powerpoint presentationkdustoenglish.wikispaces.com/file/view/grammar+notes.pdf · liberty high...

2012

Liberty High School English Department

• Why do you need grammar?

• Why have you had trouble with grammar in the past?

• My promise: it will never happen again!


Here are questions and responses you will

answer as you analyze a sentence:

• What is grammar? A way of thinking about language

• How many levels are there in traditional grammar? Four

• What is the first level? Parts of speech

• What are the parts of speech? The eight kinds of words in our language

• What is the second level? Parts of a sentence

• What does every sentence have to have? A subject/predicate set

• Where is the subject? Predicate? What type of predicate is it? Action? or Linking?

• What is the third level? Phrases

• What types of phrases are we looking for? Prepositional, verbal, and appositive

• What is the fourth level? Clauses

• How do we determine how many clauses we have? By the number of subject/predicate sets Liberty High School English Department

Grammar: A way of thinking about

language • Grammar is a method of critical thinking. It allows us to

build good sentences that are consistent and logically valid.

• Each thought is a paradigm of simplicity; it is a two-part structure, made of a subject and a predicate about the subject.

• Complete thought = Subject (Noun) + Predicate (Verb)

• Without grammar, we can’t discuss language problems, compare writing styles, or resolve language dilemmas, and it is also more difficult to sort ideas into clear and distinct groups of words.


P is f of G

• Punctuation is a function of grammar

• Since it is grammar we punctuate, it is impossible to punctuate unless we first see the grammatical structures.


Four Levels of Grammar

• The parts-of-speech level shows us each word, one at a time, asking, “What is this word doing?”

• The parts-of-a-sentence level shows us the architecture of the idea, asking, “What is being said about what?”

• The phrases level shows us the little groups of words in the sentence that pretend to be a single part of speech, asking, “What part of speech is this group of words?”

• The clauses level shows us whether or not more than one idea is drawn into the sentence’s design, asking, “How many different ideas are connected in this sentence?”


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POSe

POSp

I do not like green eggs and ham.

Here is a template fro sentence analysis. The full analysis is on the next slide. To complete the analysis, insert text boxes and type your answers or print the slide and write them in.


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POSe

POSp

I do not like green eggs and ham.

pron V adv V adj N conj N (help) (action)

subj pred Compound Direct Object

No phrases

Independent clause

Simple declarative sentence

POSp means parts of speech (label the part of speech for each word) POSe means parts of a sentence (label subject, predicate, objects, and complements) P means phrases (label prepositional, verbal, and appositive phrases) C means clauses (label independent and dependent clauses, the sentence type, and its purpose)


Discussion

• What is the pronoun’s antecedent? The narrator. Is the verb action or linking? Action. What is the sentence purpose? To declare. Notice that “not” is not a verb. It is an adverb and always will be.

• Each sentence is like a paradigm (an example serving as a model) of grammar. That is why four-level analysis will be the backbone of grammar instruction.


Level One: Eight Parts of Speech

Eight kinds of words: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection


Nouns

• A word or word group that is used to name a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.

• Helpful hints to identify nouns: • If it’s capitalized, it is probably a noun (proper noun), unless

it is a proper adjective. • If it is plural or can be made plural (so there is more than

one), it is a noun. • A, an, and the are indicators that a noun is next, or very

near. • An adjective will describe a noun or pronoun • A preposition needs to have a noun (or pronoun) after it.


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FromMartin Luther King’s Why We Can’t Wait:

Americans awaited a quiet summer.

Label the nouns. Label the other parts of speech if you can. You might even try to label the subject, predicate, & direct object in the POSe level.


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FromMartin Luther King’s Why We Can’t Wait:

Americans awaited a quiet summer.

n. v. adj. adj. n. action

subject predicate direct object

no phrases

one independent clause, simple declarative sentence

Nouns can give students some trouble, but a few easy ways to identify them are through their appearance and function in the sentence. Proper nouns are capitalized. Nouns can be plural. Nouns are subjects and direct objects. Adjectives modify nouns.


Pronouns A word that takes the place of a noun. A

pronoun is a word that we use instead of repeating an antecedent (noun). “John went to New York where John went to the opera.” Tedious! Instead, we replace the second John with a pronoun: “John went to New York where he went to the opera. By avoiding monotonous repetition of lengthy or compound nouns, pronouns make language fast.


Pronouns can be masculine gender (he, him, his), feminine gender (she, her, hers), or neuter gender (it). Pronouns may also have person and number, and show possession:

Pronouns Singular Plural Possessive

First person: I, me we, us my, mine, our, ours

Second person: you you your, yours

Third person: he, him, they, them his, her, hers, she, her, it its, their, theirs


• Antecedent: The pronoun’s antecedent is the noun the pronoun replaces. The antecedent is named for the fact that it goes (cede) before (ante) its pronoun, and the pronoun refers to—or replaces—the antecedent. John was he. Tina is she. It is I.

• There isn’t always an antecedent. Sometimes we don’t know it; other times, there isn’t one, like with indefinite pronouns. Anyone who is registered may vote.


Pronouns are NOT specific! They are general. The pronoun he refers equally to all male organisms in the world. This ambiguity causes problems when we try to force pronouns—against their universal nature—to stick to a single reference. If you write he in a sentence, he will attempt to refer to all males mentioned in your paragraph, or even to all males mentioned in your page.


Subject Pronouns—memorize them!

Subject Pronouns Singular Plural

First person: I we

Second person: you you

Third person: he, she, it they

Subject pronouns are what their name suggests: we use them to make subjects. They may be used as subjects of clauses and as subject complements. They are not to be used as objects! They are said to be in the subject case or nominative case.


Subject case = nominative case

She and I went to the cathedral. From Shakespeare: “It is I, Hamlet the Dane!”


Object Pronouns—memorize them!

Object Pronouns Singular Plural 1st person: me us 2nd person: you you 3rd person: him, her, it them Object pronouns are pronouns used as objects; they must be used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. Object pronouns are said to be in the object case. It hit me. We gave her a flower. The present was for him and me.


Who or whom?

Who is a subject, and whom is an object. The composer who wrote the concerto was Bach. You asked whom to the dance? Who saw whom first? The author whom I love the most is Orwell. An easy way to remember that whom goes with object case is that whom goes with him and them and they all end in m.


Memorize the subject and object pronouns. Seriously. It is a blunder to misuse them. You must have the two lists of pronouns memorized (and know the parts of the sentence) if you are ever to master pronoun usage. If you don’t memorize them, you will say odious and reprehensible things, like: “Between you and I . . .” It should be “Between you and me . . .”, please. Rascal Flatts has made bad grammar popular!


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Let’s look at why:

This game is for you and (I or me).

Label the nouns and pronouns. Label the other parts of speech if you can. You might even try to label the subject & predicate, in the POSe level. Can you find the prepositional phrase?


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POSp

Let’s look at why:

This game is for you and (I or me).

adj. n. v. prep. pron. conj. pron. linking

subject predicate subject compliment (PA)--ownership of the game

prepositional phrase, compound object of preposition



Discussion

“For” is a preposition. Prepositions need an object. “I” is subject case and “me” is object case. Memorize your pronoun cases and then remember that subjects make subjects, and objects make objects. This sentence is also interesting in that it has a prepositional phrase that is functioning as an adjective; therefore, it is a predicate adjective (similar to “This game is fun.”)


• Possessive pronouns show possession. They are used as both a pronoun and as an adjective in order to indicate ownership or possession.

• Interrogative pronouns are used to interrogate: who, whose, whom, which, what. Who went to the game?

• Demonstrative pronouns are used to demonstrate: this, that, these, those. This is the dog I want to buy.

• Relative pronouns relate an adjective clause to a main clause. The relative pronouns often begin short adjective clauses that interrupt main clauses. The man who followed you turned left. The relative pronouns are who, whose, whom, which, that.

• Reflexive pronouns (required) are –self or –selves pronouns that reflect back to a word used previously in the sentence. I found myself awash on a strange beach.

• Intensive pronouns are –self or –selves pronouns that are used to intensify the emphasis on a noun or another pronoun. I myself agree with that idea. John took the garbage out himself.

• Indefinite pronouns are general pronouns that do not have definite antecedents: anyone, anybody, each, all. Those ending in –one and –body are singular. The only indefinite pronouns that are always plural are both, few, many, several. There are six that can be either (p. 68 in freshmen grammar book): all, any, more, most, none, some.


Pronoun/antecedent agreement: a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular.

• Alexander…he

• Soldiers…they

• Hemingway and Fitzgerald…they

• Hemingway or Fitzgerald…him

• Someone…his; hers; his or hers


Pronoun reference problems:

as a result of their universal nature, pronouns are so problem-prone that they almost seem to be malicious, deliberately causing confusion wherever they can. As long as it is clear what noun the pronoun replaces, everything is fine. But often, the replacement is not clear with new (and old) writers and speakers.

Sandy and Karen went to the beach, where she broke her foot.

Who broke whose foot?


His, or her, or his or her?

To avoid number disagreement in a sentence, such as Someone dropped their muffler, we used to select the masculine gender pronoun his (Strunk): Someone dropped his muffler. We might call this the macho solution. While the macho solution correctly avoided the number disagreement, it also created a new problem: it tended to ground our language in a male viewpoint, a bias that modern egalitarian [ē·gal·i·tar·ē·an] political philosophies correctly deplore. Compound gender solution solves this: Someone lost his or her muffler. However, some people feel it sounds awkward. For those people, when the right gender pronoun is unknown, use an article rather than a pronoun. This is called the article escape: Someone dropped a muffler.


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George Orwell, who wrote this fable,

used animals as main characters .

Label the nouns and pronouns. Label the other parts of speech if you can. You might even try to label the subjects & predicates, in the POSe level. Can you find the prepositional phrase? How about the dependent clause?


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George Orwell, who wrote this fable,

from workbook: (page 7, #2)

used animals as main characters .

N. pron. V. adj. N. (proper) (action)

v. N. prep. adj. N.

subj. subj. pred.

pred.

prep phrase (adv) no verbals or appositives

Independent clause---------------------------------complex declarative sentence

Independent clause-- --dependent clause----------------- Who is the subject of the dependent clause so it needs to be in subject case.


Adjectives

• A word that modifies a noun or pronoun.

• We need adjectives to help us describe things for which no exact nouns exist, and to describe all of the things for which we do not know the exact noun. Adjectives also help us to express the subtle differences between very similar things.


What does Prof. Strunk say?

Avoid modifiers when the exact noun or verb is available—that’s why we need to improve our vocabulary


What is the difference between to modify and to describe?

• To modify is to change. In what way do adjectives modify nouns?

• Imagine a frozen summit. Think about the frozen summit of the mountain until you can see it in your mind. Now imagine a political summit. Does the second adjective modify (change) the image that you have in your mind?

• Some definitions say that adjectives describe nouns, but modify is better because nouns truly are modified or changed by their adjectives.


Binary: (consisting of two; in chemistry: two elements)

Notice that an adjective is always part of a binary system, like a double star or a planet with one moon. The presence of an adjective implies the presence of a noun or pronoun. A noun can do without an adjective, but an adjective can not exist without a noun or pronoun. If it isn’t modifying a noun or pronoun, it isn’t an adjective.


Three degrees of adjectives:

Adjectives can change degree. A fire can be hot, hotter, or hottest. Ice can be cold, colder, or coldest. A book can be good, better, or best. These three degrees of adjective intensity are known as the positive (good) used when there is no comparison, comparative (better) used when comparing two things, and superlative (best) used when comparing three of more things. These degrees allow us to make clear comparisons between similar nouns.


Proper adjectives: they are made from proper nouns.

England makes English. Rome makes Roman. Converting a proper noun to a proper adjective, we retain the capitalization. “In south Florida, Spanish moss hangs from the trees.” The school subjects of history and mathematics are not capitalized, but English and German are because they are made from the proper names of countries’


Articles:

• The is the definite article.

• A and an are indefinite articles.

• The articles are little noun-alerts.


Good or well?

The word good is an adjective that may be used to modify nouns or pronouns; the word well is usually an adverb that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

The good athlete runs well.


Unfortunately, there are exceptions to this rule just to keep us on our toes. "Well" may be used when

describing if something is proper, healthy or suitable.

• "I am well (healthy) today." • That is a good song. (Good is modifying the noun,

song.) • You sang the song very well. (Well is modifying

the verb, sang.) • The bike is pedaling well. (Well is modifying the

verb, pedaling. • The car is in good shape. (Good is modifying the

noun, car.)


One exception is with the use of verbs of

sensation like touch, feel, look, hear, and smell. • It would be proper to say, "The cake smells good." To

say that the cake smells well would imply that the cake has a nose that can smell appropriately. So, to add more confusion, it is also correct to say, "I feel good today." Good refers to how you are physically and spiritually feeling. – How are you feeling? – I feel good. (Think of James Brown's "I Feel Good".) – How are you? – I am well, thank you. – We should not say “I don’t feel well,” which means that

one has no talent for feeling things! We should say, “I don’t feel good,” which uses the adjective good to modify the pronoun I.


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Look at the small, brown rabbit near the trees.

Label nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. Fill in other info if you can- make guesses if you need to. The answers are on the next slide.


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POSp

Look at the small, brown rabbit near the trees.

verb prep adj adj adj n prep adj n action art

Sub (you) pred

prep phrase (adv) prep phrase (adj) No verbal or appositive phrases

One independent clause, simple imperative sentence

Commonly, the subject of an imperative sentence is “you,” but it is not stated.


Verbs • A word that shows action, being, or links a

subject to a subject complement.

• The verb tells what the noun does or is. If the verb is an action verb, then it might show action on a direct object: Verdi composed the opera. Or, an action verb might show simple action not on a direct object: Verdi composed. If the verb is linking, then it might link the subject to a subject complement: He is a poet. Most verbs show actions or make equations.


action (does) Verbs: linking (is)

>>>

I saw him.

(action)

=

I am he.

(Linking)


The verb is about the noun.

Every sentence has a subject and a predicate (the verb). The subject will always be a noun or a subject pronoun. The verb is saying that the noun did something or that the noun is something. Notice that with an action verb, we use the object pronoun “him” as the direct object; with a linking verb, we use the subject pronoun “he” as the subject complement. Subjects make subjects and objects make objects!


Four principal parts of the verb: All verb forms are made out of four primary forms that each verb possesses. The four principal parts are:

• the infinitive: to do (do), to go (go), to think (think), to dream (dream)

• the present participle: doing, going, thinking, dreaming

• the past: did, went, thought, dreamed

• the past participle: done, gone, thought, dreamed


Regular verbs: Most verbs make the four principal parts in the same regular way; therefore, they are called regular verbs. These regular verbs always begin with the infinitive, add –ing to make the present participle and add –d or –ed to make the past and past participle:

infinitive present participle past past participle

to work working worked worked

to spill spilling spilled spilled


Irregular verbs: Many verbs do not follow this regular pattern. Instead, they have principal parts that are unique and that must therefore be memorized in order to be used correctly:

to shrink, shrinking, shrank, shrunk

to ring, ringing, rang, rung

to break, breaking, broke, broken

to write, writing, wrote, written


Auxiliary or helping verbs:

In a simple tense, the verb stands alone, as a single word, to make the simple predicate. In a compound tense, the main verb is supplemented by an auxiliary or helping verb to construct the tense. The future and perfect tenses are examples of compound tenses that use helping verbs. In the sentence I will have composed a symphony the main verb is composed and the helping verbs are will have.


• Transitive verb (v.t.): A transitive verb is an action verb that acts on a direct object: The harpoon hit Moby Dick.

• Intransitive verb (v.i.): An intransitive verb is an action verb that does not act on a direct object: Harpoons flew.

• Why we call them “transitive.” Transitive means “the movement from one stage to another.” There is a transit of action or energy that takes place when the subject acts on the object. If I kick the bucket, the energy transfers from me to the bucket I am kicking. The stem trans means “across, beyond, through.” In an intransitive verb, there is no transfer of energy (in- means “not, opposite of, without”). Liberty High School English Department

Active voice verb

An active voice verb is an action verb that shows the subject acting. Active voice is usually more vigorous than passive voice.

Johnson discussed the problem.)

Active voice has both energy and information; active voice is vigorous.


Passive voice verb:

A passive voice verb is an action verb that shows the subject passively being acted upon. Passive voice can make sentences seem weak, since the subject of the sentence is not doing anything, and passive voice tends to leave out important information (like who or what did the action).

The problem was discussed. (by Johnson)


Active or Passive?

The meteor struck the ship.

The ship was struck by the meteor

The Literary Society presented Dickens the award.

Dickens was presented with an award.


Active or Passive?

The meteor struck the ship. active

The ship was struck by the meteor. passive

The Literary Society presented Dickens the award. active

Dickens was presented with an award. passive


Acceptable times to use passive voice: 1) When you don’t know who or what did the

action, you must use passive voice.

•The car was scratched in the parking lot.

Who or what scratched the car? We don’t know if it was a person, a car, or a truck…

2) When you want to emphasize the receiver not the doer of the action.

•Ian is loved by many people.

Instead of emphasizing the people that love Ian, I want to make Ian the subject of this sentence to emphasize how fortunate he is to have so many people supporting him.


3) Writers of scientific papers often prefer passive voice and past tense in order to describe the results of experiments and scientific investigations. Rather than write, •First, I administered the placebo. A scientist would write, •Placebos were administered to the control group each morning. In science the impersonality we normally avoid in other fields makes sense because it contributes to the inductive, objective, and descriptive tone of scientific inquiry. In writing papers on literary matters and on historical figures, you should avoid passive voice.


Action verbs can be

Transitive or Intransitive

Active Voice or Passive Voice

(Linking verbs are neither!)


Verb tense:

Verbs show us the poignant temporality of human existence. As living beings, we exist in a moving continuum of time, awake or asleep, unable to halt, to slow down, or to return. Time is so central in our experience that we identify it in every sentence we make, and we do it by putting each verb in a time tense. In other words, tense gives sentences time. We use six different tenses to indicate time.

Time makes verbs tense.


Six Verb Tenses: 3 ordinary, 3 perfect tenses

• Present

• Past

• Future

• Present Perfect

• Past Perfect

• Future Perfect


1. Present tense

singular plural

First person: I protest We protest

Second person: You protest You protest

Third person: He, she, it

protests

They protest


2. Past tense

singular plural

First person: I protested We protested

Second person: You protested You protested

Third person: He, she, it

protested

They protested


3. Future tense

singular plural

First person: I will (shall)

protest

We will (shall)

protest

Second person: You will protest You will protest

Third person: He, she, it will

protest They will

protest Liberty High School English Department

4. Present perfect

tense

singular plural

First person: I have protested We have

protested

Second person: You have

protested

You have

protested

Third person: He, she, it has

protested

They have

protested


5. Past perfect

tense

singular plural

First person: I had protested We had protested

Second person: You had protested You had protested

Third person: He, she, it had

protested

They had

protested


6. Future perfect

tense

singular plural

First person: I will (shall) have

protested

We will have

protested

Second person: You will have

protested

You will have

protested

Third person: He, she, it will

have protested

They will have

protested


Why we call them perfect tenses:

• The three perfect tenses are called perfect because the word perfect comes from the Latin perficere, meaning “to finish.” The perfect tenses are the tenses of things that are finished, either finished in the past, finished in the present, or finished in the future.

• The perfect tenses have finished.

• An example of time: Let’s look at the time of carpe diem: Seize the day. It is a command; you is understood.


• Present perfect indicates action that is finished now. – Because you listened to me today, you have seized the day.

(present perfect, present signified by the present tense of to have, have)

• Past perfect indicates action that was finished then. – Because you listened to me, over the course of your life,

you had seized the day every moment you were alive. (past perfect, past signified by the past tense of to have, had)

• Future perfect indicates action that will be finished in the future. – Because you see the benefit of living that way, when you

reach the end of your life, you will have seized the day every day of your life. (future perfect, future signified by future tense using will and present tense of to have, have)


Ordinary tenses:

• In this moment, seize the day! (present)

• I’m so proud of you! Yesterday, you seized the day! (past)

• If you missed the opportunity today, you will seize the day tomorrow. (future)


Progressive forms:

• Every one of the six tenses can also be used in a progressive form, an –ing variation, indicating action still in progress. – Present progressive: I am protesting

– Past progressive: I was protesting

– Future progressive: I shall be protesting.

– Present perfect progressive: I have been protesting.

– Past perfect progressive: I had been protesting.

– Future perfect progressive: I shall have been protesting.


Mood:

• In addition to tenses and progressive forms, verbs have mood. There are three moods: the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive. The indicative and imperative moods are not difficult; they are the ordinary forms that we already know. The subjunctive mood, however, is different. We use the subjunctive in IF situations, with the verb were. We might say that: – the indicative is the ordinary mood; – the imperative is the command mood, and – the subjunctive is the IF mood


Examples of the three moods:

• Indicative: I am he.

• Imperative: Be he.

• Subjunctive: If I were he…


Parallel verb tense:

The proofreader’s mark for parallel construction is //. Parallelism in tense means sticking to the tense you are using, unless there is a reason to change. Keeping verb tenses parallel is good writing technique.

I went home, picked up the apple, threw it through the window, and laughed. (All past tense.)


Warning

Don’t let your tenses wander; control them. Notice how disturbing the unparallel tenses are in the 1st passage that follows, and how satisfying the parallel (//) tenses are in the 2nd passage:


NOT //

When Charles Dickens went to America, he gives many speeches, and feels that his trip was successful. After he returned to England, he begins to lose the buoyant spirit he finds in America, and he will descend into melancholy.


//

When Charles Dickens went to America, he gave many speeches, and felt that his trip was successful. After he returned to England, he began to lose the buoyant spirit he found in America, and he descended into melancholy.


• Parallel Compound: John was adjective and adjective (John was tall and handsome) is better than John was adjective and a noun (John was tall and an athlete).

• Parallel List: I want noun, noun, and noun (I want shelter, clothes, and food) is better than I want noun, noun, and infinitive (I want shelter, clothes, and to eat)


Verbs in formal writing:

Many verbs are combined with other parts of speech into contractions. Avoid contractions in formal writing. A contraction is the combination of two or more parts of speech into one word, such as don’t, they’re, and it’s. There is nothing incorrect about the grammar of a contraction, but the contraction is not in keeping with the serious intellectual tone of a formal essay. Contractions suggest that one is in a hurry and doesn’t wish to write out each word. Of course, if there are contractions in a quotation you include in a research paper, then you leave the contraction alone; I am only referring to the use of contractions in sentences you write yourself.

So, no more contractions in your writing!


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From Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray:

He was brilliant, fantastic, irresponsible.

Label the nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs (action and linking). Label the predicates (they are the verbs) in the POSe level. Label other elements if you can.


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From Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray:

He was brilliant, fantastic, irresponsible. pron. v. adj. adj. adj. (linking)

subject predicate -------compound subject complement------

no verbal, appositive, or prepositional phrases



Discussion

This sentence shows the power of a linking verb to make an equation. Here, the linking verb lets three adjectives modify the subject pronoun, he. He = brilliant, He = fantastic, He = irresponsible. They all become equal in importance without the use of a conjunction.


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From Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum:

By long suffering my nerves had been unstrung.

Label the nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs (action and linking). Label the predicates (they are the verbs) in the POSe level. Label other elements if you can.


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From Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum:

By long suffering my nerves had been unstrung. prep. adj. n. (gerund) pron. n. v. v. v. (----------action----------------------)

subject predicate (passive voice)

---prepositional phrase----- no verbal or appositive phrases



Discussion

This is not a traditional sentence. Normal syntax would be “My nerves had been unstrung by long suffering.” Poe’s sentence is interesting for its gerund as an object of preposition, and for its good passive voice verb; even though the verb is passive, the sentence still has power, with the eerie verb unstrung ringing in the silence of the end of the sentence. Active voice would be “Long suffering unstrung my nerves.”

Adverbs


Adverbs A word that modifies a verb, an

adjective, or another adverb.

Diane swam very slowly (not slow). Kevin is too tall. I like you, too. He and she work really well together.


Study your Crayola box:

• Mark Twain wrote, “If you see an adjective, kill it.” I would say that for adverbs, too. In using modifiers (adjectives and adverbs), you should ask yourself if you are using too many. Though there are wonderful adjectives and adverbs, there are also many that are tired and unnecessary. It is possible you are using tired modifiers because your vocabulary is weak.

• Are you saying, “bright yellowy green” when you mean chartreuse, or, “light sky blue” when you mean azure? or “very tall, gigantic statue” because you do not know the word colossus?


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He was not of first-rate intelligence,

From George Orwell’s Animal Farm:

but he was universally respected.

Label the nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs (action and linking). Label the predicates (they are the verbs) in the POSe level. Label other elements if you can.


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POSp

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He was not of first-rate intelligence,

From George Orwell’s Animal Farm:

but he was universally respected.

pron. v. adv. prep. adj. n. linking

conj. pron v. adv. v. helping action (passive voice)

subj pred ---subject complement (PA)---

subj. pred--------------------------------icate

----prepositional phrase----

no verbal or appositive phrases

two independent clauses, compound declarative sentence Liberty High School English Department

Discussion

Orwell’s sentence is interesting for its compound sentence, using a linking verb and a passive voice verb.


Prepositions • A word that shows the relationship between its object and

another word in the sentence. Prepositions show relationships of time (before, during, after), space (in, on, beside, around), and direction (to, from, toward). In other words, prepositions show where two things are located, compared to each other. Prepositions give language its geometry. They are the x, y, z coordinates of the mind. The sphere is inside the cube. The beep was before the boom.

• Notice that prepositions are like signs in mathematics; they are small and common, but powerful. To use the wrong preposition is to completely alter the meaning of the idea by changing the relationship between things: would you rather there be a thousand-dollar check for you, or a thousand-dollar check from you? Like signs in mathematics, prepositions must be used with precision if ideas are to be accurate.


Prepositions are called pre positions because they come at the beginning of the prepositional phrase; they have the PRE position in the phrase: in the boat, on the dock, around the moon.

somewhere, over the rainbow

pronoun preposition its object


Never end a sentence with a preposition?

Well, it is true, but sometimes, it has become acceptable. It’s still wrong to say “Where are you at?” because the meaning of the preposition is incomplete. We want the speaker to finish the idea: Where are you, at home? At work? Or we want the speaker to omit the superfluous preposition: “Where are you?” In other cases, it is not as jarring to the ear as it once used to be: “Who is this present for?” Even though an educated speaker would prefer “For whom is this present?”

“Who did you go to the theater with?”

vs. “With whom did you go to the theater?”


C

P

POSe

POSp

C

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POSe

POSp

The rat only snorted and thrust his hands

From Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows:

deep into his pockets.

Label nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (predicates), adverbs, and prepositions. Label any other elements you can.


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POSe

POSp

C

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POSe

POSp

The rat only snorted and thrust his hands

From Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows:

deep into his pockets.


--prepositional phrase—(adverb)

sub -compound predicate- direct obj

adj. n. adv. v. conj. v. pron n. art (action) (action) adj

adv. prep. pron n. adj


Discussion

Prepositional phrases can act like either an adjective or adverb. What word is this prepositional phrase modifying? (thrust) what kind of phrase is it then? (adverb) Also, notice that the first verb “snorted” is intransitive because it does not transfer energy to anything, and the second verb “thrust” is transitive because it transfers energy to “hands.” This sentence has only one subject; therefore, it is one independent clause. How could we change the sentence to make it two independent clauses (a compound sentence)? “The rat only snorted, and he thrust his hands deep into his pockets.”


C

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POSe

POSp

C

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POSe

POSp

The story is about a horse

Example from workbook (page 22, #8)

that gallops next to bicyclists.

Label nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (predicates), adverbs, and prepositions. Label any other elements you can.


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POSe

POSp

C

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POSe

POSp

The story is about a horse


that gallops next to bicyclists.

adj. n. v. prep. adj. n. linking art

pron. v. --prep.-- n. relative action

subj. pred. subj. compl. (pred adj)

subj pred

prep phrase (adj)

prep phrase (adv)

--------independent clause---------------------------

dependent clause-------------(adj) complex, declarative sentence Liberty High School English Department

Discussion

Notice that the independent clause has a prepositional phrase. The phrase is part of the independent clause. The dependent clause also has a prepositional phrase. The linking verb takes a subject complement (which can be a phrase acting like an adjective); the action verb can only take a noun or object pronoun, so gallops is intransitive.


Conjunctions A word that joins two words or two

groups of words.


• Coordinating conjunctions co-ordinate: they join equals. They are conjunctions that coordinate—two words or groups of words of similar (co) importance. It is essential that you have the coordinating conjunctions memorized, because you need to know them in order to identify and punctuate compound sentences. They are and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.

• Subordinating conjunctions subordinate: they join unequals. They are conjunctions that subordinate—they join something of lesser importance to something of greater importance. They are if, as, since, when, because, and many others.


Coordinating vs. Subordinating

• I am and you are. vs. I am when you are.

Dickens had one idea, and his wife had another. vs. Dickens went to America when he had the chance.


• Correlative conjunctions: multiple-word conjunctions, such as either/or and neither/nor and not only/but also. Either you or I will win.

• Conjunctive adverbs: Conjunctive adverbs are conjunctions that act both as adverbs and as conjunctions. These include words that are commonly used to begin clauses, such as however, furthermore, moreover, nevertheless, accordingly, and therefore. They are also used after semi-colons to show a relationship between two independent clauses.


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POSe

POSp

From William Shakespeare’s Macbeh:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Label nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (predicates), adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions. Label any other elements you can.


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POSe

POSp

From William Shakespeare’s Macbeh:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

n. v. adj. conj. n. v. adj. (linking) (linking)

no phrases

independent clauses independent clause Compound, declarative sentence

subj pred compl (PA) subj pred. compl (PA)


Discussion

Extraordinary sentence: it is a mirror-like compound, two sets of linking verb equations, with the subjects and subject complements reversing, which causes each to change part of speech.


Interjections • A word that shows emotion but has no

grammatical purpose.

• In other words, interjections have no grammar tricks; they do not join, or modify, or show relationships, or replace; they just throw (ject) an exclamation into (inter) the sentence. Interjections are the Batman words—words that fill the pages of the action comic books. Wow, pow, oh, ugh, yes, no, oops

• Only the interjection stands alone, thrown (ject) splat! Into the sentence. Interjections are outsiders; they are separate from the sentence.


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POSe

POSp


Whoa! Watch where you step in the garden!

Complete the POSp level. Label other elements if you can.


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POSe

POSp


Whoa! Watch where you step in the garden!

interj. v. Adv pron. v. prep. adj. n. action action

(“you”) subj. pred. subj. pred.

No verbal or appositive phrase prep phrase (adv)

independent clause -----------dependent clause------------- Complex, imperative sentence


The 8 Parts of Speech: A Fond Reprise

• Nouns name things

• Pronouns make language fast

• Verbs make events and equations

• Adjectives and adverbs adjust nouns and verbs

• Prepositions show physics and 3-Dness

• Conjunctions connect

• Interjections insert emotional excitement


Level Two: Parts of a Sentence • A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject

and its predicate, and makes a complete thought.

• Etymology of sentence: The word sentence comes from the Latin sententia, meaning “way of thinking,” or “opinion.” That is appropriate because the sentence is the structure with which we think about and communicate opinions and ideas.

• Sentence: a two-part thought; a sentence is a group of words that contains a predicate about a subject, and that makes a complete thought.

In other words, a sentence is an idea. “Ishmael watched” is a sentence, but “If Ishmael watched” is not a sentence because we are still waiting for the thought to be completed. If Ishmael watched, then what?


Parts of the Sentence: When we study the parts of the sentence, we are studying the structure of thought itself. Hidden in the sentence is thought’s secret pattern, and understanding this pattern gives us insight into the nature of clarity. In fact, understanding how sentences are thoughts can give us insight into several different levels of clarity, including clarity of sentence, clarity of paragraph, and clarity of thesis. What is this secret pattern? It is an elegant one: in order to say anything clearly, we must say two things. First, we must say what we are talking about, and second, we must say what we are saying about it.


Sentence as paradigm of the mind:

• This structure of the sentence shows us a mirror image of our own mind. The sentence, our common one-two structure for building thoughts, gives the mind just what it wants most: a two-piece idea.

one two subject predicate what we’re talking about what we’re saying about it

• The person to whom we are talking needs to know both; and if

either is absent, unclear, or otherwise disrupted, then we fail to communicate. The sentence is made by the mind; it is an extension of the mind itself. In the sentence the mind extends itself out to the world: The sentence is the mind, in language. So we can see the sentence both as a model of how the mind designs its own ideas for transmitting, and we can also see the sentence as a model of how we should write and speak if we want to be understood.


Clarity at all levels:

This binary form must shape all levels of communication, not just the sentence level. We must know what this sentence is about, and what we are saying about it. We must know what this paragraph is about, and what we are saying about it. And we must know what this essay is about, and what we are saying about it. If the subject or the predicate component is damaged or missing at any of these levels, then one’s communication to the other person fails.


Subject • The simple subject of the sentence is the

noun or subject pronoun that the sentence is about.

– The cat ate its food.

Notice only subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they) can be sentence subjects. Remember the pronoun rule: a subject is a subject and an object is an object! He and I entered the competition.


• Complete subject: includes the simple subject and all of its modifiers.

– The unbelievably fat cat from Texas ate every morsel of its food.

• Compound subject: it is a double subject—more than one noun or pronoun used as a double subject of the same clause: Physics and astronomy are my favorite subjects. Einstein and Bohr debated the quantum theory.


Subject / Verb Agreement Rules for Compound Subjects:

• A compound subject joined by the coordinating conjunction and is plural and must take a plural verb. Jim and John are here. And will be replaced by a plural pronoun. They are here.

• A compound subject joined by the coordinating conjunction or is singular and must take a singular verb. Jim or John is here. And will be replaced by a singular pronoun. He is here.

– He or she has a duck, but He and she have a duck.

Notice how logical this is: if Hemmingway and Steinbeck wrote novels, then two authors wrote, but if Hemmingway or Steinbeck wrote East of Eden, then only one author wrote it. And really is a plural compound and or really is a singular compound. Grammar is logical.


Predicate

• The predicate is the side of the sentence that says something about the subject.

• The simple predicate is the verb: Hamlet went to the crater and gathered three bags of comet dust. The complete predicate is everything that is said about the subject: Hamlet went to the crater and gathered three bags of comet dust.


Compound verb:

The subject of a sentence may take a compound verb as its predicate. William Blake’s famous interrogative complex sentence, in his poem about the tiger, contains a compound verb in the dependent clause: “When the stars threw down their spears / And watered heaven with their tears: / Did He smile His work to see?” The subject stars has threw and watered as its compound verb. Note Blake’s eccentric use of the colon after his dependent clause. (I discuss these lines of poetry with my honors’ students.)


Subject/Predicate set:

• The subject/predicate set is the simple combination of simple subject and simple predicate that is always present as a nucleus in every idea, in every sentence and in every clause. The sentence or clause may contain more than the subject/predicate set, but it will certainly contain that much. The sentence, remember, is therefore our model of clarity, our model of clear thought. With its subject/predicate set nucleus, the sentence is a mind-made model of the mind.


In Charles Dickens’s famous first sentence to his novel of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities, there are seventeen clauses, each with its own subject/predicate set!


IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way -- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.


Ideas have number.

The formal logic of every idea begins with subject/verb agreement. Both subject and verb indicate number; they express that the sentence is either a thought about something singular, or else it is a thought about something plural. It cannot logically be both. You never want the subject and the verb to disagree about whether the subject is singular or plural, even if other distracting and confusing words or phrases come between the subject and its verb. The top of the mountains is covered by rainbows


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POSe

POSp

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POSe

POSp

The unbelievably fat cat from Texas

Silly sentence example:

ate every morsel of its food.

Label POSp. Label subject and predicate. Label other elements if you can.


C

P

POSe

POSp

C

P

POSe

POSp

The unbelievably fat cat from Texas

Silly sentence example:

ate every morsel of its food.

adj. adv. adj. n. prep. n.

v adj. n. rep. pron. n. action adj

sub ----------------------------complete subject-----------------------

pred direct obj

prep phrase (adj)

prep phrase (adj)

one independent clause, simple declarative sentence Liberty High School English Department

Discussion

Adding a complete and simple subject dimension to the sentence level analysis shows the relationship between the subject and its modifiers. Notice that the prepositional phrase “from Texas” is modifying “cat” which makes it function as an adjective. The prepositional phrase “of its food” modifies “morsel” which makes that phrase function as an adjective.


Direct object • The direct object will be either a noun or

object pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them) that receives the action of the action verb.


When there is a direct object, we call the action verb transitive; when the action verb does not act on a direct object, we call the action verb intransitive. Only action verbs can be transitive or intransitive; linking verbs are neither. Notice that subject pronouns will not be used as direct objects, because a subject is a subject. Only an object is an object. The direct object is the object of direct action. We hold these truths to be self-evident.


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POSe

POSp

From William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew:

Where did you study all this goodly speech?

Label POSp. Label subject, predicate, and direct object. Label other elements if you can.


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POSe

POSp

From William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew:

Where did you study all this goodly speech?

adv. v. pron. v. adj. adj. adj. n. helping action pro

pred sub pred direct obj

no phrases

one independent clause, a simple interrogative sentence


Discussion

Here is a fun sentence by William Shakespeare. In Kate’s sentence, the subject splits the predicate’s helping verb from its main verb, and the direct object is modified by a cascade of adjectives.


Indirect Object

The Indirect Object is a noun or object pronoun located between the action verb and the direct object. The structure is S—AV—IO—DO. The indirect object is indirectly affected by the action verb’s action on the direct object.


Notice, if there is an indirect object, there must be a direct object, and so the action verb is still transitive. We gave him the business. We use the indirect object as an alternative to using a prepositional phrase. We can either say “The forest brigade gave an ultimatum to the rebels,” or we can use the indirect object instead: “The forest brigade gave the rebels an ultimatum.”


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POSe

POSp

(I or Me) bought (he or him) the ball.

Remember: Subjects make subjects and objects make objects! Notice that the indirect object can become a prepositional phrase if we move it to the end of the sentence with a for… I bought the ball for him


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POSe

POSp

(I or Me) bought (he or him) the ball.

Remember: Subjects make subjects and objects make objects! Notice that the indirect object can become a prepositional phrase if we move it to the end of the sentence with a for… I bought the ball for him

no verbal, appositive, or prepositional phrases


pron. v. pron. adj. n. action art

sub pred indirect object direct object


Subject complements

• A subject complement is a noun, subject pronoun, or adjective that complements the subject; it is linked to the subject by a linking verb.

Hawthorne was Melville’s friend.


• Notice that the subject complement does precisely what its name implies; it complements (completes) the subject because it makes our knowledge of the subject more complete than it would otherwise have been. (Like, a scarf complements the outfit.) Note that only a subject pronoun can be a subject complement, because a subject is a subject. “She is pretty.” A complimentary complement

• To compliment is to praise; complement is to complete—the subject complement completes the subject.


There are two types of subject complements:

• Predicate Nominative (PN): a subject complement that is a noun or subject pronoun.

It was she and I who came to visit.

• Predicate Adjective (PA): a subject complement that is an adjective. I am sleepy.

She is brilliant.


Why call them subject complements?

It is what they are called, but the reason we call them subject complements—their general term—as opposed to the specific terms predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives—is because it allows us to explain, and get right, pronoun usage. Anything called a subject takes a subject pronoun; anything called an object takes an object pronoun.


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POSe

POSp

From William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:

It was Greek to me.

Label POSp. Label subject, predicate, and subject complement.


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POSe

POSp


It was Greek to me.

pron. v. n. prep. pron. subject linking object

subj pred sub complement pred nominative

prep phrase (adv) No verbal or appositive phrases

one independent clause, a simple declarative sentence


Discussion

This is uttered by Casca in Act I, ii. The linking verb is the basis of the equation: It = Greek. “Greek” is a noun, therefore, it is a special kind of subject complement called a Predicate Nominative.


Object Complement:

An object complement is a noun, object pronoun, or adjective that completes the meaning of the direct object. They elected him president. They painted the house blue.


The object complement will follow a direct object (indirect objects come before direct objects) and renames it or tells what the direct object has become. It can be more than a word; it can also be a phrase or clause that follows the direct object. It is most often used with verbs of creating or nominating such as make, name, elect, paint, call, show, include, inscribe, appoint, consider, etc. Some people call a spade an agricultural implement. (An appositive, therefore it is functioning as a noun.)


Object Complements

We know there is a difference between calling Mayor Williams and calling Williams mayor or painting a red door and painting a door red. When the word follows the direct object and it tells what the direct object has become, it is the object complement.


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POSe

POSp

The first line of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville:

Call me Ishmael.

Label POSp & POSe levels.


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POSe

POSp

The first line of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville:

Call me Ishmael.

v. n. n. action

“you” pred direct obj obj compement sub

no phrases

independent clause simple, imperative sentence


The Boolean logic of sentence analysis (If…then developed by George Boole):

Analyzing the parts of a clause is logical. Follow this step-by-step process:

• Begin by looking for a one-two thought: a subject/predicate set.

• Next, is the verb action or linking? – If it’s an action verb, then there might be a direct object.

• If there is a direct object, then look between the direct object and the action verb for an indirect object.

– If there is no indirect object, then check after the direct object for an object complement.

– If it’s a linking verb, then look for the subject complement. • If the subject complement is a noun, then it is a predicate nominative.

• If the subject complement is an adjective, then it is a predicate adjective.


Level Three: Phrases

• Phrase: a group of words that does not have a subject and a predicate; it acts like a single part of speech.

• We might use a simple adjective in a sentence, or we might use a prepositional phrase instead, or we might use a participle or participial phrase instead. The prepositional and participial phrases give us ways to make the adjective idea more elaborate, more developed.

• A democratic government (adjective) • A government of the people, by the people, and for the

people… (prepositional phrases—adj) • A working government (participle) • A barely working government (participial phrase)


Difference between phrase and clause: they are both groups of words, but a clause contains both a subject and its predicate, and a phrase does not. I jumped is a clause; in the boat is only a phrase. Phrases are found inside clauses; they are part of clauses.


Prepositional phrase

• A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition (in the PRE position) and concludes with the object of the proposition (a noun or object pronoun).

• The preposition relates its object to another word in the sentence. If I say the dog in the boat, the preposition in shows a spatial relationship between its object boat and the noun dog. Prepositional phrases act as modifiers; that is, they act like big adjectives or big adverbs. In the sentence, The dog in the boat barked, the prepositional phrase in the boat acts as an adjective to modify the noun dog.


Two types of prepositional phrases:

• Adjective prepositional phrases: prepositional phrases that modify nouns or pronouns should be placed immediately after the noun or pronoun they modify.

• Otherwise, it will be an adverb prepositional phrase; it will be understood to modify the verb.

• The mom at the store yelled at the child. vs. The mom at the child yelled at the store.


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POSe

POSp

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POSe

POSp

At the local hospital, Nina helps the nurses;


she does simple chores for them.

Notice that each independent clause has a prepositional phrase. The phrase is part of the independent clause. If each independent clause stood alone, they would be simple, declarative sentences.


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POSe

POSp

C

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POSe

POSp

At the local hospital, Nina helps the nurses;


she does simple chores for them.

Notice that each independent clause has a prepositional phrase. The phrase is part of the independent clause. If each independent clause stood alone, they would be simple, declarative sentences.

prep. adj. adj n. n. v. adj. n. article (action) article

pron v adj n prep pron (action)

subj. pred. d. object d. object

subj. pred. d. object

-prepositional phrase (adv)

prep phrase (adj)

------------independent clause--------------------- compound, declarative sentence

---------------------------------------independent clause------------------------------


Misplaced modifiers: a serious error in grammar!

All modifiers should be placed next to or as close as possible to the things they modify. If we put the modifier by something else, it will modify something else.

In an effort to be modest, Whitman’s first edition of Leaves of Grass lacked his name.

• This means the book was modest—a ridiculous idea. To correct the modification error, place the modifier next to the word you really intend to modify:

• In an effort to be modest, Whitman omitted his name from the first edition of Leaves of Grass.


Another example: Whitman got to know omnibus drivers and

ferryboat pilots at an early age.

• This could mean that he met very young drivers and pilots. Put the modifier where it belongs:

• At an early age, Whitman got to know omnibus drivers and ferryboat pilots.

Modifiers are like lights; they illuminate things next to them, and so you have to move them next to their intended targets.


Verbal and Verbal Phrases

• Verbal: a verb form used as a different part of speech.

• A verbal is not a verb; it is a former verb now doing something else. Gerunds, participles, and infinitives are the three kinds of verbals.

• Gerunds are nouns (made of verbs)

• Participles are adjectives (made of verbs)

• Infinitives are nouns or modifiers—adjective and adverb (made of verbs)


• A verbal can be one word or it can join other words to become a phrase. For instance, take the verb from this sentence: I was thinking about it. Now saw off the helping verb was and take what’s left: thinking.

• Now we can take thinking and use it as a noun: Thinking is my favorite extracurricular activity. Thinking is a verbal, a gerund. It is not a phrase yet. If I add other words to it, then it will be a gerund phrase: Educational thinking is my favorite extracurricular activity.

• If I change the function of thinking and make it an adjective, it will become a participle: Thinking, Lisa ran to the LMC before she lost her thought. To make it a participial phrase, I could say: Suddenly thinking, Lisa ran to the LMC before she lost her thought.


If I bring thinking to its base form of think, I can create the infinitive: to think. To think is what separates us from other animals. (Noun, subject) He gave me time to think. (adjective modifying the noun time) I am inspired to think quickly by my brilliant students. (adverb modifying the verb inspired; to think quickly is an infinitive phrase).


Verbals are ex-verbs, but they still have a verb quality, a verbiness, which gives them energy

and force.

• Gerund: a noun made from an –ing verb or an

–ing verb made into a noun (same thing). A gerund can do everything a noun can do; it can be a subject, a subject complement/predicate nominative, direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition.


• Participle: an adjective made out of a verb or an –ing, -ed, or –en verb made into an adjective (same thing). Participles will act just like adjectives act; they will modify nouns or pronouns.

• Infinitive: a noun or modifier (adjective or adverb) made from the to- form of the verb. The infinitive is named for the fact that it is not (in) limited (fin) in tense/time. Since the infinitive is not limited to a tense, it is never used as a true predicate. The infinitive is looked at as one word, so avoid split infinitives: to vividly see is a split infinitive. It should be: to see vividly.


The memorabilia includes many twentieth-century photographs of African Americans.

(An adjective prepositional phrase, therefore it is functioning as an adjective.)

This exhibit shows other collections to be inadequate in comparison.

(An infinitive phrase describing collections, therefore it is functioning as an adjective.)


C

P

POSe

POSp

C

P

POSe

POSp

The figure reappeared and began

From Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island:

to head me off.

Label Posp & POSe levels. Label the infinitive phrase.


C

P

POSe

POSp

C

P

POSe

POSp

The figure reappeared and began

From Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island:

to head me off.

adj n v conj v art action action

Infinitive pro adv noun

sub pred pred

direct obj

infinitive phrase

No prepositional or appositive phrases

Simple, declarative sentence Liberty High School English Department

Appositive Phrase

An appositive phrase is an interrupting phrase that renames a noun. It is called an appositive because it is put (pos) beside (ap) what it renames. An appositive may consist of only one word, or it may consist of an entire phrase.


Comma Rule: We usually enclose appositive and appositive phrases in commas; however, if the appositive is necessary for the sentence to make sense, we eliminate both commas:

Botticelli, the Renaissance painter, painted angels.

vs. The Renaissance painter Botticelli painted angels.

My friend Tammy is a nurse practitioner.

Vs. Tammy, my friend, is a nurse practitioner.


We can use this appositive comma rule to help us understand how to punctuate city and state, city and country, and date and year combinations in a sentence:

• Denver, Colorado, is called the Mile High City.

• Athens, Greece, is the site of the Parthenon.

• June 20, 2010, is the date of departure.


C

P

POSe

POSp

C

P

POSe

POSp

My sister-in-law, a singer in a band, also

Label POSp, POSe, and P levels (look for an appositive phrase).

plays the guitar.


C

P

POSe

POSp

C

P

POSe

POSp

My sister-in-law, a singer in a band, also

plays the guitar.

pron. n. adj. n. prep. adj. n. adv article

v. adj. n. action article

-----------------subject----------------------------------------------------------

predicate direct object

prepositional phrase ------appositive phrase--------------------

no verbal phrase one independent clause, simple declarative sentence


Discussion

Notice that “my” is a pronoun. What kind of pronoun is it? Possessive. If it is a possessive pronoun, what other part of speech is it functioning as? Adjective. “A singer in a band” is an appositive phrase because it interrupts the sentence and renames the noun “sister-in-law.” It does not have a subject and a predicate, which is the definition of a clause; therefore, it is still just one independent clause. The appositive phrase acts like a single part of speech—a noun. We could switch the sentence around to make the appositive phrase the subject of the sentence: “The singer in the band, my sister-in-law, also plays the guitar.”


Level Four: Clauses • A clause is a group of words that contains a

subject/predicate set. • Clause that idea: Clauses are easy. The word

clause comes from the same root as the words claustrophobia, enclosure, and close. The idea is that a clause is a closing: the subject opens the topic, and the predicate closes it; the subject introduces, and the predicate concludes. This one-two structure opens and closes an idea.

• Every clause has this subject/predicate set at its center.

• The Complete Clause is the sentence we analyze. It can consist of one clause or many clauses, each with its own subject/predicate set.


There are two kinds of clauses:

• Independent clause: a clause that is a complete thought. An independent clause is a clause that makes sense independently.

• Dependent clause: a clause that is not a complete thought but needs to be connected to an independent clause. It is also called a subordinate clause. A dependent clause is a clause that does not makes sense unless it can “hang on to” (de=down, pend=hang) an independent clause. It often begins with a subordinating conjunction like if, as, since, when, and because.


C

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POSe

POSp

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POSe

POSp

When Caesar says , “Do this,”

From Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:

it is performed.

Label POSp, POSe, & P levels. Label the independent clauses and the dependent clause.


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When Caesar says, “Do this,”

From Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:

it is performed.

conj. n. v. v. pron. subordinate action action

pron. v. v. helping action (passive voice)

sub pred “you” pred direct obj sub

sub predicate--------------------

No phrases

Dependent clause independent clause simple, imperative sentence

Independent clause complex , declarative sentence


Discussion

Parts of a

Sentence: subj pred *direct object subj. predicate

Phrases: no phrases

Clauses: ------one dependent clause----------, -----one independent clause----

a complex declarative sentence

This sentence is unusual because the direct object, Do this, is an independent imperative clause!


There are three types of Dependent Clauses:

Adjective, Adverb, and Noun dependent clauses, and they do exactly what their names suggest.


An Adjective clause:

Is sometimes called a relative clause. It is a dependent clause used as an adjective: a (usually) short dependent clause that follows a noun or pronoun and modifies it.

The adjective clause often interrupts the main clause, dividing the subject from the predicate. Adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns.

• The man who followed you turned left.

• We watched the man who turned left.


Punctuation of essential and nonessential clauses:

• follows the same rules as appositive phrases:

• essential = no commas; nonessential = needs commas.

The girl who ran for office came in third.

The man, who happened to know Kevin, coughed.


Usage Rule

for that and which: the relative pronoun that often indicates an essential adjective clause: The book that you lost is on the shelf. Whereas, the relative pronoun which often indicates a nonessential adjective clause: The book, which I enjoyed too, is on the shelf.


An Adverb clause:

Adverb clauses are dependent clauses that act as big adverbs. Adverb clauses usually begin with subordinating conjunctions.

•I jumped when he honked the horn.

•If you like it, you can have it.

•As you know, the final is worth 20% of your grade.


A Noun clause:

Noun clauses are dependent clauses that act like nouns. In the following sentence, the noun clause acts as a direct object to the action verb wish:

I wish that I liked skiing.


Where dependent clauses go: Dependent clauses cannot be used as sentences by themselves; they depend on (hang down from) an independent clause for meaning. The dependent clause may be placed before, after, or even in the middle of an independent clause:

If you find the white whale, your voyage will be a success. (adverb)

The evil will collapse when the ring is destroyed. (adverb)

The novelist who wrote East of Eden is my favorite author. (adjective)

I still haven’t found what I am looking for. (noun)


The difference between clause and sentence:

• a clause has both a subject and a predicate, like a sentence, but a sentence always has a complete thought, whereas a clause might be incomplete. Every sentence has at least one independent clause in it, but not every clause is a sentence because a dependent clause does not make a complete thought—it is dependent upon an independent clause.


We could express the relationship between clauses and sentences with

Aristotelian syllogisms:

• All sentences contain at least one independent clause.

• “All men are created equal” is a sentence.

• Therefore, “All men are created equal” contains at least one independent clause.


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Label POSp, POSe, & P levels. Label the clauses too.

Mel looks confident; maybe he should be the leader.


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Mel looks confident; maybe he should be the leader.

Independent clause----- independent clause------------------------------- Compound, declarative sentence

n verb adj adv pro verb verb adj n linking helping linking art

sub pred sub cmplmt sub pred----------- sub complmt pred adj pred nom

no phrases


Four Sentence Structures

• If we replace the type of clause with a single letter,

– I = independent clause

– D = dependent clause

– cc = coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)

• we could create a mnemonic device to help you remember how clauses can be combined into sentences.


The four types of clause structures:

• simple

• compound

• Complex

• compound-complex


Simple sentence:

(Structure I) A sentence with one independent clause. A simple sentence can isolate an idea for attention.

“Courage is grace under pressure.” (Hemmingway)


Compound sentence:

(structure I+I or I+I+I, etc.) A sentence with two or more independent clauses. A compound sentence can connect two related ideas of equal or nearly equal importance. Punctuate a compound sentence as I;I or I,ccI.

“We’re born alone; we live alone; we die alone.” (Orson Welles)


Complex sentence: (Structure I+D or D+I or D+I+D, etc.) A sentence with an independent clause attached to a dependent clause. A complex sentence connects a primary idea to a lesser idea in support of it. The independent clause will contain the primary idea. Punctuate D,I (discretionary and only for adverb clauses. Remind students about the differences among adverb, adjective and noun clauses) or ID. (First Name Last Name vs. Last Name, First Name) “It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him.” (Steinbeck) Liberty High School English Department

Compound-complex sentence:

(Structure I+I+D or D+I+I, etc.) A sentence with a compound structure and a complex structure. A compound-complex sentence employs the strategies of compound and complex sentences at once. Punctuate I;ID or D,I;I or I,ccID or D,I,ccI. The following sentence is a DI;DI structure:

“Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell)


Punctuation errors:

IccI or II = run-on! (add a , or ;)

I,I = comma splice! (add a cc or ;)


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This is the desert where the elves decimated

From JRR Tolkien’s, Lord of the Rings

the trolls.


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This is the desert where the elves decimated

From JRR Tolkien’s, Lord of the Rings

the trolls.

pron v. adj. n. conj. adj. n v. linking article article action

adj n article

sub predicate sub complement subject predicate

direct object

no prepositional, appositive, or verbal phrases one independent clause, one dependent clause, complex declarative sentence


Discussion

Notice we have two subjects and two predicates in this sentence functioning separately but not independently from each other. “Where” connects the two ideas by subordinating the second idea; therefore, it is dependent on the independent clause. Also, the like an and a are adjectives, a special kind of adjective called articles.


The four sentence purposes:

•declarative

•imperative

•interrogative

•exclamatory


• Declarative sentences: a sentence that declares or makes a statement. – I will.

• Interrogative sentence: a sentence that interrogates, that asks a question. – Will you?

• Imperative sentences: a sentence that is imperious, that makes a command. It will have the understood you as the subject: – Please go away. Or: Go away!

• Exclamatory sentence: a sentence that exclaims, that has an exclamation point. – I will!


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“You” Try reading a book by J.R.R. Tolkien,


an author whom many readers admire.


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“You” Try reading a book by J.R.R. Tolkien,


an author whom many readers admire.

V. N. art/adj N. prep. N. (action) (proper)

art/adj N. pron. Adj. N. v. (action)

pred. DO----------------------------

DO subj. pred

dependent clause-adj Complex imperative sentence

Independent

prep phrase (adj)

Whom is not the subject of the dependent clause; it is the direct object, so it needs to be object case.


Grammar serves meaning!

• It will have clause structure suitable to the ideas. Communicate the ideas the way they need to be communicated, and grammar will serve your purposes.

• What is the purpose for creating your sentence? You should have a reason! Use different sentence types to emphasize your purpose.


• If you want simplicity or focused attention, what type should you use? (Simple)

• Do you want a character to show he is out of breath with staccato words or is overly dramatic like James T. Kirk? Then use? (Simple or Fragments or Imperative)

• Do you want to emphasize the equality of thoughts? (Compound)

• Do you want to cushion negative comments with positive ones? Or Do you want to show anger, regardless of the good in the situation? Is one idea more important or dependent upon another one? (Complex)


• Use clauses to mirror your meaning.

• Use punctuation to clarify your meaning.

• Use and abuse grammar to create dialect and character.

• Communicate your thoughts clearly and effectively!

• Now you know grammar; use it to your advantage!


Exercises

• Fill our diagrams for the following sentences.


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From T. S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land

These fragments I have shored against my ruins.


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From T. S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land

These fragments I have shored against my ruins.

adj. n. pron. v. v. prep. pron. n.

helping action

----direct object----subject -- predicate--

prepositional phrase



Discussion

The syntax of this sentence is switched for emphasis which happens quite frequently in poetry. How should it read? “I have shored these fragments against my ruins.” In this sentence “these” is an adjective because it modifies “fragments.” We know “against” is a preposition because it connects “ruins” (its object) to “fragments,” by showing their relationship (position) of space. If we have a preposition, we must have a prepositional phrase. It’s all very logical!


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From Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (teacher note: “who” is actually “that” in Whitman’s poem):

I am he who aches with amorous love.


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From Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (teacher note: “who” is actually “that” in Whitman’s poem):

I am he who aches with amorous love.

pron. v. pron. pron. v. prep. adj. n. linking action

sub pred sub comp sub pred pred nom

prep phrase (adverb) No verbal or appositive phrases

independent clause dependent clause Complex, declarative sentence Liberty High School English Department

Discussion

Knowing if a pronoun is a subject or an object makes using the correct pronoun so much easier. In this sentence “I,” “he,” and “who” are all subjects; therefore, they need to be in subject case. “I am he” can stand alone, but “who aches with amorous love” cannot because it is not a question. That is why the first clause is independent and the second clause is dependent.


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This sandwich, because it’s dry and plain, needs relish.


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This sandwich, because it’s dry and plain, needs relish.

pro n sub conj pro/verb adj conj adj verb n linking action

sub sub/pred sub compliments pred direct obj predicate adj

Independent clause-------- Dependent clause-------------------------- Independent clause Complex , declarative sentence


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Will Jason help you with your homework?


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Will Jason help you with your homework?

verb n verb pro prep pro n helping action

pred sub pred direct obj

prep phrase (avd) No appositive or verbal phrases

Independent clause--------------------------------------------------------------- simple, interrogative sentence


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The satellite remained brightly visible for almost thirty seconds!


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The satellite remained brightly visible for almost thirty seconds!

adj n verb adv adj prep adv adj n art linking

sub pred sub complm pred adj

prep phrase (adv) No appositive or verbal phrases

independent clause----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simple, exclamatory sentence


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Then she stood on the porch and felt better.


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Then she stood on the porch and felt better.

adv pron v prep adj n conj v adj action art linking

sub pred pred sub comp pred adj

prep phrase (adv) No verbal or appositive phrases

------Independent clause--------------------------------------------- simple declarative sentence Liberty High School English Department

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He had a long chin and

From Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World:

big, rather prominent teeth.

Notice how innocuous (not harmful or injurious) the sentence is if we leave out the modifiers: He had a chin and teeth! Adjectives can transform a sentence. Also, notice that “rather” is an adverb modifying the adjective “prominent.”


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He had a long chin and

From Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World:

big, rather prominent teeth.

Notice how innocuous (not harmful or injurious) the sentence is if we leave out the modifiers: He had a chin and teeth! Adjectives can transform a sentence. Also, notice that “rather” is an adverb modifying the adjective “prominent.”

pron verb adj adj n conj action art

sub pred direct obj

No phrases

One independent clause, simple declarative sentence

direct obj

adj adv adj n


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Whose incredibly delicious casserole is this?


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Whose incredibly delicious casserole is this?

pron. adv. adj. n. v. pron. (interrogative) linking demonstrative

subj complement pred. subj.

No phrases

one independent clause, simple interrogative sentence


Discussion

In order to make this question a sentence, you have to change the order of the words. It would read “This is Tom’s (whose) incredibly delicious casserole.” It is called inverted syntax. That is why the subject and subject complement are in different positions in the question form.


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Cassius is aweary of the world.


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Cassius is aweary of the world.

n. v. adj prep. adj. n. linking art

subj pred sub compl pred adj

prepositional phrase (adv) no verbal or appositive phrase



Discussion

This sentence from Julius Caesar, like all others, is a two-part thought. The first part is the subject, the one word, Cassius. The predicate gives us five words about the subject, and from the predicate we learn that Cassius is aweary of the world. Notice that the prepositional phrase “of the world” is modifying “aweary” making the phrase act like an adverb.


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