Grammar Rule #1

A sentence must contain at least one subject and one verb, and it must form a complete thought.

If it doesn’t do that, then it’s a fragment.

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

with sentences from A.M. Homes’ “Things You Should Know”

(p. 553)

“Time passed.”

“I grew older.”

“I grew deaf in one ear.”

“In the newspaper I read that the teacher had died.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Time passed.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Time passed.”Subject? Yes, “time.”

Verb? Yes, “passed.”

Complete thought? Yes; I know what passed.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“I grew older.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

I grew older.Subject? Yes, “I.”

Verb? Yes, “grew.”

Complete thought? Yes; I know who grew older.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“I grew deaf in one ear.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“I grew deaf in one ear.”Subject? Yes, “I.”

Verb? Yes, “grew.”

Complete thought? Yes; I know who grew deaf.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“In the newspaper I read that the teacher had died.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“In the newspaper I read that the teacher had died.”Subject? Yes, “I.”

Verb? Yes, “read.”

Complete thought? Yes; I know who read what.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

with our own sentences

“The way I pictured it in my mind pretty much went that way in real life.”

“Also we tried and did our best to incorporate and include the symbolism of the setting in our skit.”

“Though if it wasn’t for this sunny summer day.”

“Instead of just getting paid like after Luciana’s party without her even knowing.”

“While the boy and the father maintain a friendly bond and visit the ski lodge for a yearly Christmas ski trip, they approach Sammy, who gets a new job as the ski lodge bellhop.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“The way I pictured it in my mind pretty much went that way in real life.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“The way I pictured it in my mind pretty much went that way in real life.” Subject? Yes, “I.”

Verb? Yes, “pictured.”

Complete thought? Yes; I know who pictured what.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Also we tried and did our best to incorporate and include the symbolism of the setting in our skit.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Also we tried and did our best to incorporate and include the symbolism of the setting in our skit.”Subject? Yes: “we.”

Verb? Yes: “tried.”

Complete thought? Yes: I know who tried to do what.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Though if it wasn’t for this sunny summer day.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Though if it wasn’t for this sunny summer day.”Subject? Yes: “it.”

Verb? Yes: “wasn’t.”

Complete thought? No: the sentence sets up the first half of a conditional statement (“if…”) but doesn’t finish it (with “then…”).

Verdict: It’s a fragment.

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Instead of just getting paid like after Luciana’s party without her even knowing.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“Instead of just getting paid like after Luciana’s party without her even knowing.” Subject? No: I don’t know who.

Verb? No: I don’t know what’s being done (but I do know that the subject is not getting paid).

Complete thought? No: I don’t know who is doing (or being) what.

Verdict: It’s a fragment.

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“While the boy and the father maintain a friendly bond and visit the ski lodge for a yearly Christmas ski trip, they approach Sammy, who gets a new job as the ski lodge bellhop.”

LET’S DO THE SENTENCE TEST!

“While the boy and the father maintain a friendly bond and visit the ski lodge for a yearly Christmas ski trip, they approach Sammy, who gets a new job as the ski lodge bellhop.” Subject? Yes: the boy and the father.

Verb? Yes: maintain, visit, and approach.

Complete thought? Yes: I know who is doing what.

Verdict: It’s a sentence!