Question

Which is an example of a sentence fragment?

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was published in 1776.
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, which was published in 1776.
Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine and published in 1776.
Common Sense, authored by Thomas Paine, was published in 1776.

Answer 1

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, which was published in 1776.
It is a fragment because it does not actually finish a thought.

Answer 2

The sentence that is an example of a sentence fragment is the following one: Thomas Paine's Common Sense, which was published in 1776.

Sentence fragments are a group of words which put togeter look like sentences but are not. In order to be a sentence, a group of words must have an independent clause at least. Independent clauses are sentences that have a subject and a predicate and that can stand on their own because they represent a complete thought. For instance, take A.

A) I like dancing on Saturday nights

On the contrary, sentence fragments do not have independent clauses. They are dependent clauses or phrases. Fragments may look like sentences since they may have a subject and a predicate but they do not represent a complete thought.

The sentence in question is a sentence fragment because it is not a complete thought and therefore it is not an independent clause and cannot stand on its own. A relative clause has been introduced, but the main sentence is not finished, it has the subject but it lacks the predicate.