Which term describes a sentence that lacks a main clause and cannot stand alone?

• A. Fragment
• B. Run-on sentence
• C. Comma splice
• D. Coordinating conjunction

Answer: (A)

A sentence that lacks a main clause and cannot stand alone is a fragment. A main clause, or independent clause, has both a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought, so it can stand on its own as a sentence. Fragments happen when a phrase or dependent clause is left hanging without a complete idea. For example, “Because I was tired” leaves us waiting for more information to complete the thought. A fix would be to attach a main clause, such as “Because I was tired, I went to bed early,” or to turn it into a full sentence like “I was tired, so I went to bed early.”

This is different from a run-on sentence, which tries to connect two complete thoughts without proper punctuation or a conjunction. A comma splice is a specific type of run-on where two independent clauses are joined only with a comma. A coordinating conjunction is a connecting word (like and, but, or) used to join clauses, and by itself it isn’t a sentence. Because fragments are the form that describes a sentence missing a main clause, they’re the best fit for this description.