![]() ![]() ![]() Though phrase snippets may be acceptable in casual conversation, they can be confusing or misleading in more formal or academic writing. They may offer some information, but without a subject and a verb, they remain unfinished and leave the listener or reader wondering what comes next. These sentence fragments lack the necessary components to convey a complete thought. So, what exactly is a phrase snippet? Imagine someone saying, "After work yesterday." or "In the park with my friends.". While phrase snippets are commonly heard in casual conversations and informal writing, they should be avoided in more formal and professional settings. These are incomplete sentences that lack a subject or a verb, leaving the listener or reader puzzled. When it comes to speaking and writing in English, we often come across an interesting phenomenon known as phrase snippets. If you are telling a story, a few fragments might suit your purpose and style well, but if you are writing an essay or crafting a business document, it’s best to steer clear of them.Understanding Phrase Snippets: What They Are and How to Avoid Them And he did is a sentence beginning with a conjunction, and it’s a one-sentence paragraph.Īs always, judge for yourself who your audience is and how much wiggle room you have for breaking the rules. Your high school English teacher would find three things wrong with this description. All the same, he was determined to astound us. No one thought that Ethan could make the jump it was just too high. Journalists, bloggers, and fiction writers often use them. That said, a fragment within a clear context can sometimes serve a valid dramatic purpose. Without question, you should avoid sentence fragments in formal situations and academic writing. READ MORE: When (and how) to fix sentence fragments Stylistic sentence fragments Fragments can sound as if they are carelessly blurted out. It’s a subtle psychological difference, but if you are corresponding in a formal setting, it is worth taking care to write complete sentences. Adding the subject will build a stronger, more confident-sounding sentence: Another famous example of a short-but-complete sentence is “Jesus wept.”Īvoiding sentence fragments not only makes your writing easier to read, but it can also make you sound more polished in polite correspondence. Nothing in the sentence demands further explanation. ![]() I ran may be a short thought, but it has a subject ( I) and a verb ( ran). But that doesn’t mean that short sentences can’t be complete. In that example, making the sentence longer was the solution. Now the fragment has become a dependent clause attached to a sentence that has a subject ( the party) and a verb ( was canceled). To complete it, we need further explanation:īecause of the rain, the party was canceled. It leaves us wondering what happened because of the rain. On its own, because of the rain doesn’t form a complete thought. Here is a glaring example of a sentence fragment: For example, you could hide under their beds and wait for dark.īoth remedies result in structurally sound sentences. There are many ways to frighten little brothers.
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