Transcript A Close Look at Modifiers

A Close Look at
Modifiers
What is a sentence modifier?
A sentence modifier is a phrase or clause that adds a
condition to the main sentence. There are many ways
to modify a sentence, among them clauses.
What is a clause?
A clause is a subject and a predicate combined into a
dependent or independent thought or idea.
Types of Clauses
 Subordinate clauses
 Elliptical clauses
 Relative clauses
Subordinate Clauses
Subordinate clauses are adverbial clauses that modify the
idea of the whole sentence.
EXAMPLE
“If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.”
Mercutio, 2.1.33
Which part is the subordinate clause?
Why is “If love be blind” subordinate?
Because it gives a condition to the main
sentence “love cannot hit the mark.”
In other words, without the subordinate
clause, love could never hit the mark. But
with it, we know that sometimes it can.
A (nonexhaustive) list of “subordinate cues”
Words that signal a subordinate clause
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If
Since
Although
As
Because
When
Where
Before/after
Subordinate clauses that most cue sentence
modification are if, since, although, and as.
These seem adverbial, but can
also cue sentence modification.
EXAMPLE
“Although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract tonight…”
Juliet, 2.2.116-17
Elliptical Clauses
Elliptical clauses are a type of subordinate clause.
Elliptical clauses omit obvious, or understood, information.
EXAMPLE
“If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.”
If blind, love cannot hit the mark.
(The subordinate clause in this sentence is now an elliptical clause.
Even though we have omitted the subject and the verb in the clause,
it is still understood that we are talking about love in the clause.)
Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are adjectivals that can also modify
sentences, and not just nouns.
EXAMPLE
Joe bought a gas guzzler, which surprised me.
Kolln, p. 206
Which part is the relative clause?
Why is “which surprised me” relative?
Because of “which,” basically.
But more importantly, because “the gas
guzzler” is not what surprised him, but
Joe buying the gas guzzler was. This is
what makes it a sentence modifier.
Note: Although words such as “where,” “whom,” “who,” “that,” etc.,
only “which” signals a sentence modifying relative clause.
Interjections
Interjections are single words or short phrases that show
surprise, or emotion.
Interjections are usually signaled by an exclamation point,
or can be set of from the sentence by a comma.
EXAMPLE
“’Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to
death!”
Mercutio, 3. 1.91-2
Which part is the interjection?
Go to the grammar wiki, and click on the “A
Good Man is Hard to Find” link.
Read the passage, and identify sentences
with sentence modifiers.
For each sentence that you find, identify
what type of modifier is used in the
sentence.
A quick note on sentence diagramming…
In all cases, when a clause modifies a sentence, the clause is
diagrammed above and separate from the main
sentence.
EXAMPLE
“If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.”
What does this sentence look like diagrammed?
Go to quizlet.com
Make a set of flashcards on the site.
Title it ENG313-Yourname(s).
Make the subject of the set “Grammar:
Sentence Modifiers.”
Then, test yourselves with someone else’s
set of flashcards (from this class).
Resources
• Kolln, Martha, and Funk, Robert. Understanding English
Grammar. Chapter 9.
• O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
The Complete Stories. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. New
York: 1971. 117-133
• Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Cambridge
School of Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge, UK: 2005.
• Santa picture obtained from CreativeCommons.org,
used with permission from artist, Andre-Pierre.