Question

IDENTIFYING AND REVISING SENTENCE FRAGMENT

Answer 1

Answer:

1. In an interesting article about vandalism against works of art.

This is a sentence fragment. It is a missing a subject and a predicate. In this context, we are missing this information: What can be found in this article? For example, we can modify this sentence with:

You are mentioned in an interesting article about vandalism against works of art.

In an interesting article about vandalism against works of art, Jonathan found the inspiration for his next artwork.  

2. The motives of the vandals varying widely.

Though at first glance it might seem like a complete sentence, this sentence is actually a fragment: It is lacking a predicate. Varying here is not a predicate, it is an adjective, describing the motives of the vandals. We are missing information such as: In what context do the motives vary? Some possible way of completing these sentences are:

Investigation into art vandalism has found that most of the vandals are not ashamed of their actions, with the motives of the vandals varying widely.

With the motives of the vandals varying widely, it can be difficult to devise a way to stop the perpetrators of these crimes using only one method.  

3. Those who harm artwork are usually angry.

This is a complete sentence. You can find the subject (those), the predicate (are), and a clear thought process (who harm artwork).  

4. But not necessarily at the artist or the owner.

This is a sentence fragment. We are missing information about what is happening that involves the artist or the owner. We can find subjects here (the artist or the owner), but we are lacking a coherent thought process and the verb. Also, the fact that there is a conjunction ‘but’, means that this fragment is a dependent clause. Some ways of completing these are:

Those who harm artwork are usually angry, but not necessarily at the artist or the owner.

5. For instance, a man who hammered at Michelangelo's Pietà.

This is a sentence fragment. It is missing a predicate, and the use of for instance, implies that it is not a complete sentence. A way to complete this sentence would be, for example:

For instance, a man who hammered at Michelangelo's Pietà was arrested two years ago for a similar crime done to Michelangelo’s David.  

6. And knocked off the Virgin Mary's nose.

Again, this is a sentence fragment, since we are missing a predicate, and there is a conjunction word used within the sentence (and). The addition of a few more words can complete the sentence, such as:

He punched and knocked off the Virgin Mary’s nose because he was enraged by its depiction.  

7. Because he was angry at the Roman Catholic Church.

This is a sentence fragment. We have the subject (he) and the predicate (was), but because there was a conjunction (because), we need another phrase to make the clause a complete sentence. This is a dependent clause – missing an independent one. A way to complete this clause, for example, would be:

He shouted at the priest because he was angry at the Roman Catholic Church.  

8. Which knew nothing of his grievance.

We can see that the sentence is missing a subject, a verb, and a clear thought that can assemble these words into a complete sentence. From the missing parts, we can conclude that this is a sentence fragment. The use of which also tells us that this is a clause. Thus, we need to add a subject, a verb, and a phrase that can complete this sentence – for example:

The statue, which knew nothing of his grievance, became damaged in the process, costing an exorbitant amount for its restoration.  

9. Although many damaged works can be repaired.

Though this sentence has a subject and a verb, we can see that there is the word ‘although’ here, which is a form of conjunction – also known as subordinating conjunction. We can deduce then that this isn’t an independent clause – this is a dependent clause. To be concise: This is a fragment sentence. To repair this sentence, we can do this:

Although many damaged works can be repaired, it would take quite some time for the work to be made public again.  

10. Usually even the most skillful repairs are forever visible.

This is a complete sentence. The word usually here refers to adverb of frequency – which can stand alone in a sentence; not serving as a conjunction to an independent clause. We can see this since it is possible to move the word to the middle of the sentence (“Even the most skillful repairs are usually forever visible”). Thus, there is no need to revise this sentence.