By: Shanna Hovley
You get a lot of feedback from editors when you turn your work over to their wicked hands. As an editor, I know we’re a bunch who like to get into the weeds of grammar, regardless of if others care to know the terms. A frequent edit I see and give, is to clean up fragment sentences. Those are caused by incomplete clauses.
You can look up the definition of a clause on dictionary.com/browse/clause to see they define it as:
Grammar. a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.
First off, oof. Let’s simplify.
A clause is a complete sentence (or phrase), consisting of a subject and verb.
Zebra drinks.
Subject. Verb.
As a writer, you’ll run into feedback that might look like this. Please revise this fragment sentence. This means you’re missing one of the elements of a clause.
After the movie. (fixed) After the movie, we went home.
Verb. (no subject). Verb. Subject.
My favorite pet. (fixed) My favorite pet is the turtle.
Subject. (no verb). Subject. Verb.
We can even go much longer and more complex, and it’ll still be a fragment.
Loves going to stores, conferences, and occult events on full moons or every other Tuesday.
Subject. (no verb.)
(fixed) She loves going to stores, conferences, and occult events on full moons or every other Tuesday.
Verb. Subject.
Does this mean you should never, ever use a fragment sentence?
Well, no.
Like any writing rule, there are exceptions, but those exceptions should only be made on purpose and with deliberate thought. At least, that’s what the cruel, unfeeling editor in me would scream. In truth, writing is painting a masterwork with words, and editing it with strict rules can sometimes trap a bird in a box.
There are times when a fragment sentence is what makes a passage flow perfectly.
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony. Half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.” — Jane Austen, Persuasion
It takes extra work to find an editor that’s right for you and your story, but when you do, it makes everything flow so much smoother. Many editors offer to do sample edits to make sure, both for them and for you, that they are the right fit. If you don’t currently have an editor, send me an email and get on my list.
“Let grammar, punctuation, and spelling into your life! Even the most energetic and wonderful mess has to be turned into sentences.” Terry Pratchett