"Because my children were sick and I was up all night." ?

[birgit33]

"Because my children were sick and I was up all night." Is this a sentence or a fragment ? I think it's a fragment, though not 100 % sure.

 

[TheParser]

"Because my children were sick and I was up all night." Is this a sentence or a fragment ? I think it's a fragment, though not 100 % sure.

***** A NON-TEACHER's COMMENT *****


(1) A great question!!!

(2) I may have found the answer in Professor Paul Roberts's

Understanding Grammar (1954).

(3) That scholar explains that some words may be a fragment in

one context and not a fragment in another context.

(a) "While we were waiting." Is that a fragment? Professor Roberts

says that it is not IF you say it in answer to the question: "When did

you see him?" On the other hand, it is a fragment if you write it this

way: We discussed that and several other matters. While we were

waiting.

(4) Maybe (maybe!!!) your example is not a fragment IF it is an answer

to the question: "Why do you look so sleepy?" On the other hand, I

guess it would be a fragment if written: Because my children were sick.

I was up all night.

(5) To be on the safe side, it would probably be better to rewrite your

sentence something like:

Because my children were sick, I was up all night. / I was up all night

because my children were sick.



Respectfully yours,


James

 

[freezeframe]

"Because my children were sick and I was up all night." Is this a sentence or a fragment ? I think it's a fragment, though not 100 % sure.

It's a fragment.

Because my children were sick and because I was up all night -- so, what because of it?

If it was "Because my children were sick, I was up all night", then you have a full sentence.

 

[RonBee]

If you have a doubt about whether a phrase is a sentence or not look for the verb that "runs" the sentence. While technically "was" is a verb, it does not interact with a subject (there is none here) to create an independent clause (sentence). The necessary verb is missing, thus it is not a sentence. Remember that you always need a verb. That is the main part of any sentence.

 

[konungursvia]

***** A NON-TEACHER's COMMENT *****


(1) A great question!!!

(2) I may have found the answer in Professor Paul Roberts's

Understanding Grammar (1954).

(3) That scholar explains that some words may be a fragment in

one context and not a fragment in another context.

(a) "While we were waiting." Is that a fragment? Professor Roberts

says that it is not IF you say it in answer to the question: "When did

you see him?" On the other hand, it is a fragment if you write it this

way: We discussed that and several other matters. While we were

waiting.

(4) Maybe (maybe!!!) your example is not a fragment IF it is an answer

to the question: "Why do you look so sleepy?" On the other hand, I

guess it would be a fragment if written: Because my children were sick.

I was up all night.

(5) To be on the safe side, it would probably be better to rewrite your

sentence something like:

Because my children were sick, I was up all night. / I was up all night

because my children were sick.



Respectfully yours,


James

TLDR;

 

[curates-egg]

"Because my children were sick and I was up all night." Is this a sentence or a fragment ? .

=Not a Teacher=

This is not, as it stands, a complete sentence. "My children were sick" and "I was up all night" both follow the subordinating cojunction "because".

Neither, in some circumstances, is it really a fragment. As TheParser pointed out, if it is an answer to a question such as "Why do you look so sleepy", then we have a complete thought with the main clause,"I look so sleepy" implied.