START SMART Tab 10: Editing for Grammar Conventions This section will help you answer questions such as the following: Rhetorical Knowledge + Are sentence fragments ever acceptable in any kind of writing? (51b) Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing + What's wrong with A student should enjoy their college experience? How can I fix it without sounding sexist? (55a) Processes + How can | recognize and fix sentence fragments when | edit? (51a—d) + Can my word processor's grammar checker help me edit for grammar conventions? (51-56) Knowledge of Conventions + When should | use lie or Jay? (54b) + Is it ever correct to say | feel good? (56b) For a general introduction to writing outcomes, see te, pages 14-15. When you edit, your purpose is to make the sentences in your text both clear and strong. The preceding section of the handbook focused on editing for clarity. This section focuses on editing for common grammatical problems. A CHAPTER 51 Sentence Fragments A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence treated as if it were complete. It may begin with a capital letter and end with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point, but it lacks one or more of the following: + A complete verb ~Vec 2 # A subject We + An independent clause Although writers sometimes use them intentionally, fragments are rarely appropriate for college assignments. eo 00 % 0? eo foe ee 8 Se Fok Oo 451452 GRAMMAR CONVENTIONS Sentence Fragments JV EERE Learn how to identity sentence fragments Identify fragments in your work by asking three questions: + Do you see a complete verb? "fa * Do you see a subject? Me + Do you see only a dependent clause? 4. Do you see a complete verb? A complete verb consists of a main verb and helping verbs needed to indicate tense, person, and number. (See Chapter 54: Problems with Verbs, pp. 470-79.) A group of related words without a complete verb is a phrase fragment, not a sentence. FRAGMENT The ancient Mayas were among the first to develop many mathematical concepts. For example, the concept of zero. (no verb] SENTENCE The ancient Mayas were among the first to develop many mathematical concepts. For example, they developed the concept of zero. 2. Do you see a subject? The subject is the who or what that a sentence is about. (See Tab 12: Basie Grammar Review, pp. 549-82.) A group of related words without a subject or complete verb is a phrase fragment, not a sentence. FRAGMENT The ancient Mayas were accomplished mathematicians. Developed the concept of zero, for example. [no subject] SENTENCE The ancient Mayas were accomplished mathematicians. They developed the concept of zero, for example. 3. Do you see only a dependent clause? An independent clause has a sub- ject and complete verb and can stand on its own as a sentence. A dependent or subordinate clause also has a subject and complete verb, but it begins with a sub- ordinating word such as although, because, that, ot which, Dependent clauses fune- tion within sentences as modifiers or nouns, but they cannot stand as sentences on their own. (See Tab 12: Basic Grammar Review, pp. 549-82.) FRAGMENT The ancient Mayas deserve a place in the history of mathematics. Because they were among the earliest people 10 develop the concept of zero. SENTENCE = The ancient Mayas deserve a place in the history of mathematics because they were among the earliest people 10 develop the concept of zero,GRAMMAR CONVENTIONS Phrase fragment 453 6 Ei Learn how to edit sentence fragments AUS You can repair sentence fragments by editing them in one of two ways: « Transform them into sentences. 1 > — Many people feel threatened by globalization. Becaug-they think it will undermine their cultural traditions. * Attach them to a nearby independent clause. beca > Many people feel threatened by globalization/ Because they think it will undermine their cultural traditions. Your solution is a stylistic decision. Sometimes one approach may be clearly preferable, and sometimes both are effective. EGE connect a phrase fragment to another sentence, or add the missing elements. Often unintentional fragments are phrases—word groups that lack a subject or a complete verb or both and usually function as modifiers or nouns. 4. Watching for verbals Phrase fragments frequently begin with verbals— words derived from verbs, such as putting or 10 put. They do not change form to reflect tense and number. (For more on verbals, see pp. 576-77.) FRAGMENT That summer, we had the time of our lives. Swimming in the mountain lake each day and exploring the nearby woods. One way to fix this fragment is to transform it into an independent clause with its own subject and verb. We owam > That summer, we had the time of our lives. Swimming in the lored mountain lake each day and exploring the nearby woods.454 51C_— GraMmar CONVENTIONS Sentence Fragments DENTIFY AND EDIT 7 >» fi Sentence Fragments “3 @ 1 vw you see a complete verb? Yes No > FRAGMENT FRAGMENT For example, the concept of zero. subj verb SENTENCE For example, they were among the first to develop the concept of zero. @ 2 vw you see a subject? Yes No > FRAGMENT FRAGMENT Developed the concept of zero, for example. subj verb Se They developed the concept of zero, for example. v @ 3. doyou see only a dependent clause? Ni YES > FRAGMENT FRAGMENT Because they were among the earliest people to develop the concept of zero. SENTENCE The Mayas deserve a place in the history of mathematics because they were among the earliest people to develop the concept of zero. walt Ko that the two -ing verbals in the fragment need to be changed to keep the phrases in the new sentence parallel. (For more on parallelism, see Tab 9: Editing ‘for Clarity, pp. 401-49.) The fragment can also be attached to the part of the preceding sentence that it modifies (in this case, the time of our lives).GRAMMAR CONVENTIONS Phrase fragment -— {he EVOLVING SITUATION Intentional Fragments Advertisers often use attention-getting fragments: “Hot deal! Big savings! Because you're worth it.” In everyday life, we often speak in fragments: “You okay?” “Fine.” As a result, people who write fiction and drama use fragments to create realistic dialogue, and people who write popular nonfiction often use them for emphasis and variety. Keep in mind, however, that advertising, literary writing, and college writing have different contexts and purposes. In formal writing, use intentional sentence fragments sparingly, if at all » ng Pa > That summer, we had the time of our lives, Swimming in the kh mountain lake each day and exploring the nearby woods. 2. Watching for preposition fragments Phrase fragments can also begin with one-word prepositions such as as, at, by; for, from, in, of, on, or to. Attach these fragments to a nearby sentence. > Impressionist painters often depicted their subjects in everyday vat situations/ At a restaurant, perhaps, or by the seashore. 3. Watching for transitional phrases Some fragments start with two- or three-word prepositions that function as transitions, such as as well as, as com- pared with, or in addition to. > For the past sixty-five years, the growth in consumer spending has +i been both steep and steady/ tn contrast with the growth in gross domestic product (GDP), which fluctuated significantly between 1929 and 1950. 4. Watching for words and phrases that introduce examples Check word groups beginning with expressions that introduce examples—such as for example ot such as. If they ate fragments, edit to make them into sentences, or attach them to an independent clause. > Elizabeth | of England faced many dangers as a princess. For ‘che fell example, falling out of favor with her sister, Queen Mary, and woe being imprisoned in the Tower of London.456 GRAMMAR CONVENTIONS Sentence Fragments 5. Watching for appositives An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames a noun or pronoun. > In 1965, Lyndon Johnson increased the number of troops in Vietnam/ A former French colony in Southeast Asia. 6. Watching for fragments that consist of lists You can connect a list to the preceding sentence using a colon or a dash. > In the 1930s, three great band leaders helped popularize jazz/, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington. 7. Watching for fragments that are parts of compound predicates A com- pound predicate is made up of at least two verbs as well as their objects and modifiers, connected by a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or or. The parts of a com- pound predicate have the same subject and should be in one sentence. > The group gathered at dawn at the base of the moun assembled their gear in preparation for the morning's EERE connect fragments that begin with a subordinating word (although, because, since, even though) to another sentence, or eliminate the subordinating word Fragments that begin with a subordinating word can usually be attached to a nearby independent clause. > None of the thirty-three subjects indicated any concern about the ven amount or kind of fruit the institution served, Even though all of qh, Ve them identified diet as an important issue for those with diabetes. a Punctuation tip: A comma usually follows a dependent clause that begins a sentence. If the clause appears at the end of a sentence, it is usually not preceded by a comma unless it is a contrasting thought. (See Tab 11: Editing for Correctness, p. 498.) It is sometimes better to transform such a fragment into a complete sentence by deleting the subordinating word. > The harmony of our group was disrupted in two ways. Members | When-members either disagreed about priorities or advocated different political strategies.