Sentence Fragments

American Diploma › ACT English and Reading — Complete Course

What this question type tests

Fragment questions belong to the Conventions of Standard English reporting category of the ACT English test, which is 38–43% of the English score together with punctuation and usage. The English test has 50 questions (40 scored) in 35 minutes, spread over five essays: three of about 340 words with 10 questions each and two of about 185 words with 5 questions each.

The ACT never asks "Is this a fragment?" Instead, part of the essay is underlined and numbered, and you choose the best of four versions — the first is usually NO CHANGE. A fragment item is easy to recognise once you know the signs: the choices change a verb form (grows / growing / to grow / which grows), add or remove a word such as which, who, because, although, or move a period to a new place. When you see these differences, ask one question: does every sentence still have a subject and a main verb?

The rule: subject + finite main verb + complete thought

A complete sentence (an independent clause) needs three things: a subject (who or what the sentence is about), a finite main verb (a verb that shows tense and can work alone with its subject), and a complete thought (it is not introduced by a word that makes it depend on another clause).

• ✗ The festival being the biggest event of the year.
• ✓ The festival is the biggest event of the year.
• ✗ The bridge built by Italian engineers in 1902.
• ✓ The bridge was built by Italian engineers in 1902.
• ✓ The bridge, built by Italian engineers in 1902, still carries traffic. ("built" is a description inside commas; the main verb is "carries")

Notice the last pair: an -ing or -ed word is not wrong in itself. It is only wrong when it is the only verb the subject has.

The five ways the ACT builds a fragment

1. A dependent clause standing alone. Words like because, although, though, while, when, whenever, since, if, unless, until, after, before, as, whereas, even though, so that turn a full sentence into a dependent clause. It now needs an independent clause next to it.

• ✗ The village school closed for two weeks. Because the roof leaked after a storm.
• ✓ The village school closed for two weeks because the roof leaked after a storm.
• ✗ Although the tickets were expensive. The concert sold out in an hour.
• ✓ Although the tickets were expensive, the concert sold out in an hour.

2. An -ing, -ed or to-verb phrase used instead of a main verb.

• ✗ The new solar plant near Aswan producing enough electricity for thousands of homes.
• ✓ The new solar plant near Aswan produces enough electricity for thousands of homes.
• ✗ The team worked through the night. Hoping to finish the model before the competition.
• ✓ The team worked through the night, hoping to finish the model before the competition.
• ✗ The aim of the campaign to plant a tree for every student.
• ✓ The aim of the campaign was to plant a tree for every student.

3. A noun + who/which/that clause, but no main verb. The verb is "trapped" inside the relative clause, so the main subject never gets its own verb. This is the ACT's favourite fragment.

• ✗ The scientist who discovered the tomb in 1922.
• ✓ The scientist discovered the tomb in 1922.
• ✓ The scientist who discovered the tomb in 1922 became famous overnight.
• ✗ A small museum in Rosetta, which displays maps of the old city.
• ✓ A small museum in Rosetta displays maps of the old city.

4. A long subject that never gets its verb. The ACT adds so many describing words (prepositional phrases, appositives, lists) that you forget the verb is missing.

• ✗ The old railway station on Ramses Street, with its tall clock tower and its windows painted by Italian craftsmen more than a century ago.
• ✓ The old railway station on Ramses Street, with its tall clock tower and its windows painted by Italian craftsmen more than a century ago, is now a museum.

5. A period in the wrong place. A complete sentence is cut in two, and the second half (a phrase or a dependent clause) is left alone. The fix is to remove the period and join the piece to the sentence it belongs to.

• ✗ Neighbours meet on the roof every evening. Making it a place of friendship.
• ✓ Neighbours meet on the roof every evening, making it a place of friendship.
• ✗ She studied medicine in Alexandria. Where her grandfather had once taught.
• ✓ She studied medicine in Alexandria, where her grandfather had once taught.

Subtle cases the ACT likes

• Adding "which" or "who" can destroy a good sentence. ✓ Hoda trains every morning. ✗ Hoda, who trains every morning. One small word removed the main verb.
• "Being" is almost never the answer. ✗ The result being a delay of three weeks. ✓ The result was a delay of three weeks.
• Two dependent clauses do not make a sentence. ✗ Although the road was closed because the bridge was weak. Both clauses depend on something that is not there.
• A short sentence can be complete. ✓ It rained. ✓ Nobody came. Length does not decide; subject + finite verb does.
• Commands are complete. ✓ Return the books by Thursday. The subject "you" is understood.
• Starting with And or But does not make a fragment. ✓ But the plan failed. It still has a subject and a main verb. Do not choose an answer just to remove "But".
• "That" after the subject can create a fragment. ✓ The report shows a rise in prices. ✗ The report that shows a rise in prices.

A 3-step method: the strip test

1. Strip the sentence: cross out any dependent clause (because…, although…, who…, which…, that…), anything between a pair of commas or dashes, and prepositional phrases (in…, of…, with…).
2. Look at what is left. Is there a subject and a finite verb that could stand alone? Example: "The old railway station ~~on Ramses Street, with its tall clock tower…~~" → only "The old railway station" is left: no verb, so it is a fragment.
3. Fix it with the smallest change the choices offer (see the table below), then read the whole sentence again with the sentence before and after.

A useful check: put "I know that…" in front of the words. "I know that the bridge was built in 1902" makes sense, so it is a complete clause. "I know that the bridge built in 1902" does not, so it is a fragment. (Dependent clauses fail this test too: "I know that because the roof leaked" — no.)

How to fix a fragment

Careful: when you attach a dependent clause, do not use a semicolon. A semicolon joins two complete sentences only (the teacher's rule), so "…two weeks; because the roof leaked" is still wrong.

Worked examples

Worked example 1 — dependent clause cut off by a period

Passage: The village school closed for two weeks in __March. Because__ the roof leaked after a heavy storm.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

• A) NO CHANGE
• B) March because
• C) March; because
• D) March, it was because

Answer: B

• A) ✗ Wrong: "Because the roof leaked after a heavy storm." is a dependent clause standing alone — a fragment.
• B) ✓ Correct: The because-clause is attached to the main clause. No comma is needed when because comes after the main clause.
• C) ✗ Wrong: A semicolon must have a complete sentence on both sides; "because the roof leaked…" is not one.
• D) ✗ Wrong: Comma splice — "The village school closed…" and "it was because…" are two independent clauses joined only by a comma.

Worked example 2 — -ing word instead of a main verb

Passage: The new solar plant near Aswan __producing__ enough electricity for thousands of homes.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

• A) NO CHANGE
• B) producing, as a result,
• C) produces
• D) which produces

Answer: C

• A) ✗ Wrong: "producing" cannot be a main verb alone, so the subject "plant" has no verb.
• B) ✗ Wrong: Adding words does not add a verb — still a fragment.
• C) ✓ Correct: "produces" is a finite present-tense verb: subject "plant" + verb "produces".
• D) ✗ Wrong: "which produces" puts the verb inside a relative clause. "The new solar plant which produces…" has no main verb — the trapped-verb fragment.

Worked example 3 — long subject with a relative clause

Passage: A small museum in Rosetta, which displays copies of ancient stones and maps of the old city, __attracting__ thousands of students each year.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

• A) NO CHANGE
• B) attracts
• C) that attracts
• D) and it attracts

Answer: B

• A) ✗ Wrong: "displays" belongs to the which-clause, and "attracting" is not finite, so "museum" has no main verb.
• B) ✓ Correct: Strip the which-clause between the commas: "A small museum in Rosetta attracts thousands of students" — complete.
• C) ✗ Wrong: Another relative clause; the museum still has no main verb.
• D) ✗ Wrong: "A small museum…, and it attracts" — the first part still has no verb, and "it" repeats the subject.

Worked example 4 — a NOT question

Passage: Many desert plants store water in their thick __leaves. This allows__ them to survive for months without rain.

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?

• A) leaves; this allows
• B) leaves, which allow
• C) leaves, allowing
• D) leaves. Allowing

Answer: D

• A) ✓ Acceptable: A semicolon joins two complete, closely related sentences.
• B) ✓ Acceptable: "which allow them…" is a dependent clause correctly attached to the main sentence with a comma.
• C) ✓ Acceptable: The -ing phrase is attached to a complete sentence, so it simply adds information.
• D) ✗ The answer: NOT acceptable. "Allowing them to survive for months without rain." has no subject and no finite verb — a fragment. On a NOT question, the error IS the answer.

Practice

Two short ACT-style essays, 5 questions each. Every item tests fragments — sometimes the correct answer is NO CHANGE. Explanations appear after you answer.

All pages in this course

ACT English

• The Enhanced ACT: Complete Overview
• How to Attack ACT English
• ACT Commas: Every Correct Use and Every Trap
• ACT Semicolons: Joining Sentences and the List Rule
• ACT Colons: Lists, Explanations and the Traps
• ACT Dashes: Pairs, Single Dashes and Choosing the Right Mark
• ACT Apostrophes: Possession, Contractions and Plurals
• ACT Unnecessary Punctuation: When No Mark Is Correct
• Sentence Fragments
• Run-ons and Comma Splices
• Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
• Parallel Structure
• Faulty Comparisons
• Unnecessary Shifts: Tense, Point of View, Voice and Mood
• ACT Subject–Verb Agreement: Find the True Subject
• ACT Pronoun Case: I or Me, Who or Whom
• ACT Pronoun Agreement and Clear Reference
• ACT Verb Tense and Verb Forms
• Adjectives vs Adverbs
• Comparatives and Superlatives
• Idioms and Prepositions
• Commonly Confused Words
• Transitions: Choosing the Right Linking Word
• Organisation: Sentence Placement, Paragraph Order, Introductions and Conclusions
• Add or Delete: Should the Writer Make This Change?
• Writer's Goal: Choosing Content That Meets a Purpose
• Concision and Redundancy
• Word Choice and Tone
• ACT English — Practice Test 1
• ACT English — Practice Test 2

ACT Reading

• The Enhanced ACT: Complete Overview
• ACT Reading Strategy: Read Fast, Answer Smart
• Main Idea and Summary Questions
• Detail Questions: "According to the Passage"
• Relationships: Sequence, Cause–Effect and Comparison
• Inference Questions: "It Can Reasonably Be Inferred"
• Words and Phrases in Context
• Purpose, Function and Text Structure
• Point of View, Tone and Perspective
• Paired Passages: Comparing Two Authors
• Passages with Charts, Tables and Graphs
• Evaluating Arguments: Claims, Evidence and Reasoning
• ACT Reading — Practice Test 1
• ACT Reading — Practice Test 2