EXERCISE 8. CHANGE EACH SENTENCE FRAGMENT INTO A COMPLETE SENTENCE. AD...
10. The autumn leaves in shades of yellow, red, and orange.
Subordinate Clauses as Fragments
Subordinate clauses, even though they have a subject and a verb, are not complete sen-
tences (see page 152).
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
: Unless you are here by six o’clock.
COMPLETE SENTENCE
: Unless you are here by six o’clock, I will
have to leave.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
: When suddenly the traffic on Main Street
came to a halt.
COMPLETE SENTENCE
: My family was driving home when suddenly
the traffic on Main Street came to a halt.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
: Which have contributed to serious air pollu-
tion problems.
COMPLETE SENTENCE
: Many states have strict inspection and mainte-
nance programs to control car exhaust emis-
sions, which have contributed to serious air
A sentence fragment that consists of a subordinate clause can be corrected in two
ways. One way is by eliminating the subordinating conjunction. The other way is by
adding words to complete the thought.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
: When Julia won.
COMPLETE SENTENCE
: Julia won. (The subordinating conjunction
when is eliminated.)
COMPLETE SENTENCE