A BASIC OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE HAVE COVERED SO FAR:
Subjects and verbs
- What the sentence is about, and what the subject is doing.
- the/a/an
- a noun that renames or further defines the subject and which follows a linking verb
The following verbs are true linking verbs:
- any form of the verb be [am, is, are, was, were, has been, are being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are always linking verbs.
- appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they are action verbs.
How do you tell when they are action verbs and when they are linking verbs?
- If you can substitute am, is, or are and the sentence still sounds logical, you have a linking verb on your hands.
- If, after the substitution, the sentence makes no sense, you are dealing with an action verb instead.
- Here are some examples:
- Sylvia tasted the spicy squid eyeball stew.
- Sylvia is the stew? I don't think so! Tasted, therefore, is an action verb in this sentence, something Sylvia is doing.
- The squid eyeball stew tasted good.
- The stew is good? You bet.
Attributive Adjectives
- Adjectives that come right before the nouns they describe
Predicate Adjectives
- An adjective that follows a linking verb and modifies the subject
Possessive Pronouns
- My, your, his, her, its, our, and their - modify nouns and appear next to the nouns they modify. Diagrammed like other adjectives.
- Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours and theirs - never next to the nouns they modify. Can be subjects (Yours is blue), predicate nominatives (That car is his), and direct objects (Eat yours)
Direct Objects
- A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb. Combine the NON-LINKING verb in the sentence and the question what? or whom? to see if there is a direct object.
Questions
- Diagrammed like a regular sentence--only the capitalization tips you off that it's a question.
Adverbs
- Modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They go under whatever they modify.
- Adverbs answer how, when, where, to what degree and with what frequency.
Commands
- Have an implied subject, indicated by an "X" on the subject space of the diagram.
- The remainder of the diagram is completed like any other sentence.
You will have a minimum of five sentences to diagram tomorrow.
You spoke in small groups with classmates about your poems today. After reading aloud, you explained your poem's meaning and answered questions about it. Collectively, you brainstormed ways of gesturing, inflecting, enunciating, pausing, emoting, and raising and lowering voice volume to convey that meaning.
HOMEWORK
1. Study for quiz. It will cover vocabulary from units 1-3 (emphasis on unit 3, with sentence matching, picking the correct sentence out of a group, and writing your own sentences), MLA format (2 pairs of quotes for which you must pick the correct one and explain why it is correct, and you will be given one quotation to incorporate and cite in a sentence of your own), and sentence diagrams (no fewer than five).
2. VERY IMPORTANT!!! Your poem must be fully memorized by TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14th. On that day, we will draw names from a hat, and those picked will recite their poems for judging. The remainder will go on Thursday, October 16th (if you are in group 2) or on Friday, October 17th (if you are in groups 4 or 6) (Wednesday is PSAT day and Thursday is E day, when 2 sections don't meet). Your recitation scores will count toward your first quarter grade. I and your classmates will judge your recitations. You have had enough experience in judging now that you should fully understand each of the separate criteria, and you know that the first question to ask when watching a recitation is "Is the presenter's interpretation sound, and does the presenter make that interpretation accessible to me?"
Have a good night and holler with questions.
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