Grammar
Sentence Fragments — A Comprehensive Guide
Learn about what sentence fragments are and how to correct them, so that you can communicate clearly with your audience.
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Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.
File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.
Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!
You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.
Ease of use
Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.
Multiple text file format support
Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.
Protects intellectual property
Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.
User Data Privacy
Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.
Compatibility
Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.
A sentence fragment is one of those things you know you’re not supposed to have in your writing but is challenging to recognize.
Once the days of diagramming sentences are behind you, those grammar rules have a way of fading fast. So, as with many grammar rules, sometimes all you need is a quick refresher to bring it all back.
Check your text to make sure you’ve amended any sentence fragments, grammar issues, or spelling mistakes with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.
The term ‘sentence fragment’ hints at its definition. It’s a fragment of a sentence. It’s incomplete.
A sentence fragment is a clause or phrase that might be punctuated like a sentence but lacks the parts of grammar to make it one.
The best way to recognize a sentence fragment is to know what it is missing.
To understand what makes a sentence complete, start with a few key terms:
When a clause has both a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought, it is an independent clause. It is a simple sentence. The rule is the same, no matter how complex the sentence gets.
In addition to having a subject and predicate, a clause is independent when it expresses a complete thought.
A dependent clause also called a subordinate clause, has a subject and a predicate but does not express a complete thought.
A clause’s inability to stand as a sentence is usually due to an introductory word that makes the expressed thought incomplete. Introductory words such as because, that, if, although, as, and when signal a dependent clause. Here are a few examples of how those words change an independent clause to a dependent one:
Independent Clause (Sentence): The dog eats kibble.
Dependent/Subordinate Clauses:
Because the dog eats kibble
While the dog eats kibble
If the dog eats kibble
Because of those introductory words, the clause no longer expresses a complete thought. In each case, the reader is left thinking, “Yes? And…?”
Once you’ve identified what is missing in a sentence fragment, you can modify the fragment to make it a sentence one of two ways.
Examples of Sentence Fragments:
When my bird sings.
If I eat pizza before lunch
Because my birthday is in July.
My bird sings.
I eat pizza before lunch.
My birthday is in July.
When my bird sings, my day is brighter.
If I eat pizza, I won’t be able to run a mile after lunch.
Because my birthday is in July, I have a garden party to celebrate.
In the second option, each sentence fragment was connected to an independent clause to complete the thought. The method used to correct the sentence fragment depends on what expresses the intended thought.
Once you are familiar with the parts of speech that make a complete sentence, it is easy to determine a sentence fragment. A fragment will be missing something or have something added that throws it off target.
As covered above, a dependent clause fragment doesn’t express a complete thought even if it has a subject and predicate and is punctuated like a sentence.
Often, this is because of that additional introductory word that interrupts the complete thought:
My dog eats kibble when.
It's fairly obvious when a subject is missing from a simple sentence:
And wonders when her luck will change.
However, when this type of fragment follows a complete sentence, it can be harder to notice:
Marjorie waits outside the office. And wonders when her luck will change.
The two sentences together seem to express a complete thought. However, the second “sentence” is missing a subject. The “who” can’t carry over from the preceding sentence, so the fragment needs to be dealt with by combining the two:
Marjorie waits outside the office and wonders when her luck will change.
Similarly, a sentence fragment may be missing a predicate:
They were tired. Too many unspoken words between them.
The second clause above is just a subject that does not express a complete thought. Adding a predicate corrects this:
They were tired. There were too many unspoken words between them.
In formal writing, it is fair to say a sentence fragment is always incorrect and may detract from your content by causing a reader to pause or become confused.
However, in creative writing, such as fictional prose or marketing copy, the use of a fragment may be a stylistic choice.
Unless a sentence fragment is very obviously stylistic and powerful, it should be avoided because fragments are, very technically, grammatical errors.
Errors in your content can interrupt your message and reflect poorly on your company or brand.
If you are ever uncertain whether using a fragment is working to your advantage, it’s best to revise your content and create a complete sentence.
Conveniently review your copy for grammatical errors like sentence fragments with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.
Then, get more insight into grammar best practices in our top guides:
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Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.
Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.
Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.
String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.
The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.
Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.
String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.
Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.
The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.
With our tool it’s easy, just enter or upload some text, click on the button “Compare text” and the tool will automatically display the diff between the two texts.
Using text comparison tools is much easier, more efficient, and more reliable than proofreading a piece of text by hand. Eliminate the risk of human error by using a tool to detect and display the text difference within seconds.
We have support for the file extensions .pdf, .docx, .odt, .doc and .txt. You can also enter your text or copy and paste text to compare.
There is never any data saved by the tool, when you hit “Upload” we are just scanning the text and pasting it into our text area so with our text compare tool, no data ever enters our servers.
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