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"Yes/No?"

The "yes/no" question test is a method outlined on page 73 of Jack Dodd's, The Ready Reference Handbook: "If you're unsure whether a word group is a complete sentence, ... turn the [grouping] into a yes or no question. Rearrange words if necessary." If the question is complete and clear, then you've got an independent clause, otherwise, there's work to be done.

For example:

1. I had learned to shoot the head off a match by the time I was five.

[The test: Had I learned to shoot the head off a match by the time I was five? The question makes sense, you see, and sounds complete. The test case is an independent clause and may be punctuated as a sentence.]

2. Shooting the head off a match by the time I was five.

[The test: Is shooting the head off a match by the time I was five? An incomplete sentence here demonstrates that the original is a fragment.]

3. Since I shot the head off a match by the time I was five.

[The test: Has since I shot the head off a match by the time I was five? Pure gibberish and, subsequently, we know that the example is not a complete sentence.]