A fragment is a word group that looks like a sentence but does not express a complete thought. Fragments may be easily confused with sentences because they begin with capital letters and end with periods—capitalization and punctuation conventions that signal complete sentences.

Three common types of fragments are:

Examples

Dependent Clause Fragments

A dependent clause fragment occurs when a dependent (subordinate) clause is separated from an independent clause.

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How to Correct Dependent Clause Fragments

Independent clauses help dependent clauses complete their meaning. The dependent clause fragment could be corrected if it is joined to an independent clause, which completes its meaning.

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-ing Fragments

Some fragments are not clauses but phrases. The -ing fragment is one common type of phrase fragment, so-called because it includes (often at the beginning) a word that ends in -ing.

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How to Correct -ing Fragments

Add a subject and drop the -ing word:

……

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Example Fragments

An example fragment occurs when an example is separated from the point it illustrates. Example fragments commonly begin with such as, for example, or for instance.

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How to Correct Example Fragments

Example fragments could be corrected by joining them to the sentences they illustrate:

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