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Words, Clauses Sentences. The Basics Subject, Verb, Object Modifiers, Prepositions, Articles Modifiers: Adjectives, Adverbs Prepositions The Preposition Cube Articles Recap. Sentences & Clauses Independent & Dependent. Grammar. The Basics: Subject, Verb, Object.
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Words, Clauses Sentences
The Basics Subject, Verb, Object Modifiers, Prepositions, Articles Modifiers: Adjectives, Adverbs Prepositions The Preposition Cube Articles Recap Sentences & Clauses Independent & Dependent Grammar
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object In English, we almost invariably structure our sentences in what is called the “SVO” format: S V O Subject – Verb – Object
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object home The dog ran In English, we almost invariably structure our sentences in what is called the “SVO” format: Subject Verb Object S V O Subject – Verb – Object
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object When a sentence is in the “passive voice,” however, the order is generally reversed. “From the ceiling hung the chandelier” Here the chandelier is the subject, even though it follows the verb, and the ceiling is the object even though it precedes the verb.
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object A simple sentence always has a subject. This is a noun, or noun phrase, which is “doing” something. This cup Some people My family Jed and Jethro is go runs drank on the table. on rollercoasters. A simple sentence always has a verb. This is a verb, or verb phrase, which tells what the subject is doing. a restaurant A simple sentence may, or may not, also have an object. This is a noun, or noun phrase, which tells to whom or what the action is being done. the moonshine
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object home The dog ran First, identify the verb. Next, identify the subject-noun (or noun phrase). If there is another noun or noun phrase which follows the verb and completes the action in some way – that is the object
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object Sometimes a simple sentence doesn’t have an “object” – just a subject and verb. • The dog barked. • The car crashed. • The sky is falling. • My back is aching. • Your computer has crashed
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object But subjects and verbs do not necessarily make a complete simple sentence. • John put… • Ralph laid… • I gave… • The dog is… • I will get… The simple sentence must form a complete thought.
The Basics:Subject, Verb, Object But just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean a simple sentence is necessarily short. The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog.
The Basics: Subject, Verb, Object Here we have a single subject, a single verb, and a single object. The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. chimneysweep ran streets verb Noun (subject) Noun (object)
The Basics: Modifiers, Prepositions, Articles The rest of the words are: modifiers, prepositions, articles, and conjunctions. clean The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. happy grimy
The Basics: Modifiers – Adjectives & Adverbs There are two kinds of modifiers. Words which modify nouns are called “adjectives.” clean The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. happy grimy Adjective modifying “streets.” Adjectives modifying “chimneysweep.”
The Basics: Modifiers – Adjectives & Adverbs Words which modify verbs are called “adverbs.” The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. strangely quickly cheerfully Adverbs modifying the verb “ran”
The Basics: Modifiers – Adjectives & Adverbs But adverbs also modify adjectives and other adverbs. The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. strangely quickly cheerfully Adverb modifying adjective “clean.”
The Basics: Prepositions Prepositions are words which tell about the position of something and come before a noun. (“Pre” = before. Therefore, prepositions indicate position and come before.) The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. up in down Prepositions revealing direction and position
The Basics: Prepositions So what are the rest of the words here? Most of what you need to know about prepositions can be learned with a cube and a ball. Some are modifiers. There are two types of modifiers.
The Basics: The Preposition Cube On In Beside
The Basics: The Preposition Cube Through
The Basics: “Of” – The Special Preposition Joining two nouns: As noted, prepositions come before a noun and form the beginning of a prepositional phrases. “Of,” however, is slightly different. It acts very much like a conjunction in that it combines a noun with something else: another noun, an adverb or adjective, or a verb. • The streets of San Francisco • Hair of the dog • Bay of Pigs Joining a noun to a verb • Singing of freedom and joy • Speaking of penguins • Thinking of radiators
The Basics: “Of” – The Special Preposition Joining a noun and adjective As noted, prepositions come before a noun and form the beginning of a prepositional phrases. “Of,” however, is slightly different. It acts very much like a conjunction in that it combines a noun with something else: another noun, an adverb or adjective, or a verb. • Swift of foot • Lean of limb • Warm of heart Joining a noun to an adverb • Sprightly of gait • Fleetingly of importance • Hardly of interest
The Basics: Articles Articles are those little words that sort of point to a noun. The most common is “the.” So what are the rest of the words here? Some are modifiers. There are two types of modifiers. The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. The the the But “the” isn’t the only article.
The Basics: Articles There are two major types of articles: “definite” and “indefinite.” Both types are similar in that they point to a noun. The hats those people wore to this rodeo had an effect on our mayor. The those this the an
The Basics: Articles • The book • This book • That book • Those books • These books A “definite” article points to one or more specific nouns.
The Basics: Articles • A book • An apple An “indefinite” article points to an unspecified instance of a noun.
The Basics: Putting It All Together Now let’s go back to our long simple sentence and examine the types of words it contains. The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. verb Subject-noun Object-noun Modifier: Adverbs Modifier: Adjectives Prepositions Articles
The Basics: Putting It All Together Now let’s go back to our long simple sentence and examine the types of words it contains. The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streetsof London in the fog. ran verb chimneysweep Subject-noun streets of London Object-noun (note the joining “of”) strangely, quickly, cheerfully Modifier: Adverbs happy, clean, grimy Modifier: Adjectives up, down, in Prepositions The (three times) Articles
The Basics: Putting It All Together So what are these remaining words? The happy, yet strangely clean chimneysweep, ran quickly and cheerfully up and down the grimy streets of London in the fog. yet Conjunction (in this case) in the fog Another object, this time as a prepositional phrase.
The Basics:A Recap • There are several types of words: • Verbs • Nouns • Modifiers: Adjectives and Adverbs • Articles: Definite and Indefinite. • Prepositions – with “of” being a special instance
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • To understand sentences, you must understand clauses. • Every clause has a verb. Or to put it another way, every verb has a clause. • There are two types of clauses: • Independent • Dependent. • An independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence. • In other words – an independent clause is a simple sentence. A dependent clause is a partial simple sentence.
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • At the most, there are three sections to a clause: • the predicate (the verb and its modifiers) • the subject (the subject-noun and its modifiers) • the object (the object-noun and its modifiers)
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses Here is a sentence composed of an independent and a dependent clause. The car narrowly missed the tree which had fallen across the road.
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • Since the verb is the backbone of every clause, we begin by locating the verbs. The car narrowly missed the tree which had fallen across the road. The car narrowly missed the tree which had fallen across the road. • There are two verbs in this sentence: • missed • had fallen
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • Next we find the words modifying the verb The car narrowly missedthe tree which had fallenacross the road. • “missed” is modified by “narrowly.” • “had fallen” is not modified by anything
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • The combination of the verb and its associated modifiers gives us our predicate – shown in brackets. The car (narrowly missed) the tree which (had fallen) across the road.
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses Next we locate the subject-nouns. The car (narrowly missed) the tree which (had fallen) across the road. • The subject-noun is the noun doing the action. Therefore, “car” is the subject noun of “missed,” and “which” is the subject-noun (pronoun) of “had fallen.”
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • Then we find the modifiers and auxillary words associated with each subject-noun. The car (narrowly missed) the tree which (had fallen) across the road. • For “car” the only word associated with it is the definite article, “the.” • For “which” there are no associated words.
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • The subject-noun and its associated words form the “subject” of the clause – shown in square brackets. [The car] (narrowly missed) the tree [which] (had fallen) across the road.
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • Now we look to see if there are any object-nouns. These are the nouns to which the action is being done. [The car] (narrowly missed) the tree [which](had fallen) across the road. • The thing the car “missed” is the “tree.” • The thing the “which” had fallen across was the “road.”
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • And as before, we find what words are associated with the object-nouns. [The car] (narrowly missed) the tree[which](had fallen) acrosstheroad. • For “tree,” the only word associated with it is the definite article, “the.” • For “which,” there is a definite article associated with it, but following it is a preposition, “across.” Since prepositions always start phrases (with the exception of “of”), then “across” is also associated with “road.”
Sentences & Clauses:Analyzing Clauses • The object-nouns and their associated words form the “object” of each clause – shown in curly brackets. [The car] (narrowly missed){the tree}[which](had fallen) {across the road.}
Sentences & Clauses:Independent & Dependent This leaves us with two clauses: "The car narrowly missed the tree” The car narrowly missed the tree which had fallen across the road. This clause can stand on its own as a complete simple sentence and is therefore an “independent clause.” “which had fallen across the road” This clause can’t stand on its own as a complete simple sentence and is therefore a “dependent clause.”
Sentences & Clauses:A Recap • All sentences are either complete simple sentences, or combinations of complete and incomplete simple sentences. • A complete simple sentence is composed of a subject, a verb, and sometimes an object – always in the SVO order. • A complete simple sentence can also be called an “independent clause.” It forms a complete thought • A partial simple sentence can also be called a “dependent clause.” It has a subject and verb (no object) but cannot stand on its own as a full sentence. It doesn’t form a complete thought.