The Scoop on Sentence Fragments

by | Grammar and Usage, Proofreading | 5 comments

Review Board is now open! Submit your Short Prose, Poetry, and Book today!

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

Deadline: Thursday, February 22nd

The Scoop on Sentence Fragments

Sentence fragments pop up in everyone’s writing from time to time. For formal writing, it’s important to be able to write complete sentences: sentence fragments must be avoided at all costs. But in creative writing, fragments can be okay—if you know what you’re doing.

There are many situations in your creative writing when you will want to deliberately use a sentence fragment. Sure, your inner third grader might hear echoes of your teacher’s voice demanding that a sentence have a subject AND a verb. But with creative writing, those rules fly out the window.

Some examples of sentence fragments in creative writing:

Sentence fragments are often successfully used in poetry, such as this haiku by Basho.

an old pond-

the sound of a frog

jumping into water

Advertising agencies and copywriters also make frequent use of sentence fragments to add “punch” to their copy. It lends a conversational tone and makes the message more personal, less formal.

Cockroaches in the pantry? Try Roach-Away!

Silk sheets in all the brightest colors. Soft pastels in every hue.

Everything you need for spring!

Political slogans also make use of sentence fragments.

Bob Dole. A better man for a better America!

Submit to Review Board

Creative writers often use sentence fragments in dialogue, as this more accurately depicts the patterns of our natural speech.

“Is that you, Mr. Jones? Why don’t you pull up a chair and join me?”

“No can do. Too much work to do. Terrible, really.”

“I see you’re using sentence fragments. Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

“Hardly! Retribution from whom? My high school English teacher?”

To emphasize a point:

“Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!”

Or as an afterthought:

“I’ve searched everywhere,” she said, defeated. “Except, perhaps, the drugstore on Main Street…”

The conclusion? Sometimes sentence fragments can be effective in creative writing (as opposed to formal writing). The important thing is to use fragments deliberately instead of accidentally, and to do that, a writer must be able to recognize the difference between complete sentences and fragments.

Also, be careful to use sentence fragments sparingly—otherwise, your writing may sound choppy or, worse, you could face a visit from your high school English teacher.

Our proofreaders are ready to check YOUR manuscripts for unnecessary sentence fragments!

5 Comments

  1. Tarig

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Frank Allen

    Why does MS Word sometimes show a complete sentence as a fragment? Is this a fragment? and if so, help me understand why: “The boy’s body, wrapped in a linen sheet, trembles violently from a chill brought on by the fever.”

    Reply
  3. Shelley Juneau

    @Frank- that’s a complete sentence. Subject- body. Action- trembles.

    Reply
  4. Nic

    Should be trembled – mix of tenses

    Reply
    • Blog Editor

      When dealing with actions that occur at different points in time, it is acceptable to use multiple tenses in the same sentence.

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Review Board is now open! Submit your Short Prose, Poetry, and Book today!

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

 

 

See ALL the services we offer, from
FREE to Full Service!

Click here for a Writer’s Relief
Full Service Overview

Search

Reviews

“Getting that first poem published was the hardest threshold to cross. My team at Writer’s Relief kept encouraging me…then came the acceptance! We celebrated…then I continued writing, and Writer’s Relief continued doing the wonderful work they do!”

—King Grossman, Writer
(Watch King’s video testimonial here!)

“Every piece I have sent out with their help has been accepted for publication! I am looking forward to working with the team on getting my new novel out into the world.”

Services Catalog

Free Publishing Leads
and Tips!

Featured Articles



Featured Video

Follow us!



YES, IT'S MY LUCKY DAY!
Sign me up for
FREE Publishing Leads & Tips
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

WHY? Because our insider
know-how has helped
writers get over 18,000 acceptances.

FREE Publishing Leads and Tips! Our e-publication, Submit Write Now!, delivered weekly to your inbox.
  • BEST (and proven) submission tips
  • Hot publishing leads
  • Calls to submit
  • Contest alerts
  • Notification of industry changes
  • And much more!
close-link


STOP! BEFORE YOU GO...
Sign me up for
FREE Publishing Leads & Tips
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

WHY? Because our insider
know-how has helped
writers get over 18,000 acceptances.

FREE Publishing Leads and Tips! Our e-publication, Submit Write Now!, delivered weekly to your inbox.
  • BEST (and proven) submission tips
  • Hot publishing leads
  • Calls to submit
  • Contest alerts
  • Notification of industry changes
  • And much more!
close-link

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This