This page will discuss the types of sentences, what a sentence fragment is, and when each of these

is appropriate to
use. You have already learned about subjects, which tells who or what is doing something, and predicates, which tell
what the subject is doing. These are used to create the various patterns in sentences. We will also discuss some of the
big problems with sentence construction and how to correct them.

A. THE BASIC PATTERN

Obviously, the basic pattern for a simple sentence is subject - predicate.

SUBJECT PREDICATE
I feel sleepy.
William came home from college yesterday.
The children and I went to the zoo.

Both of these components can become more complex. The predicate, for instance, can be in two parts: the verb and
the complement. If you need refreshers on these, see the Parts of Speech page. You can see that none of our examples
above have only a subject and a verb because very few English sentences are that simple. Thus, a more useful way to
think of this pattern is subject - verb - complement.

SUBJECT VERB COMPLEMENT

I am sleepy.
The children and I went to the zoo.

These are simple sentences, and because they can stand alone they are also independent clauses. These are combined
with other independent clauses or dependent clauses or phrases to create more complex, meaningful, interesting
sentences.

B. CREATING MORE COMPLEXITY THROUGH COORDINATION (COMPOUND SENTENCES)

The first way to think about creating more complex sentences is through coordination: using two items of equal
weight within the sentence elements or by joining whole independent clauses. For instance, in the following
situations, we have added more items within the three sentence elements:

SUBJECT VERB COMPLEMENT

Sydney and I are cleaning Graham's room Saturday.
You need to go to the store and the gas station.
Carol called or wrote every Christmas.

You can also do this with two independent clauses to create a very common sentence structure:

We went through the store, and Sasha met us at the back door.

Yesterday was hot, but today it is cooler.

Notice that these are joined by "and" and "but." These are called coordinating conjunctions, and the resulting
sentences are called compound sentences. Here is the whole list of coordinating conjuctions:

and, or, but, for, nor, yet, so

Be aware, too that there are some adverbs which can also connect two independent clauses:

We were going to see Carmen; however, Grant got sick that day.
I have to leave right now; otherwise I will miss my plane!

Here is the list of conjunctive adverbs:

accordingly, also, anyway, besides, certainly, consequently, conversely, finally, furthermore, hence, however,
incidentally, indeed, instead, likewise, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, next, nonetheless, otherwise, similarly,
specifically, still, subsequently, then, therefore, thus

Note that some punctuation (a comma or semi-colon) is necessary to use between the two clauses to reinforce the
independent nature of the clauses.

The two elements on either side of these conjunctions should both be independent clauses, so make sure that you
have the full subject-predicate form on either side when you use them.

The final way to join two independent clauses without adding a word is with a semi-colon (like this); for that
discussion see the Other Punctuation page.

C. CREATING MORE COMPLEXITY THROUGH SUBORDINATION (COMPLEX SENTENCES)

Even more complexity of meaning can be created in sentences by using subordination, that is, by using an
independent clause joined with word groups (individual words, phrases or clauses) that modify the independent
clause but take a less important place in the sentence than the independent clause. Whew! These are called complex
sentences; let's look at this in practice:

Peter has been distraught since Wendy left.

Although I was with you all day, I never noticed your new haircut.

Because of the bad weather, we must stay in today.

"Since Wendy left" modifies the main part of the sentence by specifying when this happened to Peter. "Although..."
gives more information about my ignorance of your hairstyle. "Because..." explains why we must stay in. Notice the
first two of these are clauses because they contain a subject and predicate, and the third one is a phrase because it
does not. All of them are modifying subordinate elements in the sentences, however.

Also note that, as in coordination, in subordination there are specific words which start each of these dependent
modifiers. Here is the list of subordinating conjunctions:

after, although, as, as if, because, before, even though, if, in order that,
rather than, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whether, while

There are other adverbs which also introduce subordinate elements and indicate the relationship between the parts
of the sentence:

how, what, whatever, which, whichever, who, whom, whoever, whomever, whose, why

These may also be used with phrases or clauses:

Whomever you choose, you must do it today!

Note in these situations that you only need to add a comma when the modifying element comes before the main part
of the sentence.

The major thing to remember about subordination is that you are using these elements to modify the main part of the
sentence, thus choose your conjunction/adverb and your structure accordingly so it achieves your desired effect.

D. RECOGNIZING AND USING FRAGMENTS

1. When NOT to use them.

 A sentence fragment is a group of words which is used as a sentence but does not have the subject-predicate
form described above. Why are your writing instructors always telling you not to use these? The answer lies
in the differences between written and spoken communication. We are always using fragments in speech,
and our conversations would be pretty cumbersome if we always spoke in full sentences:

Are you going to school today?

Yes, I am going to school today.

What time will the bus be picking you up?

The bus will be picking me up at about eight o'clock.

Even though written communication may not be as lengthy as these examples, it is still necessary for the sake
of clarity and style to spell out our ideas more fully. If you are not sure if you have written a sentence or a
fragment, try the following test:

FRAGMENT TEST

o If there is NO VERB -- it is a fragment.

o If there is NO SUBJECT -- it is a fragment.
o If it is a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE OR PHRASE STANDING ALONE NOT MODIFYING AN
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE -- it is a fragment.

Subordinate clause fragment: Because we are leaving the next day.

No verb fragment: The left side of the screen.

There are two easy ways to fix unwanted sentence fragments:

1. Hook the fragment on to the sentence nearby which it is modifying.

Because we are leaving the next day, we want to visit the Louvre on Tuesday.
2. Turn the fragment into a sentence by adding the missing parts.
The left side of the screen only showed Mulder's face.
2. When you SHOULD use them

There are specific and limited instances when sentences fragments are effective writing. Make sure that you
have one of these purposes in mind when you spot a fragment in your proofreading.

o For emphasis: The most dangerous place in your house? Not the bathroom or even your kitchen.
Your garage.
o As a transitional element: Next, the facts.
o Answering a question: When will the bus be picking you up? About eight o'clock.
o In an exclamation: Yikes! Five babies!

If you are not doing one of these things, fix the fragment as directed above.

E. MAJOR SENTENCE ERRORS

Aside from fragments, there are a couple of major errors that writers make in sentence construction. The problem
with all of these is that they do not accurately depict the relationship between the two clauses, and that can cause
misunderstanding for your reader. Do you see any of these in your writing?

 Fused sentences: these are two complete sentences -- two independent clauses -- that have no joining words
or punctuation between them:

It was the twelfth of July Sally was still looking for a job.

 Comma splices: these are two complete sentences that are only joined with a comma.
 Marla will fly out of Minneapolis, I will meet her in Chicago.

 Run-on sentences: two complete sentences joined together only with a coordinating conjuction:

The tickets have always been sold that way and he has never explained why.

You can fix these problems in various ways, depending on what you want the sentence to mean:

 You can make the sentence into a proper compound sentence by including both the comma and the
coordinating conjunction or adverb. This will indicate an equal relationship between the two ideas:

It was the twelfth of July, and Sally was still looking for a job.

 You can use a semi-colon to make the reader think about the two ideas together but not in relationship to
one another:

It was the twelfth of July; Sally was still looking for a job.

 You can make one of the clauses a subordinate clause to specify a modifying relationship in the sentence:

By the twelfth of July, Sally was still looking for a job.

Notice that there are slightly different shades of meaning in each of these sentences, so you need to ask
yourself what exactly you want the sentence to say.

A SENTENCE FRAGMENT fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. It does not contain even
one independent clause. There are several reasons why a group of words may seem to act like a sentence but not have
the wherewithal to make it as a complete thought.

It may locate something in time and place with a prepositional phrase or a series of such phrases, but it's still
lacking a proper subject-verb relationship within an independent clause:

In Japan, during the last war and just before the armistice.
This sentence accomplishes a great deal in terms of placing the reader in time and place, but there is no subject, no
verb.

It describes something, but there is no subject-verb relationship:

Working far into the night in an effort to salvage her little boat.
This is a verbal phrase that wants to modify something, the real subject of the sentence (about to come up), probably
the she who was working so hard.

It may have most of the makings of a sentence but still be missing an important part of a verb string:

Some of the students working in Professor Espinoza's laboratory last semester.

Remember that an –ing verb form without an auxiliary form to accompany it can never be a verb.

It may even have a subject-verb relationship, but it has been subordinated to another idea by a dependent word and
so cannot stand by itself:

Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the more powerful speaker.
This sentence fragment has a subject, he, and two verbs, had and was, but it cannot stand by itself because of the
dependent word (subordinating conjunction) even though. We need an independent clause to follow up this
dependent clause: . . . the more powerful speaker, he lost the case because he didn't understand the jury.

Stylistic Fragments

There are occasions when a sentence fragment can be stylistically effective, exactly what you want and no more.
Harrison Ford has said he would be more than willing to take on another Indiana Jones project. In a New York
minute.