Diagraming Sentences

8/7/2019 Diagraming Sentences

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Just what is diagraming

sentences?Every sentence is made up of

a subject and a predicate, right?Well, when you diagram a

sentence, the first thing you do isdraw a picture with one main

line that represents the sentence.



Now, split it intwo. One half is

for the subject and

one half is for thepredicate.



Did you notice that theline is vertical — not

slanted!

Did you notice that theline is vertical — not

slanted!

Subject goes here. Verb goes here.



Here areexamplesof simplesentences:



She sangShe sang.

She is the subject.

Sang is the action verb



He taughtHe taught.

He is the subject.Taught is the action verb.



Yikes!

What if my sentencehas extra words! What

would I do then?



It's quite simple. If your

extra word is describing thesubject (most likely it is an

adjective , or an article likethe, a, or an), then you

attach it on to the subjectwith a diagonal line under

the noun it modifies



Here is anexample.



teacher taught

The teacher taught.

Did you notice that theline is diagonal — not

vertical!



Notice!this



Notice!notthis



Notice!or

this



If your word describesthe predicate (most likely

an adverb ), then it isattached to the predicate

with a diagonal line underthe verb it modifies .



Here is anexample.



teacher taught

The teacher taught

patiently.

Did you notice thatthe line is diagonal —

not vertical!



Notice!this



Notice!notthis



Notice!or

this



When diagramingsentences, allwords sit on the

lines —

not underthe lines.



She sangShe sang.

Correct



She sang

She sang.

Incorrect



teacher taught

The teacher taught.

Correct



teacher taught

The teacher taught.

Incorrect



What happens if Ihave more than one

subject?



Compound subjects

are given equaltreatment. (One mustbe fair, you know!). Socompound subjects aretreated like this:



Mr. McCall

teach

Mrs. Holt and Mr.

McCall teach. Mrs. Holt

an

d

Did you notice that the line separatingthe verb from the subjects did not

intersect the two diagonal lines!



If the sentence has a

compound subject, thevertical line separating

the subjects and the verbnever intersects the

diagonal lines which join

the sentence line



an

d

Did you notice that the line

separating the verb from thesubjects did not intersect the

two diagonal lines!

this



an

d

Did you notice that the line

separating the verb from thesubjects should not intersect

the two diagonal lines!

not this



What happens if I have more than

one predicate?



Compound predicates

also are given equaltreatment. (It's that beingfair thing again!)Compound predicates aretreated like this:



Here are some simple

sentences for you todiagram.



Write each sentence as itappears on the screen. Leaveenough space betweensentence in order to diagramthem on the same sheet of paper. This will be displayedonly once!



1. School

started.



2. Mrs.Holt

taught.



3. Welistenedintently.



4. Mrs.Cassity

watched.



5. Shesmiled.



6. Tom andDiane

played.



7. Shesings anddances.



8. Thededicated class

practiced.



9. Thebell rang.



10. The girlsand the boys jumped and

cheered.



DiagramingSentences

Page 571 ff. The Writer’s Choice



A direct object is usedafter an action verb and

never after a state-of-being verb. A direct

object answers thequestion what or who .



When diagraming,

a vertical line is

drawn to the baseline separating thedirect object and the

verb

l h



Mrs. Wilson teaches

math.

mathMrs. Wilson teachesDid you notice that the line whichindicates that the sentence has a

direct object was drawn to the base

line and not through it !?

l h



Mrs. Holt teaches

English.

EnglishMrs. Holt teachesDid you notice that the line whichindicates that the sentence has a

direct object was drawn to the base

line and not through it !?



Let’s see if we

can add a fewadjectives.

ld l



Mean, old Mrs. Holt

teaches bad English.

EnglishMrs. Holt teaches

Did you notice that the lines on which the

modifiers sit do not intersect any other lines?

M H l h



Mrs. Holt teaches

bad English.


Correct!

M H l h



Mrs. Holt teaches

bad English.


Incorrect!

Th littl b h



The little boy won a huge

trophy.boy won trophy



Compoundsubjects can have

adjectives as well.

Here are someexamples:

The little tan cat and the big



dog

The little tan cat and the bigbrown dog chased the rabbit.

cat an

d

chased rabbit

H



Here are some not so

simple sentences for youto diagram.



Let’s see if

we can add afew adverbs.



Athletes train hard.

Athletes train

d hl



Very good athletes

train hard.Athletes train

V d hl



Very good athletes

train extremely hard.Athletes train



1. Theorange bus

stopped.



2. Two largedogs chaseda tiny kitten.



3. Our Historyteacher gavean extremely

hard test.



4. The whitecow giveschocolate

ilk



5. Sherri andI read thesame boring

book.



6. Tom readevery chapter

carefully.



7. I read abook and amagazine

i l



9. The bell rangslowly andstopped

suddenly .



10. The wholeclass and theteacher laughed

and giggled.



DiagramingSentences

Page 571 ff. The Writer’s Choice



How do Idiagramindirectbj ?

G d h gi



Good coaches give

players good advice.

coaches give adviceplayers

The word, to , is understood

in this sentence

J h t S ll i



John sent Sally a nice

necklace.

John sent necklaceSally

The word, to , is understood

in this sentence



How do Idiagram apredicate

i i ?



Swimmers areathletes.

Swimmers are athletes



How do Idiagram apredicatedj i ?



Children are sweet.

Children are sweet

Diagraming Sentences

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