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A sentence is a complete thought with a noun and verb.

A sentence fragment is just part of a sentence and does not make a complete thought.

The above are sentences.

Here are some fragments that make no sense:

the sentence fragment?

what is?

your answer in a complete sentence

the boy who lived down the street

because he had to go home

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Wiki User

13y ago
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Wiki User

8y ago

A sentence fragment cannot stand alone to express a complete thought.

"The man who ran away." is a fragment without a predicate for the subject or object 'man.'

For example:

The man who ran away was later caught. The shoemaker was the man who ran away.

Just because a sentence has a verb does not mean it is a complete sentence.

The transitive verb in "Bill wants" needs an object (what he wants). Some verbs, however, can be either transitive or intransitive, and can function without an object. "Bill kicked" could be a complete sentence, e.g. if he is on a football team.

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12y ago

A complete sentence requires a subject, verb, and a complete thought. A sentence fragment contains some but not all of these, or may not be a complete thought and is thus incorrect. An example of a sentence fragment is: I was hungry beyond belief at the barbecue convention. Because the smell of pulled pork was everywhere.

To explain, the first sentence is complete (an independent clause), and the second one is incomplete (a dependent clause) and therefore is a sentence fragment.

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13y ago

A sentence makes a complete thought. A sentence fragment does not.

Fragments :

The coach who had arrived for the big game.

Can get in the way of people trying to work.

Turning to the left at the old mill.

Sentences:

The coach had arrived for the big game.

Pedestrians can get in the way of people trying to work.

Turn to the left at the old mill.

The road will be turning to the left at the old mill.

Making fragments into sentences:

Example:

The excited crowd watching the game. (fragment, no predicate)

After a brief intermission during the game. (fragment, this is a prepositional phrase)

After a brief intermission during the game, the coach sent in his star player, drawing cheers from the excited crowd watching the game. (sentence)

Example:

Help finding the cat. (fragment)

The boy's mother standing in the living room. (fragment)

He saw the boy's mother standing in the living room, telling her son that she needed help finding the cat. (sentence)

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Wiki User

11y ago

It is a sentence fragment if it has no subject or no finite verb. A sentence fragment is an incomplete thought.

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Wiki User

8y ago

Add the necessary words to complete the sentence and make it clear and concise.

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Wiki User

11y ago

keriota

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Anonymous

Lvl 1
3y ago

Be seated

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Q: How can you tell if a sentence is a sentence fragment?
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