Download Language Symbols Described

Framing Your Thoughts Approach to Sentence
Diagramming
Many of our students with visual discrimination issues, especially our younger students,
have difficulty with the standard diagramming method. The Framing Your Thoughts
approach (Project Read) uses a simple method to “frame” each word in a sentence with a
shape.
Nouns are underlined with a straight line
Verbs use a horizontal zigzag line.
Adverbs are framed with a triangle with where, when, how and why written on the side to
show how the adverb phrase is used.
Adjectives are boxed in with a rectangle, and looks, behavior, number, ownership, or setapart is written above the box.
Direct objects are circled, and indirect objects are contained in a half circle.
Helping verbs use the zigzag line ending in a “scoop” to contain the verb it is helping.
Linking verbs followed by a predicate noun use the same zigzag line, and the predicate
noun is underlined with an equal sign (=) below the line.
Linking verbs followed by a predicate adjective use the same adjective symbol, a
rectangular box.
A preposition simply has a check mark above it.
Noun: _________
Verb: /\/\/\/\
Adjective:
Adverb:
Direct Object: /\/\/\/\
Indirect Object: /\/\/\/\
Helping Verb: /\/\/\/\
Linking Verb with Predicate Adjective: /\/\/\/\
Linking Verb with Predicate Noun: /\/\/\/\
=
Preposition:
Adapted from Framing Your Thoughts, Project Read, Victoria E. Green and Mary Lee Enfield,
Ph.D.
DII December 2011