Complete Sentences & Fragments

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What is a complete sentence?

Back

A complete sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought and has a subject and a verb.

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What is a fragment?

Back

A fragment is a group of words that does not express a complete thought and is missing either a subject or a verb.

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Example of a complete sentence: 'Sheila was mad and she ran off.'

Back

This is a complete sentence because it has a subject ('Sheila') and a verb ('was mad', 'ran off').

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Example of a fragment: 'Screamed loudly!'

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This is a fragment because it does not have a subject.

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Example of a fragment: 'Said, “Then close your eyes Sheila.”'

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This is a fragment because it does not express a complete thought.

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Example of a fragment: 'Yesterday when I got off the school bus.'

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This is a fragment because it leaves the thought incomplete.

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What is the purpose of a subject in a sentence?

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The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.

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What is the purpose of a verb in a sentence?

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The verb tells us what the subject is doing or what is happening.

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Can a sentence be a question?

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Yes, a sentence can be a question if it asks something and has a subject and a verb.

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What punctuation mark usually ends a complete sentence?

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A complete sentence usually ends with a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation mark (!).