Diagramming

1
Diagramming

• Diagramming is the representation of a sentence
  and its parts of speech in graphical form

2
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. Lets
  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
drove
around
Then, put your subject on the left side and your
verb on the right.
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.
the
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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
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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
in
my
the
suit
the
blue
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.
5
Benefits of diagramming

• Once you understand how to diagram, youll 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 words 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.

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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
a
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 the straight line of an L structure
underneath the verb
4) Add in modifiers
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Practice

• Determine where the words in the following
  sentences would go on the structure provided

1. The dog ran around the yard.
dog
ran
around
the
yard
the
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More practice

• This time, you determine the structure needed for
  the sentence.
• The students in the school celebrated.

students
celebrated
The
in
school
the
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More Practice

• This time, lets add in those complements!
• I saw my grandmother at the parade.

I
saw
grandmother
my
at
parade
the
10
Independent Practice

• Draw the baseline and add in modifiers for these
  sentences
• 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.

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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
The
dangerously
fast
too
very
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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.

Rick
studied
and
Jane
for
quiz
science
their
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Compound Verbs

• To diagram compound verbs, we create the same
  structure as we did with the compound subjects,
  but its reversed to show the compound verbs.
• Example The bratty child screamed and cried.

screamed
child
and
cried
the
bratty