Fragment or Sentence Checker

Find out whether a group of words is a complete sentence or a sentence fragment. The checker tests each sentence for a subject, a main verb and a complete thought, tells you which rule a fragment breaks, and shows how to fix it.

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Fragment or sentence: your results

Every sentence, checked for a subject, a main verb and a complete thought.

Type or paste text above to check each sentence.

How to check if a sentence is a fragment

Checking for sentence fragments takes three steps.

Type a sentence or paste a paragraph

Each sentence is checked on its own, so you can test one line or a whole essay.
Read the verdict

Complete sentence, question, command or fragment, with the reason in plain English.
Use a fix

Every fragment comes with ways to complete it, such as adding a main clause or joining it to the sentence next to it.

Example

“Because I was late.” is a fragment: a dependent clause on its own. “Because I was late, I missed the bus.” is a complete sentence.

Check this example

Sentence vs fragment: what’s the difference?

A complete sentence has three things:

A subject: who or what the sentence is about (David, the car, she).
A main verb: a verb that shows tense, such as slept, is, walks or will go.
A complete thought: it makes sense on its own, without needing another sentence.

A sentence fragment is missing at least one of them, even though it starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. David slept. is a complete sentence, just two words long. The car that his wife rented. is longer, but it’s a fragment: it never says what the car did or was.

Types of sentence fragments and how to fix them

There are seven common types of sentence fragment, and each has a simple fix.

Fragment type	Example	How to fix it
No main verb	A story with deep thoughts and emotions.	Add a verb: It was a story with deep thoughts and emotions.
No subject	Went to the shop after work.	Add a subject: I went to the shop after work.
Dependent clause	Because I was late.	Add a main clause: Because I was late, I missed the bus.
-ing phrase	Running down the street.	Add a subject and helping verb: She was running down the street.
“To” phrase	To win the race.	Add a main clause: To win the race, you need to train.
Noun with a describing clause	The car that his wife rented.	Finish the thought: The car that his wife rented was red.
Added detail or example	Such as apples and pears.	Join it to the sentence before: We bought fruit, such as apples and pears.

What makes a sentence complete?

The subject can be understood. Commands such as Close the door. and Stop! are complete sentences: the subject “you” is implied.

The verb must show tense. Is, went, walks and can swim show tense, so they can be main verbs. An -ing word (running) or a “to” form (to run) can’t be a main verb on its own: it needs a helping verb, as in She was running.

Some words make a clause depend on another. Words such as because, although, when, if, since, while, unless, after, before and until turn a clause into a dependent clause. When the rain stopped has a subject and a verb, but it needs a main clause: When the rain stopped, we went outside.

Questions are complete. Where are you going? puts the helping verb before the subject, which is normal for a question.

Are sentence fragments always wrong?

Not always. In academic and formal writing, avoid them. But fragments are normal in dialogue (“Why?” “Because it was late.”), headlines, adverts and fiction, where writers use them for emphasis. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab notes that journalists sometimes use fragments this way. The checker still flags them, so you can decide.

How accurate is the fragment checker?

The checker is rule-based: it looks for subjects, main verbs and the words that start dependent clauses, using a built-in list of English verbs. In our tests on sentences it hadn’t seen before, it agreed with a human reader on about 9 sentences in 10.

It can miss unusual sentences, such as verbs it doesn’t know, poetry or very long sentences with several clauses. That’s why every result explains the rule it applied: read the reason before you change your sentence. Your text is checked in your browser and never sent anywhere.

Fragment or sentence checker FAQ

What is a sentence fragment?

An incomplete sentence: a group of words that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, but is missing a subject, a main verb or a complete thought.

How do I know if a sentence is a fragment?

Ask three questions: who or what is it about (the subject), what does it do or what is it (the main verb), and does it make sense on its own? If any answer is missing, it’s a fragment.

Is “David went.” a complete sentence?

Yes. It has a subject (David) and a main verb (went), and it makes sense on its own. More detail, such as where he went, makes it more informative, not more complete.

Can a one-word sentence be complete?

Yes, if it’s a command. “Stop!” and “Listen.” are complete sentences because the subject “you” is understood. A word like “Yes.” or “Why?” is a fragment, which is fine in dialogue.

Is a sentence that starts with “because” a fragment?

Only if it has no main clause. “Because I was late.” is a fragment; “Because I was late, I missed the bus.” is complete.

Is a fragment the same as a run-on sentence?

No, they’re opposites. A fragment is missing something; a run-on joins two complete sentences without the right punctuation. Check run-ons with the Run-On Sentence Checker.

Is my text saved or uploaded?

No. Every sentence is checked in your browser, and your text never leaves your device.

Sources and references

Sentence Fragments, Purdue Online Writing Lab
Fragments and Run-ons, The Writing Center, UNC Chapel Hill