A sentence contains a subject and a predicate (and the predicate could be a single verb). You can find that definition in any dictionary. But some incomplete sentences, fragments, or clauses fool us because they contain nouns and verbs that look like they could be the subject and predicate. So what do you do?
If you get confused by the technical definition of a sentence, you can going with your gut instinct. An incomplete sentence leaves you feeling empty and unsatisfied. This is because sentence fragments just don’t express a complete idea.
Take a look at some long sentence fragments that look like they could be sentences. They’re guaranteed to leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled!
The fact that no human has ever provided proof of a wild, hairy man living in the wilderness, in contrast to the fact that hundreds of people have claimed to have seen one.
What about the fact? You could turn this into a sentence by adding “frustrates me” at the end. That gives us a complete thought.
Since none of the people who ate the jelly buns used napkins.
What of it? Aren’t you left wondering about the consequences of this uncouth state of affairs?
Because the bowling ball slipped out of its bag and rolled about the trunk of the car as we drove down the winding highway, crushing the potato chips that we had bought for the party.
You might feel satisfied by adding “we had to make tuna casserole.”
Until all the cell phones stop ringing in theaters, and all the people who think they can sing really can, and televised golf gets exciting, and all the weeds stop growing in gardens, and all the puppies stop chewing up shoes.
Add: “teachers will assign homework” and you’ll be satisfied (sort of).
