In the rest of the text, he changes things up by using imperatives for impact, which he alternates with flowing lengthier sentences. However, that’s the only time Provost allows himself to break the rules. Used just the once, it emphasizes a point and breaks up the rhythm of the piece. Notice how this excellent piece of writing also contains a sentence fragment? Can you spot it? It’s the solitary word, “Music”. Create a sound that pleases the reader’s ear. So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. And sometimes when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals-sounds that say listen to this, it is important. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Though I wouldn’t continue in this vein for too long, a short paragraph like this is perfect for reflecting a character’s mindset. Here it’s showing Marjorie’s state of mind. Another problem to worry about.Ĭhoppy prose may be difficult to read, but it does have its place. Stream of consciousnessįriend’s! What kind of a fool did he think she was? The cheek… She looked at her phone. Remember that monosyllabic teen? What better way to get his churlish speech across than by using sentence fragments: However, the following exceptions can be made: Dialogue In addition to giving the impression that you are not familiar with the rules of grammar, too many fragments can make your prose feel choppy and, as a result, difficult to read. Nine times out of ten, you want to be deleting fragments. Now we know what a full sentence is, we can identify a sentence fragment. When an army officer gives an order, he can simply bark out a one-word command to his troops without fear of summoning a member of the grammar police! When to break the rules and use sentence fragments? Here, the subject of the sentence is completely done away with. “Go”, “fly” or “hurry”, can all be complete sentences in and of themselves. With imperatives, that is orders, a full sentence can be shortened to one single word. At all costs do your best to avoid awkward phrasing such as: “The cake – a white chocolate and cream affair – was made by Marjorie.” This could easily be tightened up into: “Marjorie’s cake was a white chocolate and cream affair.” Imperatives In passive sentences, the object is simply given priority and effectively becomes the subject.Ī word of caution here though: the passive voice can sound extremely clunky and should only be used when you are trying to draw attention to the object. Take, for instance: “The telephone was invented in 1875.” While this sentence dispenses with the subject, namely Alexander Graham Bell, it is still a full sentence because it contains the completion of a thought with context: “in 1875”. In passive sentences, the object goes at the start of the sentence, with the subject either tagged on at the end, or deleted entirely. There are two important exceptions to this rule: the passive tense and imperatives. We need to know why you’re worth it, hence the necessity of another clause to complete that thought. Remember “Because you’re worth it”? If we kept our definition to subject and verb, this would be considered a complete sentence, however, the “because” leaves us hanging. Bearing that in mind, let’s update our definition to: A full sentence contains a subject, verb, and complete thought. Something like: “She swam in the sea” or “She swam quickly”. While “She swam” could be said to be a complete sentence, the reader instinctively feels something is lacking. However, a subject and verb alone are sometimes not enough to make a full sentence. What is a sentence fragment?Ī sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence, that is a sentence that lacks a subject and a verb. Which is why this little essay begins with a definition. And as any competent wordsmith knows, if you’re going to break the rules, you must fully understand them. Like any controversial subject, it’s complex. If sentence fragments are an integral part of our linguistic reality, are they acceptable in fiction? The answer is yes, but only sometimes. Which brings us to the crux of the dilemma. Fancy it?” In short, while we know in theory they are wrong, in the right context sentence fragments can feel absolutely right. And while she might shout “ I’m going out” at his retreating figure, she might also equally text a friend the following: “Bad day. A sullen teen, limiting himself to as few words as possible might grunt to his mother: “Going out”. Take, for instance: “Because you’re worth it”, “The beer of kings”, or “Finger lickin’ good”. Catchy, succinct and attention grabbing, sentence fragments are everywhere in advertising.
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