Sentence fragments with conjunctions: be a rebel

We really like sentences that begin with the conjunctions “and”, “but” and “or”. But we don’t like the way most writers do it. Every time you write a sentence that begins with these words, you create a sentence fragment, which is against the rules. However, breaking this rule for the right reason can make your writing more powerful. (Breaking the rules by accident usually results in poor writing.) Actually, you can create conjunctions fragments in various ways. Let’s first look at the rules for using conjunctions, and then consider when it might be useful to break them.

Rule one: coordinate conjunctions

Those three words are coordinate conjunctions, along with “for”, “nor”, “yet” and “thus”. The term “conjunction” means “to unite”. This means that you have one part of speech attached to another. with one of these words. This is the formula:
First part + Conjunction + Second part.
To follow the rules, you must have a Part One and a Part Two. If you omit either part, you will have a sentence fragment. Here are some examples of this rule applied correctly.

“John loved Sally and Sally loved Tom.” The conjunction is the union of two independent clauses (complete sentences, notice the comma).

“Tom loved Mary but not Sally.” The conjunction joins the independent clause “Tom loved Maria” with the noun phrase “not Sally”.

“Mary didn’t love John or Tom.” The conjunction joins two nouns.

“Mary loved and admired Frank.” The conjunction joins two verbs.

“Frank thought Mary was cute, but Tom was his friend, so he chased after Sally instead.” This is like the first example.

“John got mad at Frank and approached him in the parking lot after work.” The conjunction is the union of two verbal sentences.

What do we learn from these correct examples, other than the fact that someone is going to have a broken heart or a bleeding nose? Each conjunction falls between Part One and Part Two.

Now consider this obviously incorrect sentence: “John went to the store and”. Part two is missing, so this is a sentence fragment, which means it is only part of a sentence. Now consider this incorrect sentence: “But we don’t like the way most writers do it.” The first part is missing, so it is also a sentence fragment. Very few writers make the first type of mistake, but many make the second (sometimes on purpose and sometimes not).

Rule two: subordinate conjunctions

While rule one is pretty easy to use and mistakes with rule one are really easy to correct, rule two is a bit more complicated. First, let’s define “subordinate conjunction”. A subordinate conjunction begins a phrase or clause that only has value because it says something about an independent clause (think: complete the sentence again). As an analogy, imagine you have a job. You have that job just because the company you work for exists. You are subordinate to that company. Now pretend that one day you go to work only to find that the company has gone bankrupt. Suddenly, you are out of work. In the same way, a clause or phrase that begins with a subordinate conjunction only has one job when it is attached to a complete sentence. By himself, he is unemployed. It is a fragment.

How can you identify this type of conjunction? We are glad you asked. This type of conjunction is recognizable by what it does. They do the work of adverbs, which means that the sentences they start with say something about the main verb. Subordinate conjunctions do one of four things: tell when something happened, show the cause and effect of actions, provide opposing information about an action, and set some kind of condition for the main action to occur. Here are some examples showing correct usage.

Hour: “Since he kissed Mary, Frank felt guilty.” “Since” is the subordinate conjunction, begins the subordinate phrase “since he kissed Mary” and tells when Frank felt guilty.

Cause and effect: “Since Frank felt guilty, he told Tom what he had done.” “Because” is the subordinate conjunction, begins the phrase “Because Frank felt guilty” and explains the cause of his strange action (count).

Opposition: “Even though Tom was angry, he forgave Frank.” “Although” is the subordinate conjunction and begins the subordinate phrase “Although Tom was angry”, which provides opposite information to “he forgave Frank”.

Condition: “Unless Frank kissed Mary again, Tom promised to forget him completely.” “Unless” is the subordinate conjunction, begins the subordinate phrase “Unless Frank kissed Mary again”, and sets a condition for Tom to forget.

What have we learned, other than the fact that Tom is perhaps too forgiving, but perhaps a bit possessive of a girl who doesn’t care about him? Each subordinate clause needs a separate clause (are you still thinking about the whole clause?) To get a job. By itself, the subordinate phrase, started with a subordinate conjunction, will be a sentence fragment. In each of these examples, the subordinate conjunction is at the beginning of the sentence, but the entire phrase can be moved after the main verb. For example, you could write: “Frank felt guilty since he kissed Mary.” (Notice that the comma is gone).

Some other examples of subordinate conjunctions are:

Hour: “when”, “how”, “after”, “before”, “until”, “while”

Cause and effect: “now what”, “why”, “since”, “for what

Opposition: “although”, “although”, “instead of”, “instead of” “while”

Condition: “if”, “in case”, “should”, “even if”

Breaking the rules

Call us rebels if you want, but we think breaking the rules is sometimes acceptable. If you do it carefully. When you create a sentence fragment, as we just did, you create a hard pause in the reader’s mind. You draw a lot of attention to the fragment and what the fragment says. Basically, you are saying to the reader, “Stop! Pay attention to this.”

If you do this from time to time, most readers will not criticize you. However, if you do this frequently, it will make your writing tedious to read and you will seem quite amateur as a writer. A good editor will know when it is useful to do so and when it is not. Our advice is this: examine your conjunctions (especially your subordinate conjunctions) carefully and make sure they are linked to complete sentences. Follow the rules first. Then, and only then, consider whether you can break the rule. Be a rebel, but be a careful rebel.