Explain the concept of sentence fragments in sentence construction.

Sentence Construction And Errors Questions Long



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Explain the concept of sentence fragments in sentence construction.

Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences that lack either a subject, a verb, or both. They are considered errors in sentence construction because they do not express a complete thought or convey a clear message. In order for a sentence to be grammatically correct and meaningful, it must contain a subject, which is the person or thing that performs the action, and a verb, which is the action or state of being.

Sentence fragments can occur for various reasons. One common cause is the omission of a subject or a verb. For example, "Running in the park" is a sentence fragment because it lacks a subject. Another example is "Jumped over the fence," which is a fragment because it lacks a subject.

Another cause of sentence fragments is the use of dependent clauses without an independent clause. A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. For instance, "Although she was tired" is a dependent clause that cannot function as a complete sentence. To make it a complete sentence, it needs to be combined with an independent clause, such as "Although she was tired, she continued to work."

Additionally, sentence fragments can result from the incorrect use of punctuation. For instance, a fragment can occur when a period is used instead of a comma or a semicolon to separate two related thoughts. For example, "I went to the store. To buy some groceries" is a fragment because it should be written as "I went to the store to buy some groceries" or "I went to the store; to buy some groceries."

Sentence fragments can also be created by starting a sentence with a subordinating conjunction, such as "because," "although," or "while," without including an independent clause. For example, "Because I was late" is a fragment because it lacks an independent clause. It can be corrected by adding an independent clause, such as "Because I was late, I missed the bus."

In conclusion, sentence fragments are incomplete sentences that lack a subject, a verb, or both. They can occur due to the omission of essential components, the use of dependent clauses without an independent clause, incorrect punctuation, or starting a sentence with a subordinating conjunction without an independent clause. To construct proper sentences, it is important to ensure that all sentences contain a subject and a verb, and that dependent clauses are properly combined with independent clauses.