2. Sentences must have a capital letter at
the beginning of the sentence.
Sentences must have an ending mark
such as a period, exclamation point, or
a question mark.
They must have a noun or subject,
such as a person, place, thing, or idea.
They must have a verb or action word.
Sentences must express a complete
idea.
3. The first letter of a sentence
“I”
days, months, and holidays
names of people and places, titles of people
buildings and other structures
organizations and other groups of people
historical events and documents
titles of books, games, newspapers,
magazines, movies, plays, television shows,
works of art, etc.
4. the children were playing in the
park
do you know that girl’s name
jose plays the guitar
this is the best birthday ever
Slammed the door and left.
5. The children were playing in the
park.
Do you know that girl’s name?
Jose plays the guitar.
This is the best birthday ever!
Jessica slammed the door and left.
(This sentence was missing a subject,
so we have to add one.)
6. Sentence fragments occur for three reasons:
When a sentence is lacking a subject, it is a fragment.
For example: And yawned loudly enough to make
everyone in class turn around. (We do not know who
yawned loudly, therefore this sentence is missing a
subject and is a fragment.)
When a sentence is lacking a verb, it is a fragment. For
example: The birch trees with their rattling yellow
leaves. (We do not know what the birch trees are
doing, so the sentence is lacking a verb.)
When a sentence does not express a complete thought,
then it is a fragment. Because tuition increased again
this semester. (We do not know what happened as a
result of the tuition increase, so the sentence does not
express a complete thought and is therefore a
fragment.)