Free sentence fragments worksheets

How to use these worksheets in class

• Lesson 1 (grades 3-4): the two-question test. Read the twelve items on Sentence or fragment? aloud. For each one ask "Who or what?" and "Did what?". If either question has no answer, it is a fragment. Item 10 ("Birds sing.") is there on purpose: a sentence can be two words long.
• Lesson 2: name the missing part. What is missing? forces the diagnosis before the repair. Group the class by answer: subject-missing fragments usually start with a verb, verb-missing fragments are long noun phrases, and complete-thought fragments start with a joining word. Students who can say which kind they have can fix it without help.
• Lesson 3: repair. Fix the fragment gives a hint with each item. Collect two or three rewrites of the same fragment on the board to show there is never one right answer, only complete ones.
• Lesson 4 (grades 5-6): fragments versus run-ons. Both errors come from not knowing where a sentence ends. The sorting sheet puts them side by side, and the repair section asks for three different fixes so students stop relying on "add a comma".
• Lesson 5: edit a paragraph. The two paragraphs hide nine fragments in ordinary narrative writing. Have students read each paragraph aloud first; the fragments are audible before they are visible. Then set the same task on a piece of their own writing.

Answer key

Every practice sheet carries its own answer key on page 2 of the PDF. The keys are repeated here for quick marking.

• Sentence or fragment?: 1. S 2. F 3. S 4. F 5. F 6. S 7. F 8. S 9. F 10. S 11. F 12. S Now fix it: 1. Any complete sentence, e.g. He was running down the hill as fast as he could. 2. Any complete sentence, e.g. Because the bus was late again, we missed the start of the film.
• What is missing?: 1. Subject 2. Verb 3. Thought 4. Subject 5. Verb 6. Thought 7. Subject 8. Thought 9. Verb 10. Thought Rewrite four of them: 1. Sample: The frog jumped over the muddy puddle. 2. Sample: The old lighthouse on the rocky shore flashed all night. 3. Sample: When the bell rang for lunch, everyone rushed outside. 4. Sample: If you finish your chores early, you can play outside.
• Fix the fragment: 1. Sample: The cat slept under the porch all afternoon. 2. Sample: The red kite with the long tail soared above the beach. 3. Sample: Because I forgot my umbrella, I got soaked on the way home. 4. Sample: The twins laughed until their sides hurt. 5. Sample: A basket of fresh apples from the orchard sat on the table. 6. Sample: While the teacher was writing on the board, a bird flew into the room. 7. Sample: Every student in the fourth grade took part in the play. 8. Sample: Before the sun came up, the farmer had already milked the cows. 9. Sample: The art club painted a mural on the school wall. 10. Sample: Even though we practiced every day, we lost the final.
• Fragment, run-on or sentence?: 1. RO 2. F 3. S 4. RO 5. F 6. S 7. RO 8. F 9. S 10. RO 11. S 12. F Repair the run-ons: 1. Sample: The storm knocked out the power, so we lit candles. 2. Sample: I love swimming, but my brother prefers cycling. 3. Sample: He studied all night; he still felt nervous. 4. Sample: The dog barked. The mail carrier ran.
• Find the fragments in the paragraph: Paragraph A: the camping trip (5 fragments): 1. Fragments: "Packed the car the night before." "For the campfire." "Until it was very late." "In the morning a deer near our tent." "Because it was so quiet." Sample rewrite: Last summer my family went camping by the lake. We packed the car the night before. Dad set up the tent while my sister collected sticks for the campfire. We toasted marshmallows and told stories until it was very late. In the morning we saw a deer near our tent because it was so quiet. We watched it for a long time before it walked away. Paragraph B: the science fair (4 fragments): 1. Fragments: "Built a volcano out of clay." "When she poured in the vinegar." "Jamal’s project about magnets." "The judges very impressed." Sample rewrite: Our class held a science fair on Friday. Priya built a volcano out of clay. When she poured in the vinegar, it erupted with red foam and everyone cheered. Jamal’s project was about magnets. He showed how a magnet can pick up paper clips through a sheet of paper. The judges were very impressed. They gave our class a ribbon.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Calling every short sentence a fragment. "Stop!" and "Birds sing." are complete. Length is not the test; subject and verb are.
• Treating dependent clauses as complete. "When the bell rang for lunch." has a subject and a verb, so students tick S. Teach them that a joining word at the start makes the whole clause wait for a main clause.
• Fixing a fragment by adding a comma. Attaching "Because it was so quiet." to the previous sentence with a comma works only if the result has one subject-verb pair; otherwise a full stop or "so/and/but" is needed.
• Confusing fragments and run-ons. A fragment has too little; a run-on has too much. The sorting sheet exists for this confusion.