Keep this in mind when you are writing speech in your books. It is up to you as the author to decide for yourself whether that is true or not. Often fragment sentences can come off clunky and awkward. Think about how these two examples are different and decide which is more effective. The second 'sentence' is incomplete but it is used to indicate a pause in their thinking. Writers often emphasize these pauses or hesitations with breaking off a sentence.Įxample #1: Her hair was short like a boy's, but still very stylish.Įxample #2: Her hair was short like a boy's. This detail does not need to be in a complete sentence. Think of it this way: when you are thinking, you might pause after your original sentence but decide to add an extra little detail after. Notice that fragment sentence I just used? I'll go over each way that it is acceptable to not complete your thought. It is incomplete.īut then how can you use these fragment sentences, if they are not grammatically correct? There are many ways that fragment sentences can be helpful. A fragment sentence does not form a complete thought. It does not end even if the period or question mark or exclamation says so. In other words, a fragment sentence is not, in fact, a sentence. That is the definition of a fragment sentence. There are several reasons why a group of words may seem to act like a sentence but not have the wherewithal to make it as a complete thought. It does not contain even one independent clause.

First of all, what's a fragment sentence?Ī sentence fragment fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself.

What does a sentence fragment mean