Question

fragments & sentences
if the group of words is a complete sentence, write the letter s on the line.
if the group of words is a fragment, write f on the line.

1. yesterday when i got off the school bus.
2. my friend sheila and i saw a brown toad hopping on the sidewalk.
3. yelled and screamed when she saw it.
4. my friend sheila, who is scared of all reptiles.
5. i picked up the toad and looked closely at it.
6. had dry, bumpy skin on its body.
7. sheila said, \i dont want to see that ugly toad!\
8. said, \then close your eyes sheila.\
9. sheila was mad and she ran off.
10. i put the toad in my backpack.
11. took it home to show my brother.
12. my brother wasnt home from school yet.
13. then i put the backpack on the living room sofa.
14. the toad was still inside.
15. my mother opened the backpack to see what homework i had.
16. hopped out of the backpack and began jumping around the living room floor.
17. screamed loudly!
18. do you think my mother will let me keep the little brown toad?

Explanation:

A complete sentence has a subject (who/what the sentence is about) and a predicate (action/state of being), and expresses a full thought. A fragment lacks one or more of these.

1. Has subject ("I") and predicate ("got off the school bus"), full thought.
2. Has subject ("My friend Sheila and I") and predicate ("saw a brown toad hopping..."), full thought.
3. Lacks a clear subject (who yelled?).
4. Lacks a predicate (no action for "My friend Sheila").
5. Has subject ("I") and predicate ("picked up...looked closely..."), full thought.
6. Lacks a subject (who/what had dry, bumpy skin?).
7. Has subject ("Sheila") and predicate ("said, 'I don't want...'"), full thought.
8. Lacks a subject (who said this?).
9. Has subject ("Sheila") and predicate ("was mad and ran off"), full thought.
10. Has subject ("I") and predicate ("put the toad in my backpack"), full thought.
11. Lacks a subject (who took it home?).
12. Has subject ("My brother") and predicate ("wasn't home from school yet"), full thought.
13. Has subject ("I") and predicate ("put the backpack on..."), full thought.
14. Has subject ("The toad") and predicate ("was still inside"), full thought.
15. Has subject ("My mother") and predicate ("opened the backpack to see..."), full thought.
16. Lacks a subject (who/what hopped out?).
17. Lacks a subject (who screamed?).
18. Has subject ("you") and predicate ("think my mother will let me keep..."), full thought.

Answer:

1. S
2. S
3. F
4. F
5. S
6. F
7. S
8. F
9. S
10. S
11. F
12. S
13. S
14. S
15. S
16. F
17. F
18. S