The fragment can be made complete by adding a subject. Example: “Swam across the pool.” We don’t know who or what swam across the pool as there is no subject to tell us. When a group of words has no subject it is a fragment. Q: What are the four types of sentence fragments?Ī: Sentence fragments occur due to one of four basic reasons: A group of words missing one or more of these things is a sentence fragment and cannot stand on its own as a sentence. To be a complete sentence a group of words requires 3 things: a subject (person or thing performing the action), a verb (the action the subject performs) and it must express a complete thought.

To understand what a fragment is you need to know what constitutes a complete sentence. FAQ About Sentence Fragments and Fragments CheckerĪ: Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences.

Example of a sentence fragment