Complete Sentences

Every sentence is built from two halves. Work through each one, then test it on the line.

A complete sentence joins a subject and a predicate into a thought that can stand on its own, begins with a capital letter, and ends with an end mark. Each part needs the others; none is a sentence by itself.

The subject names who or what the sentence is about. Even a long subject, with extra describing words, still names one main thing at its center.

The predicate tells what the subject does or is. At its core is the verb; a helping verb may come before the main verb, and both live in the predicate.

A fragment is missing a required part. "Because the bell rang" has a subject and a verb, yet it does not finish its thought, so it is still a fragment. The fix never changes: give it the part it lacks until it can stand on its own.