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If something is
fragmented, it is incomplete, disjointed,
or unconnected;
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Thus, fragmented
sentences are incomplete thoughts.
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Something is missing;
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this something
may be a
subject,
a verb,
or, in some cases,
both a subject and
a verb, depending on the sentence structure.
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FIRST,
you had to become proficient with the parts of
speech, especially nouns, pronouns, and verbs.
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THEN,
you used that knowledge to recognize, correct, and
avoid subject-verb agreement errors.
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NOW,
you must employ that wisdom to identify and remedy
sentence errors, such as fragments.
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As college students, you will compose sentences
that range
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from those consisting of single words
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to those with groups of
words
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(noun phrases and verb
phrases—The girl
with the black hair and black nail polish studied
for her physics test in the cafeteria.).
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The more complex the sentence, the more groups of
words you will use.
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Thus, we need to explore these word groups to
understand better the various appearances of
fragments.
PHRASES |
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PHRASES
are word groups added to sentences to
modify or develop parts of the sentence.
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Therefore,
PHRASES are often adjectival or
adverbial in nature.
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Most
importantly, PHRASES are always
fragments because they
lack subjects OR
verbs.
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(A) PREPOSITIONAL
PHRASES:
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These are
the most common and obvious of phrases.
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They begin
with a preposition and end with a noun
or pronoun functioning as the Object of
the Preposition; those nouns can be
modified with adjectives and articles.
about
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above |
across |
after |
against |
along |
among |
around |
at |
before |
behind |
below |
beneath |
beside |
besides |
between |
beyond |
by |
concerning |
down |
during |
except |
for |
from |
in |
inside |
into |
near |
of |
off |
on |
onto |
out |
outside |
over |
past |
since |
through |
to |
toward |
under |
until |
up |
upon |
with |
within |
without |
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Prepositional Phrases do not have verbs
within them.
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Prepositional Phrases perform adjectival
and adverbial functions within
sentences.
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Near that
truly odd sculpture.
(fragment)
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I will meet
you at 5P.M. near that
truly odd sculpture.
(adverb—when/where?)
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The
customer with the raspy voice
is asking for your assistance.
(adjective—which?)
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(B) INFINITIVE
PHRASES:
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For the most part, Infinitives consist
of 2 words;
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the first is the preposition “to”
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and the second
is the
base form of a verb.
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(2 words;
first word is “to”)
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Infinitives differ from Prepositional
Phrases in that Infinitives
have verbs.
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Infinitive Phrases begin with the 2-word
infinitive and include other related
words.
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Infinitive Phrases can function
as nouns,
adverbs,
and
adjectives.
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As nouns,
Infinitive Phrases can be the
subjects,
objects,
or
complements
of a sentence.
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Please
note
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that while they may function
as a subject, they do not
contain a subject
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AND while they may contain
the base form of a verb,
they do not function
as a verb.
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THEREFORE, they are
always fragments when
they appear alone.
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To obtain a
better job was Maria’s primary goal
at the job fair.
(subject)
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Amanda likes to
receive very expensive presents on
her birthday.
(object)
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To obtain a better
job.
(fragment)
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To receive very
expensive presents.
(fragment)
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(C) PARTICIPIAL
PHRASES:
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Participial Phrases are formed by either
the present
participle (-ing)
or the
past
participle
(-ed)
of the verb.
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Participial Phrases function as
adjectives—not verbs
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The teacher,
eavesdropping on the students’
conversation, burst into laughter.
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Upset by the
Sunday loss of his favorite football
team, the teacher gave his students
an unannounced quiz on Monday.
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(modifies
“teacher”)
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(notice the
comma after the “introductory
participial phrase”)
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(D) GERUND PHRASES:
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A Gerund is an (-ing) word that
functions as a noun.
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Please
note
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In order for an (-ing) word
to function as a verb,
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it must have a Helping
Verb.
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Running is Josh’s favorite
means of relaxation.
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(no Helping Verb; “is” is a
Linking Verb)
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Josh’s favorite means of relaxation
is running.
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(“is” is not functioning here as
a Helping Verb)
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Josh was running through the
deserted park.
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(Helping Verb + Main Verb)
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Gerund Phrases function as nouns.
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Running marathons can be a
rewarding challenge.
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Becky’s new hobby involves
reading trashy romance novels.
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CLAUSES |
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Unlike
phrases, clauses possess
both subjects and
verbs.
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However,
not all clauses are complete sentences.
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That
is, some clauses are fragments.
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(A) INDEPENDENT
CLAUSES:
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These
clauses, as their name suggests, can
stand on their
independently
as complete thoughts.
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They
can have a wide variety of patterns, but
these are the most common:
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Subject + Verb (+ Adverb, Adjective,
or Prepositional Phrase).
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The
baby slept (soundly OR within
the cradle.)
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Subject + Verb + Object (+ Indirect
Object).
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Julio kicked the soccer ball
(to Juanita).
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Subject + Linking Verb + Subject
Complement or Adjective.
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George W. Bush was the
president of the United States.
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Jeff’s car looks amazingly
clean.
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Also,
Independent Clauses can support those
clauses that cannot stand on their own
(“Dependent
Clauses”);
the sentence pattern in this scenario
would be thus:
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Dependent Clause + Independent
Clause (or IC + DC) (or the DC could
be in the middle of the IC)
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Because the professor was thirty
minutes late, the students went
home.
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Independent clauses can also be joined
to other Independent Clauses to form “compound
sentences”
(IC + IC).
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In
these cases, Semicolons or
Coordinating Conjunctions would join
them.
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Jake went to the football game; his
roommate, Ben, went a poetry
recital.
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Dependent Clauses can be mixed into
these Independent Clauses to form “complex
sentences”.
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Because he
loves sports, Jake went to the
football game; his roommate, Ben,
went a poetry recital since his
professor required all of her
students to attend.
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(B) DEPENDENT CLAUSES:
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Unlike Independent
Clauses, Dependent Clauses are
fragments and cannot stand alone.
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Nevertheless, they
still possess subjects and verbs.
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1) SUBORDINATE
CLAUSES:
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They begin
with Subordinating Conjunctions and
usually denote time, causality,
and condition.
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Thus,
Subordinate Clauses often function
as adverbs.
after |
although |
as
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as much as |
because |
before |
how |
if
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inasmuch as
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in order that |
provided |
since |
so that |
than |
though |
till |
unless |
until |
when |
whenever |
where |
wherever |
while |
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The most common Subordinating
Conjunctions are
because, although, since, if, and when.
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Steve acted
nervously whenever Lora was around.
(modifies adverb; “when?”)
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After the
grades are calculated, the teaching
assistant will post them.
(modifies main clause; “when?”)
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2) RELATIVE CLAUSES:
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These begin
with Relative Pronouns (who,
which, that)
and perform adjectival functions
modifying nouns and pronouns.
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Who
clauses will refer to people.
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That
clauses to inanimate objects and
animals.
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Which
clauses will be set off by
commas as nonrestrictive or
nonessential clauses (not
necessary for the meaning of the
sentence).
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Steroids that
are banned by the league were found
in the player’s locker.
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The administrator
who filed a grievance with the union
was rudely received by her coworkers.
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3) NOUN
CLAUSES:
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Noun Clauses perform the same
functions as nouns:
subject,
object, complement, appositive,
object of preposition.
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They usually appear with
relative pronouns (who,
which, that) or with
when, where, why, how.
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That you
forgot your homework is irrelevant
to the issue at hand.
(subject)
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A good
cleaning is what this car really
needs.
(complement)
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Commands and requests
often look like fragments, but they are
not fragments.
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Go to your room!
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Pass the final drafts
of your essays to the front of the room.
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