Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA) Practice Test

What characterizes sentence fragments?

1. Long sentences that are confusing

2. A lack of necessary elements like a subject or predicate

3. Sentences that are overly complex

4. Completely formed thoughts

The correct answer is: A lack of necessary elements like a subject or predicate

Sentence fragments are characterized by the absence of necessary elements, such as a subject, a predicate, or both, which prevents them from standing alone as complete thoughts. For example, phrases that begin with subordinating conjunctions (like "because," "although," or "when") often lack the main clause needed to form a complete sentence. This results in an incomplete idea that leaves the reader wanting more information to fully understand the statement. The other choices do not accurately reflect the nature of sentence fragments. Long sentences that are confusing or overly complex can still be complete sentences if they contain all necessary components. Additionally, completely formed thoughts do not characterize sentence fragments at all, as fragments are, by definition, incomplete. Thus, the defining feature of a sentence fragment is indeed its lack of necessary elements that contribute to its completeness.