incomplete sentence

English

Noun

Examples
Joe took the... (Indicates that the subject took something, but lacks an object) The shiniest of the red balls. (Identifies an object but lacks a verb which assigns any action to the object)

incomplete sentence (plural incomplete sentences)

(grammar) A group of words that appear to convey only part of a complete thought, lacking some component which is grammatically necessary to complete the thought.

Usage notes

A sentence can be very long but still be an incomplete sentence if it lacks an element necessary to complete a thought. By contrast, a very short sentence can be a complete sentence if the missing elements are provided by context: Are you going to the beach today? I am.

Translations

a group of words which appears to convey only part of a complete thought (grammar)

Chinese:
Mandarin: 不完整的句子 (bù wánzhěng de jùzi)
Finnish: epätäydellinen lause
French: phrase incomplète f

German: unvollständiger Satz m
Japanese: 不完全な文章 (ふかんぜんなぶんしょう, fukanzen na bunshō)
Russian: непо́лное предложе́ние n (nepólnoje predložénije)

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