Royal Fireworks Language Arts by Michael Clay Thompson. Third Edition. Michael Clay Thompson. September 2014

Transcription

1 Royal Fireworks Language Arts by Michael Clay Thompson The Magic Lens III Third Edition Michael Clay Thompson September 2014 Royal Fireworks Press Unionville, New York

2 LEVEL ONE NOUN VERB pron. adj. adv. interj. prep. conj. She decided to roll the shadow up. Parts of Speech pron. v. n. adj. n. adv. Parts of Sentence subj. AVP D.O Phrases Clauses infinitive phrase one independent clause a simple declarative sentence This sentence is from James M. Barrie s novel Peter Pan. 4 4

3 The predicate is the verb and other words that are about the subject. Predicate: The predicate is the side of the sentence that says something about the subject. The simple predicate is the verb: Caesar went over to the edge of the escarpment. The complete predicate is everything that is said about the subject: Hamlet went to the crater and gathered three bags of comet dust. When we mention the predicate, we usually will mean the simple predicate. Compound verb: The subject of a sentence may take a compound verb as its predicate. In his poem about the tiger, William Blake s famous interrogative complex sentence contains a compound verb in the dependent clause: When the stars threw down their spears / And watered heaven with their tears / Did He smile His work to see? The subject stars has threw and watered as its compound verb. 73

4 From Charles Dickens s Great Expectations: He hugged his shuddering body in both his arms. Parts of Speech pron. v. adj. adj. n. prep. n. adj. n. Parts of Sentence subj. AVP D.O. Phrases Clauses prep. phrase one independent clause a simple declarative sentence In addition to illustrating the way a direct object receives the action from an action verb, this sentence from Charles Dickens is notable for two elements. The first is its use of the possessive adjective his, which can also serve as a pronoun at times. The second is the prepositional phrase of his arms, in which the preposition is understood. This often happens in conversation; we do not express a word that is perfectly obvious, and such an understood construction is called elliptical. 79

5 How do the players play the game? In team sports there is no game until the players get in formation and run plays. In grammar the parts of speech are the players, and they have to take their places as parts of sentence, in formation, in order to run plays. The two main kinds of grammar plays are action plays and equation (linking) plays. If only football were so easy. There are eight kinds of words, but there are only five main parts of sentence. Only four parts of speech nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives can become parts of sentence. Nouns can be subjects, direct or indirect objects, or subject complements. So can pronouns, but the subjects must be subject pronouns, and the objects must be object pronouns. An adjective can be a subject complement. The verb is the simple predicate. Great words make great sentences. The other four kinds of words can be present in sentences, but they cannot be a part of sentence. They only can attend the main parts as modifiers and logical operators. If we now compare the power parts of speech the noun, pronoun, verb, and adjective we see a near-perfect alignment with vocabulary. When you study vocabulary, you mostly learn nouns, verbs, and adjectives. You learn the very kinds of words that you need to make powerful sentences. If you want to be a writer, learn words (vocabulary), and learn what to do with them in sentences (grammar). Grammar is a way of thinking about language. 96

6 GRAMMAR ERRORS Sentence Fragment frag Advanced academic writing is made of complete sentences. Groups of words that do not make complete thoughts are called fragments. Many fragments are the result of punctuating phrases incorrectly. One common sentence fragment occurs when you put a period after an introductory participial phrase: Wrong: Catching the full force of the gale. Robert crouched. Right: Catching the full force of the gale, Robert crouched. You might also see a sentence fragment caused by punctuating an infinitive or gerund phrase as though it were a complete sentence: Wrong: Training the team. Was a diffi cult challenge. Right: Training the team was a difficult challenge. Wrong: To train the team well. Was a diffi cult challenge. Right: To train the team well was a difficult challenge. Bad Appositive Construction An appositive is an interrupting definition. It provides important information immediately, so the reader does not have to read on in confusion. The danger is that appositives must be enclosed in commas one to start the definition, and one to return to the main idea. If we forget the second comma, we can completely change the meaning of the sentence. Wrong: Robert, the mailman is stealing our car. Right: Robert, the mailman, is stealing our car. Notice that in the first sentence there are two men, and we are speaking to Robert. In the second sentence there is one man, and the person being spoken to is not named. The missing appositive comma destroyed the meaning of the sentence. Pronoun Case pron Not only direct objects and indirect objects, but also objects of prepositions, objects of gerunds, objects of participles, and objects of infinitives must use object pronouns. A subject is a subject, and an object is an object. Wrong: Meeting you and I was his purpose. Right: Meeting you and me was his purpose. Wrong: The check was for you and I. Right: The check was for you and me. Misplaced Modifier mm An introductory participial phrase must be set off by a comma and must modify the grammatical subject of the sentence. The modifier is misplaced if the intended target word is present in the sentence, but the modifier modifies the wrong word because of its placement. Wrong: Barking furiously at the mailman, Susan shushed Fido. Right: Barking furiously at the mailman, Fido angered Susan. 127

7 Clauses A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and its predicate. Clauses have subjects and predicates. The word clause comes from the same root as the words claustrophobia, enclosure, and close. The idea is that a clause is a closing: The subject opens the topic, and the predicate closes it; the subject asks, and the predicate answers. A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and its predicate, and this one-two structure opens and closes an idea. Every clause has this subject/predicate set as its nucleus. The clause includes not only the subject and the verb, but all of the modifiers and phrases that stick to them. A sentence might be only one clause, or it might contain several clauses, each with its own subject and predicate. In the sentence below, the clause is Bernini carved a recumbent fi gure. The whole sentence is an independent clause. Clauses can be independent, making sense by themselves, or they can be dependent and need to be connected to an independent clause in order to make sense. Independent: Dependent: Caesar led his legions into Gaul. When Caesar led his legions into Gaul

8 D,I complex sentence: If the order is reversed, and the dependent clause comes before the independent clause, we put a comma after the introductory adverbial dependent clause. When Poseidon waved his trident, the waves began to attack the boat. conj. n. v. adj. n. adj. n. v. n. adj. n. subj. AVP D.O. subj. AVP D.O infinitive phrase dependent clause independent clause a D,I complex declarative sentence This is a complex sentence because it has an independent clause and a dependent clause. The punctuation rule is D,I, meaning that the introductory dependent clause is followed by a comma. 143