This Ain't No Math Blog. It's GRAMMAR Time!

Post #5 by J.B. (A/F Block) A fragment does not have an independent clause in it. Fragments can be pieces that have been disconnected from the main clause. To fix a sentence like this you remove the words in between the main clause and the broken piece. A fragment fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. Sometimes a fragment misses a subject and verb relationship. Fragments have a subject and a verb so they look like a good sentence but they are not. To be a good sentence fragments have to express a complete thought. To identify the fragment, look for a subject, verb, and a complete thought. You can eliminate or put words in the sentence to fix a fragment. There is a debate going on all the time: speaking fragments vs. writing fragments. We speak in fragments all the time like when someone asks you, "How are you doing?" You say, "Good." The people for making it okay to write in fragments say, "We speak in fragments. Why can't we write in fragments?" The people for just speaking, and NOT writing in fragments, say, "We already talk in fragments. Why should we write in them?" The people for just speaking fragments and NOT writing fragments also say, "When we write a story it is there for forever, but when we respond to someone saying, 'Good,' only that person hears it.