Booher's Rules of Business Grammar - Dianna Booher 2009

Fragmented thoughts
Punctuation problems

UNINTENTIONAL FRAGMENTS

Don’t do as I do; do as I say. This principle has never worked with my kids, so I doubt that it’s going to go over well with you here without further explanation. Why? You’ll find fragments (incomplete sentences) throughout this book. You’ll also find them in the most technical engineering reports, Wall Street analysts’ reports, and legal briefs.

Question: So why am I calling them a big mistake?

The operative word here is intentional fragments. In the previous paragraphs, Why? and Question: are not sentences. Neither has a subject or a verb. You can tell, however, that they’re intentional expressions of complete thoughts, not careless errors.

You may have read e-mails from colleagues that contain fragments. Although they’re often in a hurry. You see what I mean? That last thought, “although they’re often in a hurry,” appears to be an unintentional, incomplete thought written either because I was in a hurry or because some proofreader went to sleep on the job. You’re thinking, “although they’re often in a hurry” what?

Solution: double-check although and because clauses to make sure they’re complete sentences. If you have other fragments (word groups with no subject and verb), make sure that they’re intentional and that they express clear, complete thoughts. If they don’t, turn them into sentences—usually by adding a missing verb.

If you have a particularly long group of words and you can’t tell whether it’s a sentence, try to add a tag question on the end. If that doesn’t work, then you don’t have a sentence. Example:

When the auditors finish reviewing the security procedures this week, they will write and submit a formal report, won’t they? (A tag question added to the end makes sense. This is a complete sentence.)

When the auditors finish reviewing the security procedures this week, aren’t they? (don’t they? can’t they? haven’t they?) (A tag question added to the end makes no sense, so this is not a sentence.)

Memory tip

Think classified ads: “Condo for Sale: 4 years old. Oceanside view. 3 miles from shopping. 2-car garage. $145K. Will consider lease.” These brief, complete thoughts are intentional fragments. On the other hand, unintentional fragments convey fractured thinking.