Which of the following is a sentence fragment? - Free Printable

Let's solve the task: "Find the Sentence Fragments".

A sentence fragment is a group of words that lacks either a subject, a verb, or both, and does not express a complete thought. A complete sentence must have a subject and a predicate (a verb) and express a full idea.

We will go through each of the 10 items and determine whether it is a complete sentence or a sentence fragment.

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1. *If you would like to follow me.*

- This is a dependent clause starting with "If", which introduces a condition.
- It has a subject ("you") and a verb ("would like"), but it doesn't express a complete thought on its own.
- This is a sentence fragment.
✔ Fragment

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2. *Why did she do that?*

- This is an interrogative sentence.
- It has a subject ("she") and a verb ("did").
- It asks a question and expresses a complete thought.
- This is a complete sentence.
✘ Not a fragment

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3. *Not your regular Sunday afternoon.*

- This is a phrase.
- No verb present. "Not" is an adverb, "your" is a possessive adjective, "regular" is an adjective, "Sunday afternoon" is a noun phrase.
- No action or main verb.
- This is a sentence fragment.
✔ Fragment

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4. *Until you hear differently, I can't go.*

- This has two clauses:
- "Until you hear differently" – dependent clause
- "I can't go" – independent clause
- The whole sentence expresses a complete thought.
- This is a complete sentence.
✘ Not a fragment

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5. *Walking in the dark on the way home.*

- This is a participial phrase.
- "Walking" is a participle (present participle), not a finite verb.
- No subject or complete verb.
- It doesn’t stand alone as a complete thought.
- This is a sentence fragment.
✔ Fragment

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6. *Even though everyone else had found a seat.*

- Starts with a subordinating conjunction ("Even though").
- "Everyone else had found a seat" is a complete clause, but the entire phrase is dependent.
- It lacks an independent clause to complete the thought.
- This is a sentence fragment.
✔ Fragment

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7. *While we waited, the rain stopped, and the clouds went away.*

- Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction ("and").
- "While we waited" is a dependent clause, but the rest ("the rain stopped, and the clouds went away") are independent.
- The whole sentence expresses a complete thought.
- This is a complete sentence.
✘ Not a fragment

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8. *Swimming is her favorite activity.*

- Subject: "Swimming"
- Verb: "is"
- Predicate: "her favorite activity"
- Complete thought expressed.
- This is a complete sentence.
✘ Not a fragment

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9. *Some of the students playing in the back yard.*

- "Some of the students" is the subject.
- "playing" is a present participle, not a main verb.
- No finite verb (like "are", "were", etc.) to complete the thought.
- It’s a phrase, not a sentence.
- This is a sentence fragment.
✔ Fragment

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10. *On Saturdays, the club I belong to had a meeting.*

- Subject: "the club"
- Verb: "had"
- Object: "a meeting"
- "On Saturdays" is an adverbial phrase.
- "I belong to" is a relative clause modifying "club".
- The sentence is grammatically correct and expresses a complete thought.
- This is a complete sentence.
✘ Not a fragment

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✔ Final Answer: Circle the numbers of the sentence fragments:

Fragments:
1, 3, 5, 6, 9

So, circle:
1, 3, 5, 6, 9

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Summary of Results:

| Number | Sentence | Fragment? |
|--------|---------|----------|
| 1 | If you would like to follow me. | ✔ Yes |
| 2 | Why did she do that? | ✘ No |
| 3 | Not your regular Sunday afternoon. | ✔ Yes |
| 4 | Until you hear differently, I can't go. | ✘ No |
| 5 | Walking in the dark on the way home. | ✔ Yes |
| 6 | Even though everyone else had found a seat. | ✔ Yes |
| 7 | While we waited, the rain stopped, and the clouds went away. | ✘ No |
| 8 | Swimming is her favorite activity. | ✘ No |
| 9 | Some of the students playing in the back yard. | ✔ Yes |
| 10 | On Saturdays, the club I belong to had a meeting. | ✘ No |

✔ Answer: Circle numbers 1, 3, 5, 6, and 9.