Whenever you start a sentence with a subordinating conjunction, you are beginning with a subordinate clause. A subordinate clause cannot be a sentence by itself. A subordinate clause must always have an independent clause attached to it.
Sometimes we start a sentence with a subordinate clause and forget to add the independent clause. That leaves us with a fragment. A fragment is an incomplete sentence.
After I get home. This is a dependent clause that begins with the subordinating conjunction after. The words don’t make sense by themselves because the reader wonders – what happens after the person gets home? This group of words is not a complete sentence. This is a fragment. The writer started with a subordinating conjunction – the word after – but they did not attach an independent clause to the end of the sentence.
To make a complete sentence, we need to add a comma and then an independent clause. Here are some possible ways to make this fragment into a complete sentence:
After I get home, we will eat dinner.
After I get home, we can watch the movie.
After I get home, you can borrow the car.
A clause beginning with a subordinating conjunction cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. A subordinate clause by itself is a fragment. Always attach a comma and an independent clause to a subordinate clause.
▶It’s your turn. Fix this fragment. Add a comma and an independent clause to the subordinate clause to make a complete sentence. While it’s still light outside Did you finish the fragment sentence? Did you remember to insert a comma before adding the independent clause? Good for you.