Transcript DIAGRAMMING_SENTENCES 2014sunny

Diagramming Sentences
Modified by Dr. Sunny Williams
Modified from www.vhinkle.com/lang/DIAGRAMMING_SENTENCES.ppt
Diagramming Sentences
• We can diagram a sentence to show its
structure and to see how its parts are
related.
We
can diagram
sentence
Start with a horizontal line.
Artists
paint
• Write the simple subject and verb on the
line.
• Artists paint.
• Separate them with a vertical line that
crosses the base line.
Another example:
Birds
are singing
• Birds are singing.
• Write the simple subject and the
COMPLETE verb on the line.
• Separate them with a vertical line that
crosses the base line.
You Try
• Rain is falling.
What if we describe the subject?
artists
Adjective
paint
Notice, the first word of
the sentence is capitalized
here.
• Talented artists paint.
• “Talented” describes “artists.”
• Write it on a diagonal line below the word
it describes.
You Try
Cute puppies will play.
What if we describe the verb?
artists
paint
Adverb
• Talented artists paint well.
• “Well” describes how they paint.
• Write it on a diagonal line below the word
it describes.
You Try
• The man ran slowly.
What if you have a compound
subject or predicate?
Tom and Bob are studying.
Tom
Bob
a
n
d
are studying
You Try
• The boy and his father play.
You Try
• Can you figure this out?
Suzie sings and dances.
To find direct objects…
• First, check to see if the verb is an action
verb.
• If yes, say the verb and then ask whom or
what.
• If there is an answer, the answer is the
direct object.
• We baked cookies. They called her.
• I love football.
What if there is a direct object?
artists
•
•
•
•
paint
pictures
What do artists paint?
Talented artists paint pictures well.
Write the direct object after the verb.
Draw a vertical separator which stops at the line.
Have you noticed?
Artists
paint
• The vertical line that
separates the subject
from the verb crosses
the base line.
pictures
• The vertical line that
separates the verb
from the direct object
stops at the base line.
You Try
• We sang songs.
• My mom baked cake.
What if we describe the direct object?
artists
•
•
•
•
paint
pictures
Talented artists paint realistic pictures well.
What kind of pictures do artists paint?
“Realistic” describes “pictures.”
Write it on a diagonal line under “pictures.”
To find indirect objects…
• First find a direct object. If there is no
direct object, there is no indirect object.
• After you have the direct object, say the
direct object and then ask “for whom/what
or to whom/what”
• Smart husbands buy wives flowers.
• Buy—action verb. Buy what? Flowers-DO. For whom? Wives--IO
What if we have an indirect
object?
husbands
buy
flowers
wives
• Smart husbands buy wives flowers.
• Is there a direct object? Action verb? Whom or
What?
• Flowers—For whom or to whom?
• Wives—Indirect Object
You Try
• We will give Tom a
piece.
• The band played the
child a special song.
What if there is a prepositional phrase?
artists
paint
pictures
people
•
•
•
•
Talented artists paint realistic pictures of people.
What do artists paint pictures of?
“Of people” describes the pictures.
Write it on a frame under “pictures.”
Try a different prepositional phrase.
artists
paint
pictures
canvas
•
•
•
•
Talented artists paint realistic pictures on canvas.
Where do artists paint pictures? “on canvas.”
How, when, and where describe verbs.
Write it on a frame under “paint.”
Build a new sentence.
• Hamsters run.
Hamsters
run
Describe the hamsters.
Energetic hamsters run.
hamsters
run
Where do hamsters run?
Energetic hamsters run on wheels.
hamsters
run
wheels
Adverb
Prepositional
Phrase
Tells where
they run.
What kind of wheels?
Energetic hamsters run on exercise wheels.
hamsters
run
wheels
“exercise” describes wheels
You Try
• The yellow bus stopped by the sign.
You Try
• On Monday, we went to school.
Practice another sentence.
• Hamsters eat.
Hamsters
eat
What do hamsters eat?
Action Verb?
Eat what?
• Hamsters eat seeds.
Hamsters
eat
seeds
“Seeds” is the direct object.
It follows the verb, after a vertical separator.
What kind of seeds?
• Hamsters eat sunflower seeds.
Hamsters
eat
seeds
“Sunflower” describes “seeds.”
Write it on a diagonal line under “seeds.”
Have you noticed?
• Only subjects, verbs, and objects
• Go on the horizontal line.
• Words that describe them go below them
on diagonal lines.
monkeys
eat
bananas
trees
Predicate Adjectives and
Predicate Nouns/Nominatives
• PAs and PNs follow LINKING VERBS and
modify or rename the subject.
• We are happy.
• The class is large.
• It is a band.
• They are boys.
Linking Verb Trick
• Some verbs can be linking or action depending
on the sentence—grow, smell, taste, etc.
• It is an action verb if it is actually doing the
action. The tree fell down.
• It is a linking verb if it connects something in the
predicate to the subject. The apple tastes good.
Here the apple isn’t actively tasting.
• Trick: If you can replace the verb with is, then it
is usually a linking verb. The apple is good.
What if you have a linking verb?
• Tweety is yellow.
Tweety
is
subject
verb
yellow
Subject Complement
or Predicate Adjective
What follows a linking verb renames or
describes the subject.
It is a complement, not a direct object.
What if you have a linking verb?
• Tweety is yellow.
Tweety
is
subject
verb
yellow
Subject complement
Because the complement describes the
subject, the dividing line tilts back
toward the subject.
Try another sentence.
• Sylvester is a cat.
Sylvester
is
cat
• Cat = renames Sylvester.
• Cat = predicate noun.
Add more description.
• Poor Sylvester is a frustrated predator.
Sylvester
is
predator
• Predator = renames Sylvester.
• Predator = predicate noun.
Other linking verbs
• The pot of brains smells suspiciously rancid.
In this sentence, the pot is not actively smelling the
brains, so smell is a linking verb here.
pot
smells
rancid
brains
• Rancid = describes the pot.
• Rancid = predicate adjective.
What about compound
sentences?
Sam studied math, and he aced the test.
Sam
studied
math
and
he
aced
test
You Try
• We went to the store, but we forgot milk.
You Try
• Jack and Sam play football, and they run
track.
You Try
• My mom called, but I missed it.
What about complex sentences
with adjective clauses?
• Dashed lines connect dependent clauses
to the main sentence elements that they
modify. (Adjective Clauses)
What about complex sentences
with adjective clauses?
You choose a color that you like.
You
choose
you
like
That is a
relative
pronoun.
color
that
That you like modifies color—tells which color to choose.
You Try
• My neighbor, who is Mr. sick, is kind.
You Try
• You are picking the doctor who you want.
You Try
• Dad called the game that we watched.
What about complex sentences
with adverb clauses?
• Subordinating conjunctions are written on
the dashed line. (Adverb Clauses)
• The dashed line connects the dependent
clause to what it modifies.
What about complex sentences
with adverb clauses?
He left early because he felt sick.
He
Because is a
subordinating
conjunction
left
because
he
felt
sick
“Because he felt sick” is an adverb clause telling why he left.
You Try
• After the game ended, we ate pizza.
You Try
• We missed the movie because traffic was
bad.
You Try
• Since it is visual, diagramming helps me.