Is this a sentence fragment?
Carter’s antique maple chair with an artistically hand-woven seat.
yes
no
The correct answer and explanation is:
Yes, this is a sentence fragment.
A sentence fragment is a group of words that does not express a complete thought. It lacks either a subject, a predicate, or both, which prevents it from standing alone as a full sentence. In this case, “Carter’s antique maple chair with an artistically hand-woven seat” is not a complete sentence because it does not contain a main verb or express a complete idea. It is merely a noun phrase that describes the chair.
For a group of words to be a complete sentence, it needs at least one independent clause. An independent clause must contain a subject (who or what the sentence is about) and a predicate (the action or state of being). Here, the phrase has a subject, “Carter’s antique maple chair,” but it lacks a verb or predicate to explain what happens with the chair.
If you add a verb or action to this fragment, it becomes a complete sentence. For example: “Carter’s antique maple chair with an artistically hand-woven seat is very comfortable.” Now, the sentence has a subject (“Carter’s antique maple chair with an artistically hand-woven seat”) and a verb (“is”) that links the subject to the complement (“very comfortable”), forming a complete thought.
To avoid sentence fragments, ensure that every sentence contains at least a subject and a predicate, expressing a full idea that can stand alone.