Transcript Diagramming

Diagramming
Diagramming is the representation of
a sentence and its parts of speech in
graphical form
Where to begin
Any time you need to diagram a sentence, you always start with the basics and
work your way down. The basics would include your subject, verb, and any
complements that you have. Let’s just start with a simple sentence that does
not have any complements.
Example: I drove around the school.
Begin by drawing your baseline. This is the formation you always begin with.
I
Then, put your subject on the left
side and your verb on the right.
drove
school
Once you have the basics covered, you then add in your modifiers
(adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. The only modifier we
have here is a prepositional phrase. We put this in an “L” formation
underneath what it modifies. Put the preposition on the slanted line and
the object of the preposition on the straight line. Modifiers are placed on
a slanted line underneath what they modify.
PN and PA
Whenever we begin to diagram, we first want to break down the sentence
into its various parts: subjects, verbs, complement, prep phrases, etc.
Example:
The man in the blue suit is my father.
We begin to diagram by starting with the subject and verb. We draw the
baseline like this:
Subject
Verb/verb phrase
man
is
Next steps
Next we add in the complements. PN and PA are placed behind a slanted line,
while DOs are placed behind a straight line.
man
is
father
suit
Now we have the basic meaning of our sentence on the baseline. Now we
start adding in the modifiers. Adjectives and adverbs are placed on a slanted
line underneath what they modify.
Benefits of diagramming
Once you understand how to diagram, you’ll notice that all
structures have a set and predictable form. For example,
prepositional phrases appear in the “L” formation. Modifiers
like adjectives and adverbs slant underneath what they
modify. This is useful because we can see at a glance what
each word’s function is, as well as what those words modify.
This can make grammatical functions clearer to see.
Diagramming is also useful because it forces you to look at each
and every word In the sentence and recognize its function.
Diagramming other types of
complements
In the last sentence, we had a PN. DOs and IOs also have predictable places
where they are placed in diagramming.
Example: I asked Karen a question.
I
asked
question
Karen
1) Diagram the
subject and verb first.
2) The DO goes behind a
straight line after the verb.
Note that the line does NOT
bisect the baseline. Only the
sub/verb divide bisects the
baseline.
3) Add IO on
4) Add in modifiers
the straight line
of an L structure
underneath the
verb
Practice
Determine where the words in the following sentences would go on the
structure provided
1. The dog ran around the yard.
dog
ran
yard
More practice
This time, you determine the structure needed for the sentence.
The students in the school celebrated.
students
celebrated
school
More Practice
This time, let’s add in those complements!
I saw my grandmother at the parade.
I
saw
grandmother
parade
Independent Practice
Draw the baseline and add in modifiers for these sentences
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I saw that movie in the theater.
My aunt is a teacher.
Tara sent Nina a letter.
I made travel plans for Hawaii.
I am excited about the Halloween party.
How to diagram modifiers that modify
other words as well
We already learned to diagram modifiers on a slanted line underneath what they
modify. However, in order to show that a word modifies another word, we will
“piggyback” it to the word being modified.
Example: The very fast car drove too dangerously.
car
drove
Diagramming compound elements
We use a multi-tiered structure to show compound elements. If we have a
compound subject, we are going to make a two (or more)-tiered structure
to show the subjects.
Example: Rick and Jane studied for their science quiz.
Jane
and
Rick
studied
quiz
Compound Verbs
To diagram compound verbs, we create the same structure as we did with the
compound subjects, but it’s reversed to show the compound verbs.
Example: The bratty child screamed and cried.
screamed
and
child
cried