Dec 17 2007
Sentence Fragments – Outlaws or Allies?
Most of us were taught to use complete sentences – those that are fully equipped with at least one subject and its accompanying verb – and to avoid incomplete sentence (a.k.a. “sentence fragments”) like the plague. But in the real world, sentence fragments are strategically used by even the best writers.
Can you can spot the sentence fragments in the following three book excerpts?
- It was propped against the collar box and I lay listening to it. Hearing it, that is. I don’t suppose anybody ever deliberately listens to a watch or a clock. (William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury)
- Rikki-tikki put his paws one on each side of the egg, and his eyes were blood-red. “What price for a snake’s eggs? For a young cobra? For a young king-cobra? For the last – the very last of the brood? The ants are eating all the others down by the melon-bed.” (Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book)
- Out in the dark yard, working in the lantern light, Pa and Al loaded the truck. Tools on the bottom, but handy to reach in case of a breakdown. Boxes of clothes next, and kitchen utensils in a gunnysack; cutlery and dishes in their box. Then the gallon bucket tied on behind. They made the bottom of the load as even as possible, and filled the spaces between boxes with rolled blankets. (John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath)
Did you find the incomplete sentences? In each of the three excerpts, only the first and last sentences are complete sentences. All those in between are sentence fragments. Do they work? Absolutely. These were master writers. Master writers know the rules. And when to break them.
Special Note: Send Me Your Problems!
Some of you have asked if I could help you with specific writing issues. My answer is yes. Send me a comment with a piece of text you have written (nothing too long, please) and tell me what has you stumped or doesn’t seem right. I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of it and we’ll invite others to comment with their ideas or suggestions. Let’s make this a valuable, interactive learning experience. To contact me, click here.
