Page 712 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

3. Riding in the back of the pickup truck. The dog wobbled

unsteadily as his owner rounded a curve.

4. Sneaking cigarettes, playing her music too loud, and visiting a

male resident after curfew. Aunt Matilda has broken most of the

nursing home’s rules.

5. Leslie complains that her neighbor’s children are allowed to run

wild. Playing loudly in the street until past midnight.

-ed and -en Fragments

Another kind of fragment begins with an -ed or -en verb form, or past
participle. If the verb is a regular verb, the verb form will end in -ed,

like the verbs walked, called, and plotted. If the verb is an irregular

verb, then the verb form will end in -en or in another irregular ending.

Broken, grown, found, bought, and written are some of these forms.

(For other examples, see the list of irregular verbs in Chapter 12 .)
This type of fragment is usually corrected by connecting it to a

complete sentence.

Spaced evenly and set in rows. The desks seemed ready for the

fall term.