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SAT Sentence Fragments

A fragment is a group of words punctuated as a sentence that cannot stand as one. The SAT usually creates them in three ways: by using an -ing verb as the only verb, by starting with a subordinating word like because, or by attaching a which clause with no main clause to support it.

The rule

A complete sentence needs a subject and a full verb and must not begin with a word that makes the clause dependent.

A complete sentence needs a subject and a verb that can carry a sentence, and it must not begin with a word that makes it dependent. The words running through the park is a fragment because running by itself is not a full verb. Adding a helping verb fixes it: she was running through the park. The -ing form alone is the single most common fragment on the test.

Subordinating words create the second type. Because the shipment arrived late is a fragment even though it has a subject and a full verb, because the word because makes the clause dependent on something else. It needs a main clause: because the shipment arrived late, the store opened without the new stock. Other words in this family are although, while, since, if, when, and unless.

Relative pronouns create the third type. Which explained the delay is a fragment, since which needs to attach to a noun in a main clause. The correct version folds it in: the manager sent a note, which explained the delay. When you see a clause beginning with which, who, or that punctuated as its own sentence, it is a fragment.

Test any suspicious string by reading it alone with nothing around it. If you would be waiting for more, it is a fragment. This works better than scanning for particular words, because it catches the cases where a long descriptive phrase has crowded out the actual main verb.

Know the opposite error too. Fixing a fragment by attaching it to the next sentence can produce a comma splice or a run-on, so check what you created. On the SAT, the right answer usually adds a verb, removes the subordinating word, or replaces a period with a comma, and only one of the choices will do so without introducing a new error.

The trap

Accepting an -ing phrase as a sentence, since a word like running cannot serve as the main verb on its own.

Try it

Try one
Real question

The 1908 expedition across the plateau carried only what four mules could ______ a canvas tent, a theodolite, and six weeks of dried food.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Cold-chain rules govern the samples from the moment they leave the field, and a single warm hour can make a season of collecting worthless. To keep the samples from warming during the long drive back to the ______ the team packed each vial in a thermos of crushed ice.

To keep the samples from warming during the long drive back to the ______ the team packed each vial in a thermos of crushed ice.

  • A) lab which was located three hours away
  • B) lab, which was located three hours away
  • C) lab, which was located three hours away, ✓
  • D) lab; which was located three hours away

Why: The clause 'which was located three hours away' interrupts between 'the long drive back to the lab' and 'the team packed each vial', so it needs a comma at each end: 'lab, which was located three hours away,'. 'lab, which was located three hours away' opens the interruption and never closes it, so the phrase runs into the main clause. 'lab which was located three hours away' uses no commas at all, which makes the clause read as essential to identifying the lab. 'lab; which was located three hours away' uses a semicolon, which requires an independent clause after it, and a relative clause beginning with 'which' is not one.

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Questions students ask

Why is a clause starting with because a fragment?

Because is a subordinating conjunction, so it turns the clause into a dependent one that explains something else. The clause has a subject and a verb but still needs a main clause to attach to before it can be a sentence.

How do I fix an -ing fragment?

Either add a helping verb so the -ing word becomes a full verb, as in she was running, or attach the phrase to a nearby main clause with a comma, as in running through the park, she noticed the gate was open.

Guides that cover this

More on sentence boundaries