TEAS 7 · English and Language Usage · 5 min read
Fragments, Run-ons and Modifiers
- Identify sentence fragments and apply appropriate revision strategies by supplying missing elements or attaching fragments to adjacent independent clauses.
- Recognize run-on sentences, including fused sentences and comma splices, and correct them using appropriate punctuation, coordinating conjunctions, or subordinating conjunctions.
- Identify misplaced, limiting, dangling, and squinting modifiers and revise sentences to ensure that modifying elements clearly and logically describe their intended targets.
Clauses and Sentence Fragments
A clear understanding of sentence structure begins with distinguishing between independent and dependent clauses. An independent clause contains a subject, a verb, and expresses a complete thought. Because it fulfills these requirements, an independent clause functions successfully on its own as a complete sentence. In contrast, a dependent clause contains a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. A dependent clause relies on an attached main clause to complete its meaning.
A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that is punctuated as if it were a complete thought. Sentence fragments fail to communicate a finished idea because they lack vital grammatical components or are detached from the main structure of the sentence. In many instances, sentence fragments often lack a grammatical subject, lack a finite verb, or consist of an isolated dependent clause punctuated as a sentence.
Sentence fragments appear in several recognizable forms. One common fragment is a dependent clause beginning with a subordinating conjunction without an attached main clause. Although this construction possesses both a subject and a verb, the presence of the subordinating conjunction prevents it from expressing a complete thought on its own. Another type of fragment is a participial phrase standing alone without an independent clause. A third common form is an isolated prepositional phrase punctuated with a terminal period. Each of these structures leaves the thought incomplete when ended with a period.
Correcting a sentence fragment requires restoring the missing elements or integrating the phrase or clause into a proper sentence. Writers can correct fragments by adding a missing subject or finite verb to establish a complete thought. Alternatively, writers can resolve a fragment by joining the fragment to an adjacent independent clause. Attaching an isolated dependent clause, a participial phrase, or an isolated prepositional phrase to an adjacent main clause provides the grammatical foundation required for a complete sentence.
Common mistakes
- Treating an isolated dependent clause as a complete sentence: A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but when it begins with a subordinating conjunction without an attached main clause, it cannot stand alone and functions as a sentence fragment.
- Attempting to join two independent clauses with a comma alone: An independent clause cannot be joined to another independent clause using only a comma; doing so creates an incorrect comma splice.
- Using a comma alone with conjunctive adverbs: Conjunctive adverbs such as 'however,' 'therefore,' and 'moreover' cannot join independent clauses with only a comma. To connect two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb, writers can place a semicolon before the adverb and a comma after it; other appropriate punctuation, such as a dash, may also work.
- Failing to place the intended subject immediately after an introductory modifier: When an introductory participial phrase describes the subject of the sentence, that subject should normally follow the modifier; omitting or misplacing that subject creates a dangling modifier.
Key points
- An independent clause contains a subject, a verb, and expresses a complete thought, whereas a dependent clause contains a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone.
- Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences punctuated as complete thoughts, often lacking a grammatical subject or finite verb, or consisting of isolated dependent clauses, participial phrases, or prepositional phrases.
- Sentence fragments are corrected by adding a missing subject or finite verb, or by joining the fragment to an adjacent independent clause.
- Run-on sentences occur as fused sentences (no punctuation) or comma splices (only a comma); they are corrected using a period and capital letter, a semicolon alone, a comma followed by a FANBOYS coordinating conjunction, or a subordinating conjunction.
- Conjunctive adverbs like 'however,' 'therefore,' and 'moreover' cannot join independent clauses with only a comma; a semicolon before the adverb and a comma after it is one standard correction.
- Modifiers should be placed where their meaning is clear; misplaced, dangling, and squinting modifiers may need revision, while limiting modifiers such as 'only,' 'almost,' 'nearly,' and 'just' need revision only when their placement changes or obscures the intended meaning.
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