Suckers Guild: Sentence Fragments vs. Complete Sentences

COMPLETE SENTENCE

A complete sentence makes sense standing alone. Every sentence needs a subject (someone doing an action) and an action. For example:

John ran.

This is a full sentence. You can easily see who is doing what.

SENTENCE FRAGMENT

A sentence fragment is any sentence that does not make sense standing alone. If you've written an incomplete sentence (or sentence fragment), it is likely a "subordinate clause". That's fancy English for a series of words that do not complete an idea. Subordinate clauses are also called dependent clauses because they depend on an independent clause to complete an idea.

See below for examples of sentence fragments:

Since John Lennon was in the Beatles. (So what?)

Due to the weather. (What happens because of the weather?)

Unless the gun is found. (What happens if the gun’s not found?)

None of these make sense in and of themselves. They do not complete an idea you wish to communicate.

See below for examples of how to fix these sentence fragments:

Since John Lennon was in the Beatles, he was one of the coolest people alive.

Due to the weather, the picnic was postponed.

Unless the gun is found, we cannot prove he committed murder.

Each part that is underlined is an independent clause. They make sense by themselves and do not need the 'help' of the part in italics (the dependent or subordinate clause).

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO USE SENTENCE FRAGMENTS?

Sometimes a sentence fragment is exactly what your story needs. Seriously. If you want to add a sense of tension, emphasize a point or play with pacing, a sentence fragment may add just the right 'beat' to your writing. Just be careful: sometimes your sentence fragment is needed; other times it is the result of bad punctuation.

For example:
"Classic. A book which people praise and don't read." That period should be a colon. "Classic: a book which people praise and don't read."

Here are examples of 'acceptable' sentence fragments that improve pacing or tension:

"I can't believe you're making me do this." She took the gun and shot him. In the head.

You've created a sentence fragment by adding the unnecessary period after him. However, it adds extra tension or emphasis to "in the head".

I knew then I would love her forever. Until I died.

Again, this example plays with punctuation. "Until I died." is a sentence fragment. Using it adds an extra 'beat' after 'forever'. It may be the effect you are looking for. However, use this structure sparingly or it will lose it's impact.