Download KISS Level 3. 2. 1 - Ellipsis in Clauses

KISS Grammar
Diego Velazquez's Las Meninas (1656}
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Annaallyyssiiss K
Keeyyss aanndd N
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Free, from the KISS Grammar Web Site
KISSGrammar.org
This is the “Teachers” Book” for a KISS Level 3.2 workbook. It contains some suggestions
for teaching KISS Level 3.2 and the analysis keys for the exercises. The keys in this book have
been numbered to match the students’ workbook. Note that in the printable books, instructional
materials (and special notes for teachers) appear in green text in the table of contents.
© Ed Vavra
December, 2012
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Contents
IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn ffoorr TTeeaacchheerrss aanndd PPaarreennttss....................................................................................................................................................44
Applying KISS to Students’ Own Reading and Writing ................................................................... 5
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 33.. 22.. 11 -- EElllliippssiiss iinn C
Cllaauusseess................................................................................................................................................66
Notes for Teachers ............................................................................................................ 6
Ex. 1.a. -Ellipsed Finite Verbs in Marshall’s Stories of Robin Hood .......................... 10
Ex. 1.b. - From My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales ....................................................... 10
Ex. 2. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett ................................. 11
Ex. 3. - From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne ................. 13
Ex. 4. - Semi-Reducing Clauses .................................................................................. 16
Ex. 5. - Prepositional Phrase or Ellipsed Clause? Based on Black Beauty .................. 17
Ex. 6. - The Opening of “Snow-White and Rose-Red” ............................................... 18
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 33.. 22.. 22 -- ““SSoo”” aanndd ““FFoorr”” aass C
Coonnjjuunnccttiioonnss................................................................................................1199
Notes for Teachers .......................................................................................................... 19
Some Theoretical Observations ...................................................................................... 20
Ex. 1.a. - Famous (or Interesting) Quotations ............................................................. 27
Ex. 1.b. - From Vredenburg’s My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales ................................ 28
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 33..22..33 -- SSuubboorrddiinnaattee C
Cllaauusseess -- D
Diirreecctt O
Obbjjeecctt oorr IInntteerrjjeeccttiioonn??....................................2299
Notes for Teachers .......................................................................................................... 29
1. Exploring Clauses: Main Clause or Subordinate? ...................................................... 34
Ex. 1. Based on “The Snow Queen,” by Hans ChristianAndersen ............................. 34
2. Subordinate Clauses as Interjections .......................................................................... 35
Ex. 2. From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ............................................. 35
3. Interjection or Direct Object? ..................................................................................... 38
Ex. 3.a From Edric Vredenburg’s“Bluebeard” ............................................................ 38
Ex. 3.b From Edric Vredenburg’s My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales .......................... 39
4. Exercises in Punctuation ............................................................................................. 41
Ex. 4.a * From “How the Camel Got His Hump,” by Rudyard Kipling ..................... 41
Ex. 4.b * From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ............................................... 41
5 A Passage for Analysis ................................................................................................ 45
Ex. 5. A 496-word Sentence from Pinocchio, The Tale of a Puppet .......................... 45
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 33..22..44 -- A
Addvvaanncceedd Q
Quueessttiioonnss aabboouutt C
Cllaauusseess..........................................................................................4499
Notes for Teachers .......................................................................................................... 49
More on “Which” (and “Who”) ...................................................................................... 51
Problems in Defining a Clause........................................................................................ 56
Some Uncommon Clause Constructions ........................................................................ 59
Ex. 1. Subordinate Clauses as Tags ................................................................................ 60
Ex. 1.a - Based on Postern of Fate, by Agatha Christie .............................................. 60
Ex. 1.b. - Based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri ................................................................ 61
Ex. 2. The Witch in "Which" (and "Who") ..................................................................... 62
Ex. 2.a. - Based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri ................................................................ 62
Ex. 2.b. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.................................. 64
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 55..44 A
Appppoossiittiivveess................................................................................................................................................................................6677
Notes for Teachers .......................................................................................................... 67
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Ex. 1.a - Based on “Perseus,” by Charles Kingsley .................................................... 68
Ex. 1.b. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett .............................. 70
Ex. 2.a. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett .............................. 72
Ex. 2.b. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, by Jules Verne ........ 74
Ex. 3. - Writing—Elaborating Appositives with a Subordinate Clause ...................... 75
Ex. 4 - The Punctuation of Appositives —AURORA, by Guido Reni ....................... 76
Ex. 5. - Rewriting: Appositives & Subordinate Clauses ............................................. 79
Ex. 6.a. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas .................................. 80
Ex. 6.b. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett .............................. 83
Ex. 7.a. - “The Last Hour,” by Ethel Clifford ............................................................. 86
Ex. 7.b. - From THE CHILDREN OF ODIN by Padraic Colum ................................. 87
Ex. 8. - Just for Fun – “Andre, the Giant” ................................................................... 87
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 55..55 PPoosstt--PPoossiittiioonneedd A
Addjjeeccttiivveess ..............................................................................................................................8888
Notes for Teachers .......................................................................................................... 88
Ex. 1.a - From Heidi by Johanna Spyri ....................................................................... 88
Ex. 1.b. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.................................. 90
Ex. 2. – Rewrite: From MC to SC to PPA – From “The White Cat” .......................... 92
Ex. 3. - “For flowers that bloom,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson ..................................... 94
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Deellaayyeedd SSuubbjjeeccttss..............................................................................................................................................................9955
Notes for Teachers .......................................................................................................... 95
Ex. 1 - Infinitives as Delayed Subjects - from Heidi by Johanna Spyri ...................... 97
Ex. 2 - Clauses as Delayed Subjects - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas .... 99
Ex. 3 – From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ......................................... 100
Ex. 4 - From My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales, by Edric Vredenburg ..................... 101
Ex. 5 - From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (A Passage for Analysis) ....................... 102
[Ex. 6 - Treasure Hunt (and/or Recipe Roster)] ........................................................ 103
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KIISSSS LLeevveell 55..77 PPaassssiivvee V
Vooiiccee &
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Reettaaiinneedd C
Coom
mpplleem
meennttss ..............................................................................110033
Notes for Teachers ........................................................................................................ 103
Ex. 1.a. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett ............................ 106
Ex. 1.b. - Based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri .............................................................. 107
Passive Verb or Predicate Adjective? ........................................................................... 108
Ex. 2. - From “Snow-White and Rose-Red” ............................................................. 108
Ex. 3.a. - Rewriting Passive Verbs as Active & Active as Passive ........................... 109
Ex. 3.b. - Rewriting Passive Verbs as Active & Active as Passive ........................... 110
Ex. 3.c. - From Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children ..................................... 111
Ex. 3.d. - From The Queen of the Pirate Isle, by Bret Harte ..................................... 112
Ex. 4. - An Exercise on Retained Complements ....................................................... 115
Ex. 5. - Retained Complements (Clauses) from Heidi by Johanna Spyri ................. 116
Ex. 6. - Infinitives as Retained Complements Based on Black Beauty ..................... 117
Ex. 7. - Retained Complements (Mixed) based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri ............. 118
Ex. 8. - “To be” plus an infinitive based on Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell ............. 120
Ex. 9.a. - Sheep-Shearing, From McGuffey’s Second Reader ................................... 121
Ex. 9.b. - 7th Heaven, by a sixth grade student ......................................................... 122
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Appppeennddiixx......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................112255
The KISS Grammar Toolbox ........................................................................................................ 126
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Using the KISS Analysis Keys ...................................................................................................... 127
Creating Directions for Your Students .......................................................................................... 128
IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss aanndd PPaarreennttss
The study of grammar is a science.
The teaching of grammar is an art.
I hope you have found KISS Grammar to be both productive and enjoyable to teach. This
book adds advanced questions about clauses plus four Level 5 constructions to the students’
analytical toolboxes. The “Advanced Questions about Clauses” should be relatively easy for
students who have mastered KISS Level 3.1.
There are three functions of clauses that are not covered in KISS Level 3, but they are
covered in the Level 5 constructions that are included in this book. The three are Appositives,
Delayed Subjects, and Retained Complements after Passive Voice.
Four Level 5 Constructions
Remember that if you are teaching KISS in a limited amount of time, Level 5 constructions
are those that can be skipped so that you can cover the most important concepts first. The gradelevel books, however, are designed to present approximately a year’s worth of material per book.
Thus, book covers four Level 5 constructions.
Even if your students are already familiar with it, I strongly suggest you review the KISS
Psycholinguistic Model with them. (See the “Printable Books Page.”) The model changes the
study of grammar into the study of how the human mind processes language, and it also justifies
the rules of punctuation.
If you still feel uncomfortable with your own knowledge of grammar, you might want to
read “Teaching Grammar with the KISS Approach: ‘I Don't Know’” in the Background Essays
for KISS Grammar.
General Reminders:
1. Although the ability to identify constructions is essential, once students have the ability, such
exercises may become boring. You may therefore want to modify some of the directions.
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For example, punctuation exercises often ask students to identify constructions as well as fix
the punctuation. You may want to change these to simply fixing and discussing the
punctuation. The same is true for some of the exercises on logic.
2. The instructional material in these “complete” books is the same for every Level 3.2 book,
regardless of grade-level of the students for whom they are intended. (Format and graphics
may change, and as I receive feedback from teachers, some of the explanations may
change.) You should at least browse through the relevant “booklets” for the KISS Levels.
They include explanations for the nature and sequencing of exercises, as well as comments
unusual cases. (Repeating and updating this material in each of the eight “complete” Level
3.2 books does not make sense.)
3. Emphasize the method.
Applying KISS to Students’ Own Reading and Writing
The primary objective of KISS is to enable students to intelligently discuss the grammar of anything
that they read and especially anything that they write. Those who understand KISS concepts could,
theoretically, use the Master Books and then use only the students’ own writing for exercise materials.
But particularly in classrooms, this would be impractical.
Imagine the dilemma of a teacher with twenty students in classroom. The students have been given
the instructional material on subjects and verbs, and then the students immediately all try to find the
subjects and verbs in a short passage that they wrote. The teacher would go nuts trying to check all of this.
In other words, it makes much more sense for the students to all do a few of the same exercise, an
exercise that can then be reviewed in class. KISS primarily provides the latter type of exercises.
Teachers should regularly supplement these exercises by having students analyze short passages
from their own writing. The students can simply apply the directions they have been using to the analysis
of their own writing. (In other words, if they are working at KISS Level Three, they would analyze their
own writing through clauses.) The students can then work in small groups to check and discuss each
others’ work. How often teachers should do this is an aspect of the art of teaching. But the more you do
this, the more that you will probably see interested, motivated students.
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KIISSSS L
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Elllliippssiiss iinn C
Cllaauusseess
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Nootteess ffoorr T
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Traditional grammarians speak of “ellipsis”; modern linguists discuss “reduction.” As the
instructional material suggests, they are two different perspectives of the same thing — we
simply leave out words, often connecting or repetitious words, if the context provides their
meaning. Thus, when we say “Come in,” the context provides both the subject and the object of
the preposition “in.” (“In” means whatever place the speaker is “in.” We won’t say “Come in,”
if we are outside.)
Ellipsis is a concept, not a construction, and you will find it used in various places in the
analysis keys. But to help students understand the concept, we can provide examples of the ways
in which ellipsis is typically used.
As the explanation of semi-reduced clauses suggests, ellipsis is an extremely important
concept. Indeed, most compounding, gerundives, appositives, post-positioned adjectives, and
noun absolutes can be seen as the result of reduction/ellipsis.
In instructional materials and analysis keys, KISS used asterisks to insert ellipsed words.
The Exercises in KISS Level 3.2.1
Exercises 1 a & b - Ellipsis in S/V/C Patterns
Writers fairly frequently ellipse finite verbs in parallel patterns based on the same verb but
with different subjects and complements:
Her figure was majestic, her manners charming, her whole appearance
beautiful beyond words.
Her figure was majestic, her manners *were* charming, her whole
appearance *was* beautiful beyond words.
Flatterers look like friends, as wolves like dogs.—George Chapman
Flatterers look like friends, as wolves *look like* like dogs.
Exercise 2 - Ellipsis in Subordinate Clauses
After some words, especially "than" and "as," words are ellipsed in subordinate clauses:
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He looked gloomier than ever.
means
He looked gloomier [than *he had* ever *looked before*]."
He classified shirts and suits as expertly as birds and mammals.
means
He classified shirts and suits as expertly [as *he classified* birds and mammals].
They worked as hard as possible.
means
They worked as hard [as it is possible to work].
Exercise 3 - Semi-Reduced Clauses
Semi-reduced clauses are not very frequent, primarily because they derive mainly from
those adverbial conjunctions that do not also function as prepositions. Compare the difference:
[After they won the game,] they had a party.
{After winning the game}, they had a party.
[When they were playing a game, ] they did not want to be distracted.
[When playing a game, ] they did not want to be distracted.
The reduction of a subordinate conjunction such as “after,” which can also function as a
preposition, results in a prepositional phrase with a gerund as its object. But “when” is not
considered a preposition, and thus to explain this case, we need to refer to ellipsis.
Usually, the ellipsed subject is in the clause that the semi-reduced clause modifies. Thus,
when in students’ writing it is not, it is tempting to mark these as a form of dangling modifier.
But in the work of professional writers, the ellipsed subject may be implicit in the context.
Consider the following sentence from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter:
While occupied with these reflections, a knock came at the door of the
study, and the minister said, “Come in!”--not wholly devoid of an idea that
he might behold an evil spirit. (The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings, ed.
Leland S. Person. Norton Critical Edition, 2005, 142.)
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Obviously, the “knock” is not occupied with the reflections. Some might argue that “minister” is
the implicit subject, but it appears is the following main clause. That is a long time for readers to
wait for a subject. In context, the subject is clearer, but it is the ambiguous “he” in the previous
paragraph:
But he seemed to stand apart, and eye this former self with scornful,
pitying, but half-envious curiosity. That self was gone. Another man had
returned out of the forest; a wiser one; with a knowledge of hidden
mysteries which the simplicity of the former never could have reached. A
bitter kind of knowledge that!
How frequently such implicit subjects appear might be a good topic for a research study, but the
primary point here is that before we charge students with errors, we need to be careful.
KISS considers these clauses as “semi” reduced because most of them can be further
reduced, thereby resulting in a gerundive:
When playing a game, they did not want to be distracted.
Playing a game, they did not want to be distracted.
Exercise 4 - Semi-Reducing Clauses
To reinforce the previous exercise, this one has students rewrite a sentence by semi-reducing
a clause.
Exercise 5 - Prepositional Phrase or Ellipsed Clause?
Consider:
Harry was as clever at stable work as a much older boy.
In this type of sentence, the second “as” construction functions as an adverb to the first “as.” But
what is that construction? Some grammarians argue that it should be explained as an ellipsed
subordinate clause:
Harry was as clever at stable work
[as a much older boy *is clever at stable work*].
KISS accepts this explanation, but it requires conscious knowledge of both subordinate
clauses and ellipsis. In addition, it does not always work. Consider, for example, the following
sentence from Black Beauty:
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“I don’t know a man anywhere,” said master,”that I should think so suitable for it as
yourself.”
Clearly, “as yourself is suitable” would not be an acceptable subordinate clause. Thus “as
yourself” is best explained as a prepositional phrase. In some cases, in other words, the
subordinate clause explanation simply does not make sense -- the prepositional phrase
explanation is superior. Because of this, and because of ease in explanation, we can also consider
“as a much older boy” (in the first example) as a prepositional phrase.
At some point in their instruction, students need to be taught that they must pay attention to
meaning and therefore check to see that what might look like a prepositional phrase is, instead,
an ellipsed clause. My favorite example of this is a sentence written by a young female student:
No one can train a horse better than me.
A superficial reader of my work criticized this example for being sexist and politically incorrect.
It may be, but that only reinforces my point. The sentence can be read as meaning “No one can
train a horse better than *they can train* me. Thus, in this case, which is relatively rare, the
sentence should have been written as, “No one can train a horse better than I.” The “I” forces the
reader to see “I” as a subject, and not an object.
The sentences in this section explore the question of ellipsis and words that can function as
comparative prepositions.
Exercise 6 - A Passage for Analysis
Like many of the passages for analysis, these may include only one example or type of
ellipsis. Finding several examples within a single paragraph or poem will take some time.
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises
First, write in (above the line) any ellipsed words. Then,
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,” or
“DO”).
3. Place brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause. If the clause functions as a noun, label its
function. If it functions as an adjective or adverb, draw an arrow from the opening bracket to
the word that the clause modifies.
4. Place a vertical line after each main clause
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Probable Time Required
If students have learned to analyze sentences by thinking about what they mean, and if
students have a fair mastery of subordinate clauses, two or three exercises should give them a
good command of ellipsis so that they can recognize it in selections from this point onward.
Ex. 1.a. -Ellipsed Finite Verbs in Marshall’s Stories of Robin Hood
1. {At dinner} the Sheriff sat {at one end} {of the table} | and the old butcher *sat* {at
the other}. |
2. Closer and closer grew the trees; | narrower (PA) and narrower (PA) *grew* the
pathways. |
3. The snow lay thick (PA) [#1] {on the ground}, | the roads were almost impassable
(PA) | and the cold *was* terrible (PA). |
4. Many brave deeds were done (P), | many terrible battles *were* fought (P), | but still
the heathen kept possession (DO). |
Note
1. See “Palimpsest Patterns.”
Ex. 1.b. - From My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales
1. The fairies gave all their best gifts (DO) {to the little princess}; | one gave her (IO)
virtue (DO), | another *gave* beauty (DO), | another *gave* riches (DO). |
2. The horses slept {in the stables}, | and the dogs *slept* {in the court}, | the pigeons
*slept* {on the house-top}, | and the flies *slept* {on the walls}. |
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3. Presently the king and queen also awoke, | and all the court *awoke*, | and they
gazed {on each other} {with great wonder}. |
4. Her figure was majestic (PA), | her manners *were* charming (PA), | her whole
appearance *was* beautiful (PA) {beyond words}. |
5. {On breaking the nut [#1] } he found a cherry stone (DO), | the stone was broken (P) |
and there was the kernel, | {in the kernel} was a grain {of corn}, | {in the grain} {of
corn} *was* a millet seed, | and {within that} *was* a piece {of linen}. |
Note
1. “Nut” is the direct object of the verbal (gerund) “breaking.” The gerund phrase is the
object of the preposition.
Ex. 2. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Note that phrases such as “as usual” and “than ever” are probably learned as idioms, not as
reductions of lengthy grammatical constructions. The explanations below simply show that we
can, if we wish, explain the syntactic connections by using ellipsis.
1. He smiled now | and his smile was wider (PA) [Adv. to "wider" [#1] than *it was*
usual (PA) {*for it to be wide* [#2] }]. |
2. Mary even thought [DO she saw him wink his eyes [#3] [Adv. to "wink" as if *he
wanted* to wink tears [#4] away]]. |
3. One place [#5] she went {to} oftener [Adv. to "oftener" than *she went* {to any other}]. |
4. She sat up {on her heels} again and rubbed the end (DO) {of her nose} {with the back}
{of her hand} [Adv. to "rubbed" as if *she were* puzzled (P) {for a moment}, | but she
ended quite positively. |
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5. There, indeed, was the robin, | and she thought [DO he looked nicer (PA) [#6] [Adv.
to "nicer" than *he had* ever *looked before*]]. |
6. She said nothing (DO) [Adv. to "said" while her dress was changed (P)], and [Adv.
to "said" *while* her hair *was* brushed (P)]. |
7. You can lose a friend (DO) {in springtime} easier [Adv. to "easier" than *you can
lose a friend (DO) {in* any other season}] [Adv. to the first "can lose" if you're too
curious (PA)]. |
8. Ben very seldom talked much and sometimes did not even answer Mary's questions
(DO) {except by a grunt}, | but this morning [NuA] he said more [#7] [Adv. to "more" [#1]
than *it was* usual (PA) {*for him to say [#2] }] . |
9. {By the time} [Adj. to "time" she was six years [NuA] old (PA)] she was as tyrannical and
selfish a little pig (PN) {as *any pig} [Adj. to "pig" that* ever lived]. |
10. They dug and pulled and laughed low {with rapture} [Adv. to "dug" and "pulled" and
"laughed" until Mistress Mary's hair was as tumbled (PA) [Adv. to "as" as Dickon's
*hair was tumbled (PA)*]] and [Adv. to "dug" and "pulled" and "laughed" *until*
her cheeks were almost as poppy [#8] red (PA) [Adv. to "as" as his *cheeks were
poppy red (PA)*]]. |
Notes
1. Some thoughtful students will point out that in this case there is an easier explanation—“than
usual” can be viewed as an ellipsed prepositional phrase: “than *his* usual *smile*.” Still
another perspective is to consider “usual” as an ellipsed version of “usually”—“than *it*
usual*ly was*.”
2. “It” is the subject and “wide” is a predicate adjective to the infinitive “to be.” The infinitive
phrase functions as the object of the preposition. The prepositional phrase can be viewed as
adverbial to “usual.” Alternatively, the infinitive phrase “to be wide” can be considered a
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delayed subject—“than to be wide was usual for it.” Other people may prefer to see the
prepositional phrase as the subject—“than *for it to be wide was* usual.”
3. “Him” is the subject of the verbal (infinitive) “wink,” and “eyes” is its direct object. The
infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “saw.”
4. “Tears” is the direct object of the infinitive “to wink.” The infinitive phrase functions as the
direct object of the ellipsed “wanted.” Note that if we wanted to consider “as if” a
preposition, then we would simply have a prepositional phrase here, with the infinitive as
the object of the preposition. There would then be no need of ellipsis to explain it, but most
grammarians don’t see “as if” as a preposition.
5. “Place” is the object of the following preposition “to.”
6. I have considered “nicer” to be a predicate adjective in a palimpsest pattern. See 2.1.4 Palimpsest Patterns. Some grammars simply include “look” among “linking verbs” (verbs
that take predicate adjectives or predicate nouns). If someone wanted to consider “nicer”
here as an adverb that describes how he looked, I would not object.
7. If we look at “more” as answering “said how much?” it is an adverb, but others may look at it
as answering “said what?” and thus call it a direct object. The question is not worth arguing.
8. Although “red” functions as a predicate adjective here, it is still modified by an adjective.
Ex. 3. - From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne
1. Ned Land was about forty years [NuA] {of age}; | he was a tall man (PN) (more {than
six feet} high) [#1], strongly built [#2], grave [#2] and taciturn [#2], occasionally violent [#2],
and very very passionate [#2] [Adv. to "passionate" when *he is* contradicted (P)]. |
2. {Among the dishes} [Adj. to "dishes" which were brought (P) {to us}], I recognized
several fish (DO) delicately dressed [#3]; | but {of some}, [Adv. to "no" and/or "could
give" although *they were* excellent (PA)], I could give no opinion (DO), |
neither could I tell [DO {to what kingdom} they belonged, [Adv. to the adjective
"what" whether *it was* animal (PA) or vegetable (PA)]]. |
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3. One saw, [Adv. to "saw" while *one was* crossing], [DO that the sea displays the
most wonderful sights (DO)]. |
4. I did not answer, and [Adv. to "began" while *I was* watching the suspected waves
(DO)], began {with the help} {of the sailors} to put on my heavy sea-dress [#4] . |
5. The harpoon, [Adv. to "only" although *it was* thrown (P) {with great force}], had
apparently only struck the water (DO). |
6. But [while *the merchants [#5] were* coming {to this decision}], {on the 22d} {of
October, 1702}, the English vessels arrived {in Vigo Bay}, [Adj. to "22d" when [#6]
Admiral Château-Renaud, {in spite} {of inferior forces}, fought bravely]. |
7. [Adv. to "remained" While I was trying to fix {in my mind} every detail [#7] {of this
grand landscape}] Captain Nemo remained motionless (PA), [Adv. to "motionless"
as if *he were* petrified (P) {in mute ecstasy}, leaning [#8] {on a mossy stone}]. |
8. "*You* Picture {to yourselves}," [ [#9] said I], "[DO what (PN) this crater must
have been [Adv. to "must have been" when *it was* filled (P) {with boiling lava}],
and [Adv. to "must have been" when the level {of the incandescent liquid} rose {to the
orifice} {of the mountain}, [Adv. to "rose" as though *it had been* melted (P) {on the
top} {of a hot plate}.]]]" |
9. [Adv. to "saw" While *we were* crossing], I saw numerous whales (DO) belonging
[#10]
{to the three kinds} peculiar [#11] {to the southern seas}: the whale [#12], or the English
"right whale [#12]," [Adj. to "whale" which has no dorsal fin (DO)]; the "humpback,"
[#12]
or balænopteron [#12], {with reeved chest}, and {*with* large whitish fins}, [Adj. to
"fins" which, {in spite} {of its name}, do not form wings (DO)]; and the fin-back
[#12]
, {of a yellowish-brown}, the liveliest [#12] {of all the cetacea}. |
Note the colon that introduces the three main appositives and the semicolons that
separate them.
15
Notes
1. Grammarians would have fun proposing various explanations of the words in the parentheses.
First of all, rhetoricians would call these words a “parenthetical expression,” their term for
words that are, in essence, interjected into a sentence. Within KISS terminology, there are
alternative explanations. The simplest is to consider “more” as an adverb to “high,” and
“high” as an appositive to “tall.” See “Other Constructions as Appositives” in KISS Level
5.4 - Appositives.
2. “Built” is a gerundive—a verbal that functions as an adjective. It functions as
”grave,” “taciturn,” “violent,” and “passionate” do—as a post-positioned adjective. See
KISS Level 5.5.
3. “Dressed” is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “fish.”
4. “Sea-dress” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to put.” The infinitive phrase
functions as the direct object of “began.”
5. Some grammarians would consider this “when coming” to be a modification error. In context,
it is clear that merchants—described in the preceding paragraph—were the ones who were
coming to a decision. Out of context, it seems that those on the English vessels were coming
to the decision. [The weakness of the explanation here illustrates one of the problems in
analyzing sentences out of context.]
6. This “when” seems awkward to me, but it is what is in the text.
7. “Detail” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to fix.” The infinitive phrase is the direct
object of “was trying.”
8. “Leaning” is a verbal (gerundive). We can explain what it modifies in two ways. For one, it
can be seen as modifying the ellipsed “he.” This explanation puts the gerundive phrase
inside the “as if” clause. Alternatively, it can be seen as modifying “Captain Nemo.” From
this perspective, the “as if” clause ends with “ecstasy.”
9. KISS explains “said I” as a clause that functions as an interjection. See KISS Level 3.2.3 Interjection? Or Direct Object?
10. “Belonging” can be explained as a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “whales.” At KISS Level
5.8, some people will prefer to see “whales belonging” as the core of a noun absolute that
functions as the direct object of “saw.”
16
11. “Peculiar” is a post-positioned adjective to “kinds.” See KISS Level 5.5.
12. Appositive to “kinds.” Note that “the” makes “liveliest” a noun.
Ex. 4. - Semi-Reducing Clauses
1. [Adv. to "found" When he was searching {for Eudora} {along the creek}], Miles
found an old coat (DO) and her boots (DO). |
When searching for Eudora along the creek, Miles found an old coat and her boots.
2. The submarine was scary (PA) [Adv. to "was" when it was submerging {under the
ocean}]. |
The submarine was scary when submerging under the ocean.
3. The soldiers, [Adv. to "lost" once they were defeated (P) ], lost every hope (DO) {of
ever going [#1] home [NuA] }. |
The soldiers, once defeated, lost every hope of ever going home.
4. [Adv. to "hated" Whether she was working {at home} or {in her office}], Candice
hated to be disturbed [#2]. |
Whether working at home or in her office, Candice hated to be disturbed.
5. Ricardo always sent interesting postcards (DO) {to his friends} [#3] [Adv. to "sent"
when he traveled {in Europe}]. |
Ricardo always sent interesting postcards to his friends when traveling in Europe.
6. [Adv. to "will be" If it is found (P),] it will be the biggest discovery (PN) {of the
century}. |
If found, it will be the biggest discovery of the century.
7. [Adv. to "remembered" Whenever Anna was practicing her violin (DO),] she
remembered [DO how her mother loved to listen [#4] {to her}]. |
Whenever practicing her violin, she remembered how her mother loved to listen to her.
17
8. The trophy, [Adv. to "was" though it is difficult (PA) to win [#5] ,] was [PN what [#6]
every student wanted]. |
The trophy, though difficult to win, was what every student wanted.
9. The bears ate the honey (DO) [Adv. to "ate" as if they were starved (PA) [#7] ]. |
The bears ate the honey as if starved.
10. [Adv. to "learned" While Anthony was working {at the restaurant}], he learned a
lot (DO) [#8] {about people}. |
While working at the restaurant, Anthony learned a lot about people.
Notes
1. The verbal (gerund) “going” functions as the object of the preposition “of.”
2. The verbal (infinitive) “to be disturbed” functions as the direct object of “hated.”
3. The prepositional phrase “to his friends” can be explained either as an adverb or as an indirect
object of “sent.”
4. The verbal (infinitive) “to listen” functions as the direct object of “loved.”
5. The easiest way to explain the verbal (infinitive) “to win” is to consider it an adverb to
“difficult.” Grammarians, however, could get into an interesting discussion about this
construction from the perspective of the delayed subject—“To win the trophy is difficult.”
See KISS Level 5.6 - Delayed Subjects and Sentences.
6. This “what,” which means the trophy, is both the subordinating conjunction and the direct
object of “wanted.”
7. “Starved” is also a verbal (a gerundive).
8. “Lot” can be explained as a direct object, but if we look at it as answering How much did he
learn?, it makes more sense as a Noun Used as an Adverb.
Ex. 5. - Prepositional Phrase or Ellipsed Clause? Based on Black Beauty
1. He spoke as kindly {to us} [Adv. to previous "as" as he did {to his little children}]. |
2. I never knew a better man (DO) {than my new master}. [#1] |
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3. That is more (PN) [Adj. to "more" than a horse can understand]. |
4. Nelly is as happy (PA) {as a bird} [#2]. |
5. I believe [DO so long [Adv. to "so long" as we felt our rider firm [#3] {in the saddle},
and his hand steady [#3] {on the bridle}], not one {of us} gave way (DO) {to fear}]. |
6. Sometimes they stayed out as late {as one or two o'clock} {in the morning} [#4]. |
Notes
1. Alternatively, “than my master *was good*.” This would create a subordinate clause that
functions as an adverb to “better.”
2. Alternatively, “as a bird *is happy*.”
3. “Rider” is the subject and “firm” is a predicate adjective to an ellipsed infinitive “to be.”
Similarly “hand” and “steady.” The two infinitive phrases function as direct objects of
“felt.”
4. Alternatively, but somewhat awkwardly, “as one or two o’clock in the morning *is late*.”
Ex. 6. - The Opening of “Snow-White and Rose-Red”
A poor widow once lived {in a little cottage}. | {In front} {of the cottage} was a
garden, [Adj. to "garden" {in which} were growing two rose trees]; | one {of these} bore
white roses (DO), | and the other *bore* red *roses* (DO). |
She had two children (DO), [Adj. to "children" who resembled the rose trees (PN)
[#1]
]. | One was called (P) Snow-White (PN) [#2], | and the other *was called* Rose-
Red [#2]; | and they were as religious (PA) and loving (PA), [#3] busy (PA) and
untiring (PA), [Adv. to the preceding "as" as any two children ever were *religious
(PA) and loving (PA), busy (PA) and untiring (PA)*]. |
Notes
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1. I would also accept "trees" as a direct object. It all depends on the degree to which one
considers "resembled" to mean "equaled."
2. From students who have not yet studied passive voice and retained complements, I would
simply accept "PN" (or even "DO") here. When students get to passive voice, they will learn
that complements of passives are considered to be "retained" from the active voice versions.
In active voice, this sentence would be "They called one Snow-White." KISS treats "one
Snow-White" as an ellipsed infinitive construction in which "one" is the subject, and "SnowWhite" is a predicate noun to an ellipsed "to be." Thus, in the passive voice, KISS ultimately
considers "Snow-White" to be a retained predicate noun. See KISS Level 5.7 - Passive
Voice and Retained Complements.
3. Note how this comma separates two sets of joined predicate adjectives. The first two
adjectives imply moral character, and the final two, good behavior.
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 33.. 22.. 22 -- ““SSoo”” aanndd ““FFoorr”” aass C
Coonnjjuunnccttiioonnss
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
Except for statistical studies, where it may be of major importance, this topic is just a matter
of definitions. The problem is that some grammarians consider “so” and “for” to be coordinating
conjunctions, whereas others consider them to be subordinating conjunctions. The KISS
approach to this problem is explained in the instructional material. Justification for that approach
is provided in “Some Theoretical Observations” (below).
By the time that students get to this level, the KISS “so”/”for” distinction should be very
easy to master.
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,” or
“DO”).
3. Place brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause. If the clause functions as a noun, label its
function. If it functions as an adjective or adverb, draw an arrow from the opening bracket to
the word that the clause modifies.
20
4. Place a vertical line after each main clause.
Probable Time Required
Students who are very comfortable with the analysis of clauses should need no more than
two exercises that focus on this question. However, because not all texts use these two
conjunctions, you might want to do a “review” exercise or two once a year.
SSoom
mee T
Thheeoorreettiiccaall O
Obbsseerrvvaattiioonnss
This is a somewhat lengthy discussion because it addresses a question that most textbook
grammars do not. Let me begin with a pedagogical and then a theoretical preface. Pedagogically,
students do not need to study and memorize this material. As they analyze texts, they will find
“so” and “for” used as conjunctions and perhaps reach the conclusions described here on their
own. The words are, however, a matter of debate among grammarians, and there are many
different theories of grammar. The assumptions upon which a grammar is designed affect where
it ends up, so in some theories all “so” and “for” clauses may justifiably be considered as main
clauses; in others, they may all be considered to be subordinate. In the context of analyzing all
the words in entire texts, the question is minor and mainly one of terminology. Pedagogically, in
other words, the important point is not whether such clauses are main or subordinate in some
absolute sense, but rather that, if such clauses are to be discussed, the teachers and students
should all share the same definitions of the terms.
Within any specific theory of grammar, on the other hand, the theory should provide a
consistent definition and explanation of such clauses. This is particularly important in statistical
research, the primary yardstick of which is the length of main clauses. Consider, for example, the
following sentence which consists of eleven words:
We knew spring was coming, for we had seen a robin.
If we consider “for” to be a coordinating conjunction, then that sentence consists of two main
clauses and averages 5.5 words per main clause. But if we consider “for” to be subordinating,
then it is one eleven-word main clause. Depending on the writer, the texts, and the topics, the
different definitions may significantly affect the statistical results. Because such statistical
analysis is an important part of the KISS Approach, and because the KISS Workbooks analyze
dozens of texts, a specific definition is needed.
21
Three interrelated perspectives led to the KISS distinctions concerning when these clauses
should be considered as main or subordinate. The first is meaning, or the underlying logic of the
clauses that are being connected. There is probably universal agreement that “and,” “or,” and
“but” join main clauses. If we look at the underlying logic of these three conjunctions, it is
primarily a question of “whole / parts.” “And” joins parts to create a logical whole; “or”
distinguishes between (or among) parts in a whole; “but” tends to exclude (“except”) parts from
a whole. (For a study of this, see “The Logic of Compounding Main Clauses” in the Resource
Books for February 16th of Grade Eight.] As opposed to this “whole / part” logic, “for” and “so”
always imply some kind of cause / effect relationship which is much closer to the logic of the
subordinating “because” than it is to the logic of “and,” “or,” and “but.”
The second perspective is function. Because they imply a cause/effect relationship, “for”
and “so” can easily be seen as introducing subordinate adverbial clauses of cause, effect, or
purpose. This is not true of “and,” “or,” or “but.” Put slightly differently, “so” and “for” clauses
can easily be viewed as modifiers within a sentence.
The third, and ultimately determining perspective is the KISS psycholinguistic model. The
model suggests that we process sentences by chunking words into phrases until every word
(except interjections) is chunked to a main S/V/C pattern. When we get a signal that that pattern
has ended, we dump the main clause into long-term memory and start processing the next main
clause. Because “so” and “for” clauses can function as modifiers, they can easily be processed as
subordinate parts of another clause -- unless there is some signal not to do so. Typically, that
signal is a preceding period with the capitalized “For” or “So” beginning another sentence. Less
frequently, a semicolon, a colon, or a dash (also signals to dump to LTM) precedes the “so” or
“for.” When a “so” or “for” clause follows such a signal, KISS considers it to be a main clause.
As the examples below suggest, this distinction is relatively easy to apply. Although people
may or may not agree with it, they will almost always easily and quickly agree, in pointing to
various examples, that, according to the KISS definition, this example is a main clause and that
one is a subordinate clause.
There are at least two additional relevant questions -- What is a “clause”? And why do we
compound them? Most grammars do not explore these questions. (Providing a definition is not
the same as exploring the reasons behind the definition.) The KISS perspective -- that a clause is
22
a psycholinguistic processing unit -- is, to my knowledge, not even considered by most
grammarians. They tend to simply define a clause as a group of words that contains a subject and
verb. If, however, we do consider clauses as mental “processing units,” then some aspects of
style, of natural language development, and of the nature of main and subordinate clauses
become clearer. Thus, for example, adults write longer clauses because their mental experience
enables them to process more words in one unit. In addition, as we grow older, we see more of
the complexities in any situation -- more relationships among the relevant parts. Tension arises
between the complexity we want to express and the capacity of our (or our readers’) processing
ability. Ideas overflow the sentence.
In order to explore this question, we need to look at the sentences that precede the sentences
that begin with “For” or “So” (which is something that grammarians rarely do). In most cases,
they are very long, and the ideas are very complex. If the writer had combined them, replacing,
for example, “. For ...” with something like “, for ...” or “, because ...,” the sentences would be
close to being unreadable. (Indeed, for some people, they already are.) In my conscious
experience, few student writers use “for” as a coordinating conjunction, and those who do write
very complex essays. In effect, the complexity of the parts of their ideas grows beyond the point
of psycholinguistic processability. It is highly probable that some of the subordinate clause
fragments of young students result from the fact that the complexity of their ideas has grown
beyond the point of their STM processing ability.
Professional writers similarly reach points of STM overload. Unlike the students, however,
professionals have mastered the conventions of syntax. A student will write “Because he was
going to the store.” and be told that it is a fragment. A professional, reaching a similar point of a
causal connection, will end a main clause with a period and continue the train of thought with a
capitalized “For.”
“So”
Most grammarians, even Paul Roberts, my favorite, ignore the question of meaning. In his
discussion of “so,” he claims that it is a coordinating conjunction primarily because it “must
always stand between the two elements joined.” (Understanding Grammar, 232-3) In other
words, because “we cannot say ... ‘I so gave him an order,’” “so” cannot be a subordinating
conjunction.
23
But in the same paragraph Roberts does suddenly introduce the question of meaning -- “with
other meanings most of these conjunction forms may function as other parts of speech,” and he
gives the single example—
“‘We left early so we could get some sleep’ (subordinating conjunction, equal ‘so that’).”
He never distinguishes this meaning of “so” from that of “so” as a coordinating conjunction.
Who is to decide when “so” means just “so,” and when it means “so that”? It seems clear that
the “so” clause in the example expresses purpose, a typical function of an adverbial clause, but
Roberts’ only other example of “so” is as a coordinating conjunction: “Murphy was out of
cigarettes, so he strolled downtown to buy some.” But this “so” clause clearly expresses “result,”
another typical function of adverbial clauses.
Punctuation, according to Roberts, is irrelevant:
Note that punctuation plays no part in the preceding analysis. There seems to
be a widespread disposition to call so, for example, a conjunction because we put
a comma before it, or to call it a conjunctive adverb because we put a semicolon
before it. But this gets the cart before the horse. It isn’t a conjunction because we
use a comma, though we often use a comma because it is a conjunction. But it
would still be a conjunction if we always used a semicolon or a period. (232-33)
This is particularly unfortunate because Roberts gives no example of “so” used in a single-clause
sentence—“He was late for the fifth time. So I fired him.” Apparently he would have considered
such a use of “So” as the equivalent of “And,” “Or,” or “But” at the beginning of a sentence.
The difference in the way “so” is used might be a good topic for a research paper. Less
mature writers may use the period and capital letter because they are unable to chunk the entire
structure in short-term memory. More mature writers are probably more likely to use “so” as a
subordinate conjunction, but they still have the option of breaking the sentence in two, thereby
creating a short sentence for emphasis.
Because “So ...” functions as a coordinating conjunction, I would not argue with someone
who wanted to consider it as coordinating in “He wanted candy, so I gave him some.” The
argument is not worth the time spent on it. We can also expect to see sentences such as “He
wanted candy, and so I gave him some.” In such cases, we can explain the “so” as the equivalent
24
of “as a result” -- “He wanted candy, and as a result I gave him some.” This could be considered
as incomplete subordination, but I would never consider it to be an error.
“For”
Some grammarians consider “for” as a simple coordinating conjunction, comparable to
“and,” “or,” and “but.” You can look up their explanations and reasons on your own, but I would
suggest that they have a perspective that is fundamentally different from that of KISS Grammar.
In Understanding Grammar, for example, Paul Roberts includes “for,” “yet,” and “so” among
the coordinating conjunctions. He explains:
Because for, yet, and so never connect anything but clauses, grammarians are
often dubious about calling them coördinating conjunctions. But there is no real
difficulty. And, but, or, nor, for, yet, and so are to be put together because they
have a syntactical peculiarity not shared by subordinating conjunctions or
conjunctive adverbs: they must always stand between the two elements joined.
Subordinating conjunctions must always come at the beginning of one element,
but not necessarily between the two. Let us compare the coördinating conjunction
for and the subordinating conjunction because:
We knew spring was coming, for we had seen a robin.
We knew spring was coming, because we had seen a robin.
Here they both stand between the clauses. But we can transpose the because
clause:
Because we had seen a robin, we knew spring was coming.
We cannot, however, transpose the for clause and say, “For we had seen a robin,
we knew spring was coming.” (232-233)
From the KISS perspective, there are several problems with this explanation. First, no attention
is paid to meaning. (See above.) Second, the reason Roberts gives is that a “because” clause can
be transposed, whereas a “for” clause cannot. Is anybody EVER taught that? Do we really have
to study it? Or is this the kind of technical explanation that fascinates grammarians and that
makes almost everyone else hate grammar? In the KISS approach, students do not need to know
this because they will be working from sentences to the rules, not from the rules to the sentences
(which is the typical direction of many grammarians). Third, Roberts pays no attention to
25
relative frequency of use. Rare is the writer who does not use “and,” “or,” and “but” as
coordinating conjunctions; rare is the student writer who does use “for” as one. If you go looking
for examples, of course, you will find them, but you will have to look through many more
sentences. Fourth, Roberts’ examples are incomplete. He does not discuss sentences that begin
with “For” used as a conjunction. (See below.)
In addition to the example given above, Roberts gives one more: “We knew spring was
coming, for ground hogs were gamboling everywhere.” In both examples, we can consider “for,”
which means “because” as a subordinating conjunction, introducing an adverbial clause of
“cause” that modifies “knew.” This example, by the way, illustrates an interesting question that
some people may want to explore further. In many of the cases I have seen, “for” means either “I
say / write this because ...” or it “skips” a verb. In Roberts’ example, the “for” clause “skips” the
immediately preceding “was coming” and modifies the previous “knew.” To explore this, one
would need to collect and study numerous examples of “for” and “because” clauses—an
abhorrent idea to some people; an interesting challenge to others.
Examples of “For” as a Coordinating Conjunction
Berlin, Isaiah
But if that was Marx’s true goal, it was not destined to be realised in the industrial
countries which he designated as the theatre of the revolution. For here a fatal dilemma
raises its terrible horns: if it is only on the expanding base of increasingly efficient
productivity that a rational socialist system can be built, as every social democrat,
reasonably enough, insisted over and over again, it would neither need, nor be likely to
issue from, a revolution; this was not the climate in which revolutionary forces throve.
(Isaiah Berlin, “Marxism in the Nineteenth Century,” 155)
King, Martin Luther
The marvelous new militancy, which has engulfed the Negro community, must not
lead us to a distrust of all white people. For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by
their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our
destiny.
(Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” as quoted in Reinking, James A. et al.,
Strategies for Successful Writing. fourth edition, Prentice Hall, 1996.527.)
26
Trask, Willard R.
The use of “For” to begin sentences appears to be a matter of personal style. In his
translation of Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane, Trask uses “For” as a coordinating
conjunction to begin sentences several times. The following is just one example.
Passing over the rational and speculative side of religion, he [Rudolph Otto]
concentrated chiefly on its irrational aspect. For Otto had read Luther and had understood
what the “living God” meant to a believer. (8)
Trilling, Lionel
On the one hand, the belief in the artist’s neuroticism allows the philistine to shut his
ears to what the artist says. But on the other hand it allows him to listen. For we must not
make the common mistake -- the contemporary philistine does want to listen, at the same
time that he wants to shut his ears.
(“Art and Neurosis,” 159.)
Examples of “for” as a Subordinating Conjunction
Berlin, Isaiah
There cannot be mass conversions, for the fate of human groups depends not on free
actions -- the movements of the spirit -- in the heads of men, but on objective social
conditions, which guarantee the salvation of one class and the destruction of its rival.
(Isaiah Berlin, “Marxism in the Nineteenth Century,” 138-39)
James, Henry
There are, indeed, many hotels, for the entertainment of tourists is the business of the
place, which, as many travelers will remember, is seated upon the edge of a remarkably
blue lake--a lake that it behooves every tourist to visit. (The second sentence of Daisy
Miller.)
Lang, Andrew
Lang’s version of “Thumbelina” contains numerous examples of “for” and “so” used as
subordinating or coordinating conjunctions. If anyone is interested in focusing students’ attention
on this question, the set of exercises based on this tale would be a good place to start.
Trask, Willard R.
27
Otto characterizes all these experiences as numinous (from the Latin numen, god),
for they are induced by the revelation of an aspect of divine power. (9)
Ex. 1.a. - Famous (or Interesting) Quotations
1. Anger is a momentary madness (PN), [Adv. of result to "is" [#1] so *you* control your
passion (DO)] or [Adv. of result to "is" *so* it will control you (DO)]. |
2. Dost thou love life (DO)? | Then do not squander time (DO); | for that's the stuff
(PN) [Adj. to "stuff" life is made (P) of]. |
3. I went {to a restaurant} [Adj. to "restaurant" that serves 'breakfast (DO) {at any time}'
[#2]
]. | So I ordered French Toast (DO) {during the Renaissance}. |
4. No opera plot can be sensible (PA), [Adv. (cause) to "can be" for {in sensible
situations} people do not sing]. |
5. Patience serves {as a protection} {against wrongs} [Adv. to the preceding "as" as clothes
do {against cold}]. | For [Adv. to "no" if you put on more clothes (DO) [Adv. to
"put on" as the cold increases]], it will have no power (DO) to hurt you [#3]. | So [#4]
{in like manner} you must grow {in patience} [Adv. to "must grow" when you meet
{with great wrongs}], | and they will then be powerless (PA) to vex your mind [#5]. |
Notes
1. Grammarians will, I am certain, disagree (among themselves) about this explanation. As one
alternative, students can consider “so” a coordinating conjunction here.
2. The play here, of course, is that the restaurant intends “at any time” to be read as adverbial to
“serves,” and not as adjectival to “breakfast.”
28
3. “You” is the direct object of the infinitive “to hurt.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adjective to “power.”
4. Alternatively, this “so” can be considered an adverb to “must grow.”
5. “Mind” is the direct object of the infinitive “to vex.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adjective to “powerless.”
Ex. 1.b. - From Vredenburg’s My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales
1. The king could not cease looking [#1] {on her} {for joy}, and determined to hold a
great feast [#2]. | So he invited not only his relations (DO), friends (DO), and
neighbours (DO), but also all the fairies (DO). |
2. This (DO) they could never do; | for the thorns and bushes laid hold (DO) {of
them} [Adv. (manner) to "laid hold" as it were [#3] {with hands}], | and there they
stuck fast and died miserably. |
3. "You know [DO he would be unhappy (PA)], [Adv. (cause) to "know" [#4] for it is
only goodness (PN) [ [#5] which brings content (DO)]]." |
4. But the moment [NuA] [Adj. to "moment" he kissed her (DO)] she opened her eyes
(DO) and awoke, and smiled {upon him}. | For the spell was broken (P). |
5. [Adv. to "had" When he was quite a baby (PN)], he had a funny little tuft (DO) {of
hair} {on his head}, [Adv. (result) to "had" so he was called (P) Tufty Riquet [#6] ]. |
6. She ran {along the passages and stairs}, nearly falling [#7] {down them}, [ [#8} so great
(PA) was her haste], [Adv. to "ran" until she came {to that door} {at the end} {of the
corridor}]. |
Notes
1. “Looking” is a gerund that functions as the direct object of “could not cease.”
29
2. “Feast” is the direct object of the infinitive “to hold.” The infinitive phrase functions as the
direct object of “determined.”
3. This verb is in the subjunctive mood. See KISS Level 2.1.7 - The KISS Perspective on the
Subjunctive Mood.
4. Some students may see this “for” clause as explaining why he would be unhappy. In that case,
I would have the class discuss the sentence, and then even ask for a vote. Does the clause
explain why he would be unhappy, or does it explain why “you know.” I’d accept the result
of the vote, for the question is not a major one. My sense is that if students study a number
of these “for” subordinate clauses, they will tend to see them as explaining why the writer
says whatever is in the clause that is modified.
5. You will not find this construction in the grammar textbooks. KISS explains this clause as a
delayed sentence—“Only goodness brings content.” See KISS Level 5.6 - Delayed Subjects
and Sentences.
6. “Tufty Riquet” is a retained predicate noun after the passive “was called.” The active voice
version would be “They called him *to be* Tufty Riquet.” For more on this, see KISS Level
5.7 - Passive Voice and Retained Complements.
7. “Falling” is a gerundive that modifies “She.”
8. This is another clause that you will probably not find explained in the grammar textbooks. The
“so” could be considered a subordinating conjunction of cause to “falling,” or one could
consider it to be an interjection. Note that it is a reversal of the focus of the normal “so that”
pattern—So great was her haste that she ran ....”
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 33..22..33 -- SSuubboorrddiinnaattee C
Cllaauusseess
-- D
Diirreecctt O
Obbjjeecctt oorr IInntteerrjjeeccttiioonn??
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
Most grammar textbooks deal with the definitions of constructions rather than with the
analysis of real sentences. As a result, they never address some questions that you and your
students will run into as you analyze real texts. The following sentence, from Andrew Lang’s
30
“Thumbelina,” is a relatively simple example of a clause that can be explained either as a direct
object, or, reversing the subordination, an interjection:
“That will be splendid!” said she, clapping her little hands.
Most grammar textbooks would explain “That will be splendid!” as a subordinate clause that
functions as the direct object of “said.” Within the KISS framework, that is an acceptable
explanation. But these sentences can be more complicated. The following example is from
Sherwood Anderson’s “The Egg”:
We must have been a sad looking lot, not, I fancy,
unlike refugees fleeing from a battlefield.
In sentences like this, the “main” subject and verb are thrown (interjected) into the middle of
what traditional grammars consider to be the subordinate clause that functions as a direct object.
Because of sentences like this (and they are fairly numerous), KISS allows, indeed prefers, to
consider the “said she” and “I fancy” clauses as subordinate clauses that function as interjections.
“That will be splendid (PA)!” [Inj said she, clapping her little hands]. |
We must have been a sad looking lot (PN), not, [Inj I fancy],
unlike refugees fleeing from a battlefield. |
In some cases, these clauses slide into what many grammar texts consider to be adverbial
clauses. Consider the following, from A Dog of Flanders by Ouida:
It is folly, as I say, and evil waste of time: nevertheless,
it is like Alois, and will please the house-mother.
You can, of course, have your students explain the preceding “as I say” as an adverbial
clause, and the other examples as direct objects, but you will probably find that the KISS
Approach (considering these clauses as interjections) has the following advantages:
1.) It saves time and paper. In a sentence such as “It was, I think, a big mistake.” you could
have students rewrite the sentence as “I think it was a big mistake.” But that is a big waste of
time.
2.) Viewing these clauses as interjections highlights an important stylistic distinction. Even
many college students write sentences such as “I think this is a good idea.” Indeed the frequency
of such sentences leads many teachers to tell students not to use “I.” Many professional writers,
however, would write this as “This is, I think, a good idea.” In other words, instead of making
31
themselves the subject of the main clause, mature writers make the subject they are talking about
the subject of the main clause—and then interject the fact that they are not totally certain of the
statement.
3.) If we put brackets around each part of the clause—[It was,] I think, [a big mistake.]—it
appears that there are two subordinate clauses, when there are not. This can be very confusing for
students when they are attempting to determine how many subordinate clauses they use per main
clause in a statistical analysis of their own writing. Having students do at least one statistical
exercise each year, is strongly encouraged, since it enables students not only to apply what they
have learned to their own writing, but also to evaluate the syntax of their writing in the context of
that of their peers. The easiest way to do such an exercise is to have the students count the
vertical lines (for the number of main clauses) and the opening brackets (for the number of
subordinate clauses) in their analyzed paper. If the students have to watch for two sets of
brackets for one subordinate clause, they will find such an analysis more difficult to do.
4.) The KISS psycholinguistic model of how the mind processes language justifies viewing
these clauses as interjections. Having dumped a main clause to long-term memory, short-term
memory is cleared and the brain will take whatever it finds that can be a main S/V pattern as a
main S/V pattern. (This is why subordinate clauses at the beginning of a sentence must have a
subordinate conjunction). In our example, the brain would take “It was” as a main S/V pattern. It
must then handle the “I think” (or “he said”) as a subordinate clause.
5.) In some cases, viewing these clauses as interjections clarifies their similarity to adverbs
that, in effect, function as interjections:
a.) Paul is hopefully going to the hospital.
b.) Paul is, hopefully, going to the hospital.
c.) Paul is, I hope, going to the hospital.
Sentence (a) means that Paul is hopeful, but in sentence (b) it is the writer (or speaker) who is
hopeful and thus “hopefully” functions as an interjection. If it functions as an interjection, then
why can we not see the “I hope” in (c) as also functioning as an interjection?
Main Clause or Subordinate?
32
If you spend a fair amount of time analyzing randomly selected sentences, you will find that
the distinction between main and subordinate clauses is not always clear. How many main
clauses, for example, are in the following sentence from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow
Queen”?
You see that all our men folks are away,
but mother is still here, and she will stay.”
"[T]hat all our men folks are away” is clearly the direct object of “You see,” but what about
“mother is still here” and “she will stay”? Are they also direct objects, or are they separate main
clauses? Either explanation makes sense, even though the different analyses imply different
meanings. If we consider the last two clauses as subordinate, the sentence means that “You”
already know this; if we explain them as main clauses, then the speaker is telling “You” things
that they do not know.
But when we start looking at quotations, the balance shifts, I would suggest, toward the
explanation using the interjection. Consider the following from Vredenburg’s “Prince Cheri”:
“I am not mocking you,” he heard in reply to his thoughts; “you have been bad
tempered, and you have behaved unkindly to a poor animal who did not deserve such
treatment. I know you are higher than a dog, but the advantage of being ruler of a
great empire is not in doing all the harm one wishes, but in doing all the good one
can.”
In terms of meaning, all the words in quotation marks are direct object of “heard.” But those
words are divided among two sentences and can easily be seen as five main clauses.
“I am not mocking you,” he heard in reply to his thoughts; | “you have been bad
tempered, | and you have behaved unkindly to a poor animal who did not deserve
such treatment. | I know you are higher than a dog, | but the advantage of being ruler
of a great empire is not in doing all the harm one wishes, but in doing all the good one
can.” |
The preferred KISS explanation is simply to consider the “he heard in reply to his thoughts” as
an interjection.
33
Because most grammar textbooks do not even deal with this question, you can, of course,
explain it however you wish. I should note, however, that this is the explanation used in KISS
statistical studies. If you consider everything in quotation marks to be the direct object of
“heard,” then you would have one 67-word main clause. Analyzed from the KISS perspective,
the passage has five main clauses, or 13.4 words per main clause.
The Sequence of Exercises in this Section
The first section is a single exercise that explores sentences in which clauses can be
considered either main or subordinate, with or without quotation marks. The second exercise
focuses on subordinate clauses that function as interjections. Some of these sentences would fit
in section three and, but others are what rhetoricians call “parenthetical expressions.” These tend
to be set off by dashes or parentheses, as in “That island—wherever it is—is a tropical paradise.”
Section three (two exercises) deals directly with the interjection vs. direct object explanations.
An exercise from Smollett’s Humphry Clinker, although outdated, clearly lends support to the
KISS view of this construction because Smollett used parentheses to set off what traditional
grammars would probably consider the main subject and verb:
“This poor Turk, (said he) notwithstanding his grey beard, is a green-horn—He has
been several years resident in London, and still is ignorant of our political
revolutions.”
Section four (two exercises) gives students sentences from which the punctuation has been
deleted and asks them to supply it. It is important to discuss these in class and then share the
original because not every writer would punctuate them in the same way. Section Five is a single
passage for analysis, and the sixth is a Treasure Hunt/Recipe Roster.
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,” or
“DO”).
34
3. Place brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause. If the clause functions as a noun, label its
function. If it functions as an adjective or adverb, draw an arrow from the opening bracket to
the word that the clause modifies. If it functions as an interjection, label it “Inj.”
4. Place a vertical line after each main clause.
For review, add:
5. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of
direct address (“DirA”).
11.. E
Exxpplloorriinngg C
Cllaauusseess:: M
Maaiinn C
Cllaauussee oorr SSuubboorrddiinnaattee??
Ex. 1. Based on “The Snow Queen,” by Hans ChristianAndersen
1. You see [DO that all our men folks are away], | but mother is still here, | and she
will stay. |
Alternatively, the second and third main clauses could be explained as direct objects of
"see."
2. Don't you see [DO how both man and beast have to serve her (DO)]? | How
she has got on as well [Adv. to "as" as she has] {on her bare feet}? |
The KISS psycholinguistic model suggests that readers will close and dump the sentence
after the question mark. Thus there is a vertical line after it. The following "How" could be
the beginning of an independent question -- "How has she gotten on as well as she has?" As
one reads it, however, one realizes that it is semantically subordinate to the "Don't you see."
Thus, alternatively, one need not put a vertical line after the first question mark, and the
second "how" clause can be explained as another direct object.
3. He knew her (DO), and shouted {with joy}, [DO “Gerda [DirA], dear little Gerda [DirA]!
where have you been {for such a long time}?] | And where have I been?” |
Alternatively, the second main clause could be explained as another direct object of
"shouted."
35
4. I daresay [DO [Subj. what you tell me (IO)] is very pretty (PA), | but you
speak so sadly | and you never mention little Kay (DO). |
The "what" can be described as both a subordinating conjunction and the direct object of
"tell."
5. The little robber girl looked quite solemn (PA), | but she nodded her head (DO)
and said, [DO “No matter, no matter!] | Do you know [DO where Lapland
is?”] [Inj she asked the reindeer (IO)]. |
"Matter" could be explained as fragment(s) of ellipsed clauses -- "*It is* no matter." This is
a particularly interesting example because, from one perspective, the quotation functions as
the direct object of both "said" and "asked."
6. Kay and Gerda were looking {at a picture book} {of birds and animals} one day [NuA] [
Inj “it had just struck five (DO) {by the church clock}” ] [Adv. to "were looking" or
adj. to "day" when Kay said, [DO “Oh [Inj], something struck my heart (DO)]], |
and I have got something (DO) {in my eye}!” |
The dashes enclose what rhetoricians call a parenthetical expression, in this case, a main
clause that is interjected into the sentence.
22.. SSuubboorrddiinnaattee C
Cllaauusseess aass IInntteerrjjeeccttiioonnss
Ex. 2. From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
Note that some of the clauses marked as interjections in this exercise could alternatively be
explained as either adjectival or adverbial. KISS considers these to be interjections when they are
set off by parentheses or dashes. Rhetoricians call items punctuated in this way "parenthetical
constructions," which basically means that they are interjections. In essence, they add
supplemental information.
36
From a stylistic point of view, these clauses would make an interesting study. In some cases,
as in the second sentence, the clause may be set off by parentheses simply to keep the
connections among words clear. In that sentence, for example, the subject "giants" is separated
from its verbs by a twelve-word clause that itself includes two commas. And "giants" itself is the
subject in a subordinate clause that modifies an appositive. The use of commas to set off the
"against which" clause might confuse readers.
1. A hundred and twenty minutes [ [Inj] (I counted them (DO) ) ] still separated me
(DO) {from the moment} [Adj. to "moment" {in which} I was to join Ned Land [#1] ]. |
2. And the sea is precisely their best vehicle (PN) , the only medium [#2] [Adj. to "medium"
{through which} these giants [ [Inj] ( {against which} terrestrial animals, such [#3] {as
elephants or rhinoceroses}, are {as nothing} (PA) [#4] ) ] can be produced (P) or
developed (P) ]. |
3. One magnificent evening [NuA], the 25th [NuA] {of June} [ [Inj] -- that is to say, three weeks
[#5]
{after our departure} -- ] the frigate was abreast {of Cape Blanc}, thirty miles [NuA]
{to leeward} {of the coast} {of Patagonia}. |
4. Both eyes and glasses, a little [NuA] dazzled [#6], [ [Inj] it is true (PA), ] {by the prospect}
{of two thousand dollars}, had not an instant's repose (DO). |
5. Large quantities {of bacon} were trailed (P) {in the wake} {of the ship}, {to the great
satisfaction} [ [Inj] ( I must say ) ] {of the sharks}. |
6. An old gunner {with a gray beard} [ [Inj] -- that (DO) I can see now -- ] {with steady eye
and grave face}, went up {to the gun} and took a long aim (DO). |
7. Indeed, I declare [#7] [ [Inj] ( though it may seem improbable (PA) ) ] [DO [Adv. to
"could not" if I sought to destroy all hope [#8] ], [Adv. to "could not" [#9] if I wished to
despair], I could not. |
37
8. Then, [ [Inj] I know not why (DO) , ] the thought {of the monster} came {into my head}
{for the first time}! |
9. This faculty [ [Inj] -- I verified it (DO) later -- ] gave him (IO) a range (DO) {of
vision} far superior [#10] {to Ned Land's}. |
10. Madrepores [ [Inj] ( which must not be mistaken (P) {for corals} ) ] have a tissue
(DO) lined [#11] {with a calcerous crust}, | and the modifications {of its structure} have
induced M. Milne-Edwards [#12], my worthy master [#13], to class them [#12] {into five
sections}. |
Notes
1. “Was to join” is ambiguous. It may mean “was going to join.” This makes that whole phrase a
finite verb phrase with “Ned Land” as its direct object. Or it may mean was expected to
join.” From this perspective, “to join” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as a retained
direct object after the passive “was expected.” For more on this see KISS Level 5.7 - Passive
Voice, Exercise 10. (In either version, of course, “Ned Land” is the direct object of “to join.”
2. “Medium” is an appositive to “vehicle.” See KISS Level 5.4 - Appositives.
3. Some grammars include “such as” among prepositions, and that explanation is acceptable in
KISS. A more tedious explanation is to consider “such” as a post-positioned adjective
modified by the “as” prepositional phrase.
4. Depending on whether you see it as answering the question “Are as what?” or “Are how?” the
prepositional phrase “as nothing” is either a predicate adjective or an adverb.
5. “To say” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as a predicate noun. “Weeks” is both the direct
object of “to say” and an appositive to “25th.” Perhaps the writer used the interjected clause
because two appositives in a row are unusual—“One magnificent evening, the 25th of June,
three weeks after our departure, the frigate . . . . ”
6. “Dazzled” is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “eyes” and “glasses.”
7. A good argument could probably be made that “I declare” also functions as an interjection.
38
8. “Hope” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to destroy.” The infinitive phrase is the
direct object of “sought.” Similarly, in the next clause, the infinitive “to despair” is the direct
object of “wished.”
9. There is no “and” that joins these two “if” clauses, and the second is, in essence, a restatement
of the first. Thus the second “if” clause can be considered as an appositive to the first. For
more on this, see Ex. 9 - Other Constructions as Appositives, in KISS Level 5.4.
10. “Superior” is a post-positioned adjective that modifies “range.”
11. “Lined” is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “tissue.”
12. Until they get to Level 4 (verbals), I would accept “M. Milne-Edwards” as the direct object
of “have induced.” Level 4 proposes a better explanation: “M. Milne-Edwards” is the
subject of, and “them” is the direct object of, the infinitive “to class.” The infinitive phrase
functions as the direct object of “have induced.”
13. “Master” is an appositive to “M. Milne-Edwards.”
33.. IInntteerrjjeeccttiioonn oorr D
Diirreecctt O
Obbjjeecctt??
Ex. 3.a From Edric Vredenburg’s“Bluebeard”
1. Her brothers, [Inj. she knew], were to visit [#1] her (DO) that day [NuA] . |
2. "This small key," [Inj. he added, pointing [#2] {to quite a little one},] "is the key (PN)
{of the door} {at the end} {of the lower landing}." |
3. "Ha! [Inj.] what (PN) is this? [#4] " [Inj. he cried], [#3] | "what (PN) is this stain [Adj.
to "stain" that I see]!" |
4. "[Adv. to "invite" and "enjoy" While I am absent (PA), my dear [DirA] ,]" [Inj. said
he], " *you* invite your relations (DO) and friends (DO) and enjoy yourself
(DO) just [Adv. (manner) to "enjoy" as you please {in entertaining them [#5] }]." |
39
5. "Wretched woman [DirA] !" [Inj. shouted Bluebeard], "you have used this key (DO),
| you have unlocked the door (DO) {of that room} {at the end} {of the passage}. |
You shall die!!!" |
Notes
1. Ellipsis is involved here. It means either “were *going* to” or “were *supposed* to.” For
more on this see Exercise 6 in KISS Level 3.2.1 - Semi-Reduced and Other Ellipsed
Clauses.
2. “Pointing” is a gerundive to “he.”
3. Some teachers would probably mark this as a comma-splice.
4. Some people may see “what” as the subject and “this” as the predicate noun. If students did
this, I would not make a big deal of it, but in questions, complements usually come before
the verb—“Whom did you see?”
5. “Them” is the direct object of the gerund “entertaining.” The gerund phrase functions as the
object of the preposition.
Ex. 3.b From Edric Vredenburg’s My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales
1. "Alas! [Inj]" [Inj. cried Suliman, bursting [#1] {into tears},] "his flatterers have ruined
him (DO). [#2] | I know [DO that {at heart} he is good (PA)]." |
2. No one, [Inj. I can assure you (IO)], ever ventured on {to his estate}. |
3. "Here you see me (DO), madam [DirA]," [Inj. said he], "keeping my word [#3]." |
4. "I'm going to kill you (DO)," [Inj. roared the Beast still more loudly]. | "It's taken
years [#4] to cultivate this sort [#5] {of rose}, | and -- and I'm going to kill you (DO).
| Unless," [ [#6] he added {after a pause}], "you send me (IO) one (DO) {of your
daughters} here instead." |
40
5. "I am not mocking you (DO)," [Inj. he heard {in reply} {to his thoughts}]; | "you
have been bad tempered (PA), | and you have behaved unkindly {to a poor animal}
[Adj. to "animal" who did not deserve such treatment (DO)]. | I know [DO you
are higher (PA) {than a dog} [#7] ], | but the advantage {of being ruler [#8] } {of a
great empire} is not {in doing all the harm [#9] } [Adj. to "harm" one wishes], but {in
doing all the good [#9] } [Adj. to "the good" one can." |
Notes
1. “Bursting” is a gerundive that modifies “Suliman.”
2. The original has a comma here. I changed it to a period to avoid the discussion of breaking
and/or bending the rules.
3. “Word” is the direct object of “keeping,” which can be explained as a gerundive that modifies
“me.” At KISS Level 5.8 - Noun Absolutes, some people will prefer to see “me keeping” as
the core of a noun absolute that functions as the direct object of “see.”
4. Some people will see “years” as answering the question “What?” and thus see it as a direct
object. Others will view it as answering the question “How long?” and therefore describe it
as a noun used as an adverb.
5. “Rose” is the direct object of the infinitive “to cultivate.” The infinitive functions as a Delayed
Subject—“To cultivate this sort of rose has taken years.” See KISS Level 5.6 - Delayed
Subjects and Sentences.
6. In this case, it may be better to consider the “he added” as the subject and verb of the main
clause. We speak in fragments, and “Unless” is a subordinating conjunction. But to analyze
the unless clause as subordinate would, among other things, give us two sets of brackets for
one subordinate clause. Fortunately, such sentences are relatively rare.
7. Alternatively, “than a dog” can be described as an ellipsed clause—“than a dog *is high*.”
8. “Ruler” is a predicate noun after the gerund “being.” The gerund phrase functions as the object
of the preposition.
9. “Harm” is the direct object of the first “doing,” and “the good” is the direct object of the
second. In both cases “doing” functions as the object of the preposition “in.” Note that in
41
terms of meaning “doing” is a predicate noun. In other words the “advantage” equals “doing
good.” The language, however, has developed the idiomatic “in” phrase probably because if
we wrote or said “the advantage is doing good,” most people would tend to read “doing” as
part of the finite verb phrase and not as a predicate noun.
44.. E
Exxeerrcciisseess iinn PPuunnccttuuaattiioonn
Ex. 4.a * From “How the Camel Got His Hump,” by Rudyard Kipling
The original text is:
Presently there came along the Djinn in charge of All Deserts, rolling in a
cloud of dust (Djinns always travel that way because it is Magic), and he stopped
to palaver and pow-pow with the Three.
Presently there [#1] came along the Djinn {in charge} {of All Deserts}, rolling [#2] {in a
cloud} {of dust}[ ( [#3] Djinns always travel that way [NuA] [Adv. to "travel" because it is
Magic (PN) ])], | and he stopped to palaver and pow-pow [#4] {with the Three}. |
Notes
1. Some traditional grammars would probably consider this “there” to be an expletive.
2. Gerundive to “Djinn.”
3. The parentheses denote what rhetoricians call a parenthetical expression. Syntactically, we can
keep it simple and call it a clause that functions as an interjection.
4. These two infinitives function as adverbs (of purpose) to “stopped.”
Ex. 4.b * From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The original sentences are:
1. This time she found a little bottle on it (“which certainly was not here before,” said Alice), and
tied ‘round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words “DRINK ME”
beautifully printed on it in large letters.
42
2. Two began, in a low voice, “Why, the fact is, you see, Miss, this here ought to have been a red
rose-tree, and we put a white one in by mistake; and, if the Queen was to find it out, we
should all have our heads cut off, you know. So you see, Miss, we’re doing our best,
afore she comes, to—”
3. She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it), and
sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes.
4. Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a
box of comfits (luckily the salt-water had not got into it) and handed them ‘round as
prizes.
5. So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the day made her feel very
sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the
trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink
eyes ran close by her.
6. Suddenly a footman in livery came running out of the wood (judging by his face only, she
would have called him a fish) -- and rapped loudly at the door with his knuckles.
7. However, this bottle was not marked “poison,” so Alice ventured to taste it, and, finding it
very nice (it had a sort of mixed flavor of cherry-tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey,
toffy and hot buttered toast), she very soon finished it off.
8. Just then Alice ran across the Duchess (who was now out of prison).
FYI—Analysis Key
Many of the clauses which are considered interjections actually “connect” (“chunk”) to the
sentence structure. But when they are put in parentheses, rhetoricians classify them as
“parenthetical constructions.” As such, they are viewed as side-comments, or background
information.
1. This time [NuA] she found a little bottle (DO) {on it} [Inj. ("which certainly was not
here before," [Inj. [#1] said Alice])], | and tied {'round the neck} {of the bottle} was
a paper label, {with the words} "DRINK ME" [#2] beautifully printed [#3] {on it} {in
large letters}. |
43
2. Two began, {in a low voice}, [DO [#4] "Why [Inj], the fact is, [Inj. you see, Miss [DirA],]
[PN this here ought to have been a red rose-tree (PN)], and [PN we put a white
one (DO) in {by mistake}]; | and, [Adv. to "should have" if the Queen was to find
it out [#5] ], we should all have our heads cut [#6] off, [Inj. you know]. | So you
see, Miss [DirA], [DO we're doing our best (DO), [Adv. to "are doing" afore she
comes, to -- [#7] "]] |
3. She generally gave herself (IO) very good advice (DO) [Inj. (though she very seldom
followed it (DO) )], | and sometimes she scolded herself (DO) so severely {as to
bring tears [#8] } {into her eyes}. |
4. Alice had no idea (DO) what to do [#9], | and {in despair} she put her hand (DO)
{into her pocket} and pulled out a box (DO) {of comfits} [Inj. (luckily [Inj] the salt-
water had not got {into it} )] and handed them (DO) 'round {as prizes}. |
5. So she was considering {in her own mind} [Inj. (as well [Adv. to "as" as she could,
[Adv. to "as well as" for [#10] the day made her feel very sleepy and stupid [#11]
]])], [DO of "was considering" whether the pleasure {of making a daisy-chain [#12]
} would be worth (PA) the trouble [NuA] {of getting up and picking the daisies
[#13]
} ], [Adv. to "was considering" when suddenly a White Rabbit {with pink eyes}
ran close {by her}]. |
6. Suddenly a footman {in livery} came running [#14] {out of the wood} [Inj. (judging [#15]
{by his face} only, she would have called him a fish [#16] )] -- and rapped loudly
{at the door} {with his knuckles}. |
7. However, this bottle was not marked (P) "poison," [#17] [Adv. (result) to "not" so Alice
ventured to taste it [#18] ], | and, finding it very nice [#19] [Inj. (it had a sort (DO)
44
{of mixed flavor} {of cherry-tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffy and hot buttered
toast} )], she very soon finished it (DO) off. |
8. Just then Alice ran across [#20] the Duchess (DO) [Inj. (who was now {out of prison}
)]. |
Notes
1. See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct Object?
2. “Drink me” is, of course, a verb and direct object, but here the words function as an appositive
to “words.”
3. “Printed” is a gerundive that modifies “words.”
4. “To say” is obviously ellipsed. As for the direct object, there are two ways of looking at it. In
one sense, the entire quotation is the direct object. But KISS breaks such quotations after the
first main clause within the quotation. Note, however, that the first main clause break could
be seen as the comma after “rose-tree.” Sometimes it is difficult to determine what is or is
not a “main clause.” For more on this see KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct Object?
5. Grammarians could have long discussions about this verb formation, but most people will
probably easily see it as the equivalent of “finds out.”
6. “Heads cut,” which functions as the direct object of “have,” can be explained in two ways.
First, it can be considered an ellipsed infinitive phrase—“heads *to be* cut.” Or it can be
seen as a noun absolute that functions as the direct object. For more on the latter, see KISS
Level 5.8 - Noun Absolutes.
7. The dash indicates that the speaker is interrupted here. The “to” is probably the start of an
infinitive phrase.
8. “Tears” is the direct object of the infinitive “to bring.” That infinitive phrase functions as the
object of the preposition “as,” and the “as” phrase chunks to the preceding “so.”
9. The infinitive “to do” functions as an adjective to “what.” The “what” can be considered the
object of an ellipsed preposition—“*about* what do do,” or the “what to do” phrase can be
seen as an appositive to “idea.”
10. For this “for” and for the initial “So,” see KISS Level 3.2.2 - “So” and “For” as
Conjunctions.
45
11. “Sleepy” and “stupid” are predicate adjectives after the infinitive “feel.” “Her” is the subject
of the infinitive, and the infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “made.”
12. “Daisy-chain” is the direct object of the gerund “making,” which functions as the object of
“of.”
13. “Daisies” is the direct object of “picking.” “Getting (up)” and “picking” are gerunds that
function as the objects of the preposition “of.”
14. “Came running” can be explained as a palimpsest pattern with “came” written over “was.”
See KISS Level 2.1.4 - Palimpsest Patterns. At KISS Level 4, some people may prefer to see
“came” as the finite verb and “running” as a gerund that functions as a Noun Used as an
Adverb. See Exercise 4 on Gerunds in KISS Level Four.
15. “Judging” is a Noun Used as an Adverb. See Exercise 4 on Gerunds in KISS Level Four.
16. The KISS explanation of “him a fish” is to consider “him” the subject and “fish” a predicate
noun to an ellipsed infinitive “to be”—“would have called him *to be* a fish.” The
infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “would have called.”
17. “Poison” is a retained predicate noun after the passive “was marked.” See “Retained
Complements” in KISS Level 5.7 - Passive Voice and Retained Complements.
18. “It” is the direct object of the infinitive “to taste.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “ventured.”
19. “It” is the subject and “nice” is the predicate adjective in an ellipsed infinitive phrase—“it
*to be* nice.” This phrase functions as the direct object of the gerundive “finding.” The
entire gerundive phrase (including the interjection) chunks to the following “she.”
20. “Ran across” is an idiom for “met” or “saw.”
55 A
A PPaassssaaggee ffoorr A
Annaallyyssiiss
Ex. 5. A 496-word Sentence from Pinocchio, The Tale of a Puppet
This exercise will present most students with a real challenge. The sentence, by the way, mimics the
way in which young children create very long sentences by combining main clauses with “and.”
" *You* Only imagine, [DO the day [#1] [Adj. to "day" that you, poor, dear papa [DirA],
sold your coat (DO) to buy me a spelling-book [#2] , [Adv. (purpose) to "buy" that I might
46
go {to school}]], I escaped to see the puppet show [#3] ], | [#4] and the showman wanted to
put me [#5] {on the fire}, [Adv. (purpose) to "to put" that I might roast his mutton (DO)], |
and he was the same *one* (PN) [Adj. to "one" that afterwards gave me (IO) five gold
pieces (DO) to take them [#6] {to you}], | but I met the Fox (DO) and the Cat (DO),
[Adj. to "Fox" and "Cat" who took me (DO) {to the inn} {of The Red Craw-Fish}, [Adj. to "The
Red Craw-Fish" where they
night},
ate {like wolves}]], | and I left {by myself} {in the middle} {of the
| and I encountered assassins (DO) [Adj. to "assassins" who ran {after me}], | and
I ran away, | and they followed, | and I ran, | and they always followed me (DO), |
and I ran, [Adv. to "ran" until they hung me (DO) {to a branch} {of a Big Oak}], | and [#7]
the beautiful Child {with blue hair}
sent a little carriage (DO) to fetch me [#8], | and the
doctors [Adv. to "said" when they saw me (DO)] said immediately, [DO [Adv. to "is" 'If
he is not dead (PA)], it is a proof (PN) [Adj. to "proof" that he is still alive (PA)']] | -and then {by chance} I told a lie (DO), | and my nose began to grow [#9] [Adv. to "to grow"
until I could no longer get {through the door} {of the room}, [Adv. to the "until" clause [#10] {for
which reason}
I went {with the Fox and the Cat} to bury the four gold pieces [#11], [Adv. to "four"
for one (DO) I had spent {at the inn}]], | and the Parrot began to laugh (DO), | and
{instead of two thousand gold pieces}
{for which reason} the
[#12]
I found none (DO) left [#13], [Adv. to "none left" [#10]
judge [Adv. to "to had" when he heard [DO that I had been
robbed (P) ]] had me immediately put [#14] {in prison} to content the robbers [#15] ], | and then
[Adv. to "saw" when I was coming away] I saw a beautiful bunch (DO) {of grapes} {in a
field},
| and I was caught (P) {in a trap}, | and the peasant, [Adj. to "peasant" who was quite
right (PA)], put a dog-collar (DO) {round my neck} [Adv. (purpose) to "put" that I might
47
guard the poultry-yard (DO)], and [#16] acknowledging my innocence [#17] let me go
[#18]
, | and the Serpent {with the smoking tail} began to laugh (DO) and broke a blood-
vessel (DO) {in his chest}, | and so I returned {to the house} {of the beautiful Child}, [Adj. to
"Child" who was
dead (PA)], | and the Pigeon, seeing [#19] [DO that I was crying], said
{to me} (IO), [DO 'I have seen your father (DO) [Adj. to "father" who was building a
little boat (DO)
to go [#20] {in search} {of you},']] | and I said {to him} (IO), [DO 'Oh! [Inj.]
if I also had wings (DO),'] and he said {to me} (IO), [DO 'Do you want to go (DO)
{to your father}?']
him}?']
| and I said, [DO '{Without doubt}! but [#21] who will take me (DO) {to
| and he said {to me} (IO), [DO 'I will take you (DO),'] | and I said {to him}
(IO), 'How?' (DO) | and he said {to me} (IO), [DO '*You* Get {on my back},'] | and so
we flew all night [NuA], | and then {in the morning} all the fishermen [Adj. to "fishermen" who
were looking out {to sea}] said {to me} (IO), [DO 'There is a poor man (PN) {in a boat}
[Adj. to "man" who is {on the point} {of being drowned} [#22] ,']] | and I recognized you
(DO) {at once}, even {at that distance}, [Adv. (cause) to "recognized" [#23] for my heart told me
(IO),] | and I made signs (DO) {to you} to return [#24] {to land}." |
Notes
1. “Day” is a noun used as an adverb to “escaped,” the verb in this initial direct object clause. [It
is not the direct object of “imagine” for two reasons. First, the comma cuts “the day” from
“imagine.” Second, what is to be imagined is the rest of the sentence (which covers more
than one day).]
2. Me” is the indirect and “spelling-book” is the direct object of the infinitive “to buy.” The
infinitive phrase functions as an adverb (of purpose) to “sold.”
3. “Show” is the direct object of the infinitive “to see.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb (of purpose) to “escaped.”
48
4. Here we run into a question that I have yet to see discussed in any grammar book. In terms of
meaning, everything after “Only imagine” is the direct object of “imagine.” But we
obviously do not keep all 496 words in short-term memory while we process this sentence.
KISS, therefore, has taken the position that a main-clause break can be made after the first
subordinate clause that would create the end of a sentence. For more examples of this, see
KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct Object?
5. “Me” is the direct object of the infinitive “to put.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “wanted.”
6. “Them” is the direct object of the infinitive “to take.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb (of purpose) to “gave.” (The “to you” phrase can also be described as an indirect
object.)
7. This “and” could be read as connecting the following “Child ... sent” clause to the preceding
“until” clause as another subordinate clause. That sequence could be seen as connecting
everything to the end of the sentence as subordinating clauses. A more probably end of that
sequence, however, would be the “-- and then by chance . . . “ The dash creates a stronger
break, and everything up to the dash could be seen as one episode in the longer sequence.
8. “Me” is the direct object of the infinitive “to fetch.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb to “sent.”
9. The infinitive “to grow” functions as the direct object of “began.”
10. For more on the magical powers of “which,” see KISS Level KISS Level 3.2.4. Note
also that “for which reason” means “so,” and for that see KISS Level 3.2.2 - “So” and “For”
as Conjunctions.
11. “Pieces” is the direct object of the infinitive “to bury.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb (of purpose) to “went.”
12. The “instead of” phrase probably modifies “none,” but some people may justifiably see it as
modifying “found”-- and therefore consider it to be adverbial.
13. “Left” is a gerundive that modifies “none.” When they get to noun absolutes (KISS Level
5.8), some people may prefer to see “none left” as a noun absolute that functions as the
direct object of “found.”
49
14. It is tempting to consider “me” as the direct object of “had put,” but the meaning of “put” is
really passive. Thus “me” could be explained as the direct object of “had,” and “put” as a
gerundive that modifies “me.” But when they get to noun absolutes (KISS Level 5.8), many
people will prefer to see “me put” as a noun absolute that functions as the direct object of
“had.”
15. “Robbers” is the direct object of the infinitive “to content.” The infinitive phrase functions as
an adverb to “put.”
16. This “and” joins “put” and “let.”
17. “Innocence” is the direct object of the gerundive “acknowledging.” The gerundive phrase
goes all the way back to “peasant.”
18. “Me” is the subject of the infinitive “go.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object
of “let.”
19. “Seeing” is a gerundive that modifies “Pigeon.”
20. The infinitive “to go” functions as an adverb of purpose to “was building.”
21. This “but” joins the following clause to an ellipsed first clause -- “Without a doubt *I want to
go*! but . . . .”
22. “Being drowned” is a gerund that functions as the object of the preposition “of.”
23. See KISS Level KISS Level 3. 2. 2 - “So” and “For” as Conjunctions.
24. The infinitive “to return” functions as an adjective to “signs.”
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 33..22..44 -- A
Addvvaanncceedd Q
Quueessttiioonnss aabboouutt C
Cllaauusseess
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
This is the last of the identification sections on clauses. In essence, it is a collection point for
relatively unusual cases. The instructional material for “Tag” questions (Exercise # 1) is included
in the exercises. Tag Questions involve primarily spoken questions such as “Dad did order a
pizza, didn’t he?” Linguists call the final part a “tag question,” but within KISS we can simply
consider them to be interjections. Students will primarily meet them in dialogue in plays and
stories. As you'll see, some of the sentences in these exercises do not end in questions. The
exercise based on Heidi, for example, includes the sentence:
50
I want the goats to give me splendid milk, remember.
This sentence resembles those in Level 3.2.3 -- "Interjection? Or Direct Object?" But is it
functionally that different from:
I want the goats to give me splendid milk, remember?
Level 3.2.3 suggests that "remember," in the first example can be considered a subordinate
clause that functions as an interjection. And in this section, KISS suggests that "remember?" in
the second example can also be considered as a clause that functions as an interjection. Students
who have mastered Level 3.2.3 should have few, if any, problems with tag questions.
“The Witch in ‘Which’ (and ‘Who’)?” involves several questions. (My apology to Wiccans,
but I couldn't resist the pun -- there is something magical about "which."). Unlike other
pronouns, "which" can have an entire clause as its antecedent. Consider the following, from "The
Mowing of a Field" by Hilaire Belloc:
He drags up earth with the grass, which is like making the meadow bleed.
If we restate this without using the "which," we get, "His dragging up earth with the grass is like
making the meadows bleed." In essence, the verb in the main S/V/C pattern is the antecedent of
"which."
A second "magical" property of "which" (shared with "whom") is the ability to function as a
subordinating conjunction without being the first word in the subordinate clause. The following
example is from The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson:
And in the meanwhile I would put up those weapons, [one {of which}
might very easily go off and blow away your hopes of treasure].
Two exercises in the "grade-level" books are devoted to the just discussed qualities of "which"
(and "who"). They are preceded by short, but separate instructional material because it is too
long to include within the exercises.
This part of the web site also includes material for which there are no exercises. These are
"Unusual Cases" and other questions. Many of these also deal with "which." Many teachers, for
example, are familiar with the "in which" problem: "That is the book in which he keeps his notes
in." That question is discussed in the "Background Materials for Teachers," as is the "Which"
fragment. Many well-recognized writers use it, as in the following example from Daniel J.
Boorstin's The Creators:
51
Often called the first Christian philosopher, Philo was a Jew. Which of
course is not surprising, since the Christian Messiah was also a Jew. (4647)
Because many people consider this an error, there is no reason for the KISS site to make
exercises about it, but this part of the site is a collection-point for examples.
Detail from
M
Moorree oonn ““W
Whhiicchh”” ((aanndd ““W
Whhoo””))
The Persistence
of Memory
Salvador DALI,
1931
Metropolitan
Museum of Art
New York, NY
There is a witch in “which”—the word has some magical powers. Some students are already
aware of this—they spell “which” as “witch.” The students’ spelling problem results from the
fact that they spell what they hear, and they have not been taught enough grammar to be able to
distinguish the noun from the pronoun/subordinate conjunction. But perhaps their lack of control
of “which” points to the unusual powers of the word.
The Clause as Antecedent
Pronouns that simultaneously function as subordinate conjunctions (“who,” “which,” “that”)
usually have a specific, one-word antecedent. “Which,” however, sometimes grabs the entire
preceding clause, or a large part of it.
George’s health was improving, which made his wife happy.
What made his wife happy was not his “health,” for that is currently poor. It is the “health
improving” that made her happy, and thus the “which” here refers to the entire preceding clause.
It may be that “who” and/or “that” occasionally also gain this power to claim a clause as
antecedent, but if you analyze real texts for any amount of time, you are certain to run into one of
these powerful “whiches.” Checking the antecedent of every such word in everything one reads
is, of course, preposterous, but the “find” function in word processors provide a good tool for
studies of this question. The KISS web site actually includes such a study. I collected all the
sentences that contain “which” in Modern Essays, Selected by Christopher Morley, which is
available on line at Bartleby.com. The word appears 422 times, only nine of which can be
52
considered as having an antecedent that is not a single noun or pronoun. Nine out of 422 is 2.1%,
so we are looking at a fairly rare construction.
Subjects that Precede the Subordinating Conjunction
Subordinating conjunctions normally appear as the first word in their respective clauses.
“Which,” however, occasionally does a trick and follows the subject of its clause:
He loved beefsteak and fried potatoes, the latter of which was his absolute favorite food.
This could, of course, be written as
He loved beefsteak and fried potatoes, of which the latter was his absolute favorite food.
The first version, however, is generally accepted as also correct. If we examine it in the light of
our psycholinguistic model, the first part is simple. The reader, with short-term memory cleared,
processes a subject, a finite verb, and two direct objects. Then, of course, it encounters “the
latter,” which it probably chunks as an appositive—in this case all readers know that “the latter”
renames “fried potatoes.” And it could be an appositive, as in “He loved beefsteak and fried
potatoes, the latter especially on Sundays.” As the mental chunking continues, however, it turns
out that “the latter” is not really an appositive, it slides into being the subject of “was” in the “of
which” clause. But an appositive is not always involved in the trick. In some cases, the subject of
the subordinate clause simply appears before the subordinating conjunction:
“I know of no material [the spoiling {of which} gives so much artistic
pleasure]—except perhaps snow.” (From “On Drawing” by A. P. Herbert)
or
“Then quick puffs of dusky smoke, [the volley {of which} does not reach my ear
till the train has stuck its black head out of fairyland and become a prosaic
reminder of dinner.] (From “Winter Mist,” by Robert Palfrey Utter
It would be interesting to know if this type of construction reading problems for some students.
It was also interesting to find one case in which “which” refers to a word in the preceding
sentence:
The conditions seem to be present even under the most unlikely externals. Some
of the greatest students this country has produced have come from small villages
and country places. It is impossible to predict from a study of the environment,
53
which a “strong propensity of nature,” to quote Milton’s phrase again, will easily
bend or break. (“The Student Life,” by William Osler)
Within its clause, “which” functions as the answer to the question “Propensity will easily bend or
break what?” If we ask what the “which” means, the answer is “students,” in the preceding
sentence.
Four examples of parenthetical expressions with “which” appeared, and they raised the
question of restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. Could it be that parenthetical clauses are
clauses that are less restrictive than non-restrictive? This would change the “restrictive/nonrestrictive” continuum to “restrictive / non-restrictive / parenthetical (interjections).
The witch of “which” has also imparted this special power to “whom,” as in the following
from Ogden Nash’s “A Definition of Marriage.”
I am quite sure that marriage is the alliance of
two people, one of whom never
remembers birthdays, and the other
never forgetsam,
In this example, “one” functions as a part/whole appositive to “two,” but it is also the subject of
“remembers.” The data for the study of Modern Essays, Selected by Christopher Morley is on
the web site.
The “in which” Problem
Having worked hard to give “which” three additional, and useful, powers, the witch of
“which” may have felt like playing a prank. She sprinkled some students’ writing with “in
which”:
That is the game in which I made my best plays in.
Two causes have been suggested for the superfluous preposition (almost always “in”), that
infects some students’ writing. One is that it is the result of transference from a foreign language
(Dutch and German are usually suggested) that affected the immigrants’ English. This is quite
possible, but to verify it, we would need sociolinguistic studies. (These would be excellent topics
for a Master’s Thesis or a Ph.D. Dissertation).
The second suggested cause is that the superfluous “in” results from undigested instruction
in grammar. Proponents of this view note that students have been taught not to end a sentence
54
with a preposition (a stupid rule). The students have been taught to move the preposition to an
earlier position in the sentence. Thus the students who would have written
That is the game which I made my best plays in.
Digests half of the “instruction” and writes
That is the game in which I made my best plays in.
It’s an interesting theory to explain the cause of the problem.
From the KISS perspective, the solution to the problem is to have students analyze real
sentences, including those from their own writing. In so doing, students can probably understand
that in
That is the game which I made my best plays in.
“which” functions as both subordinating conjunction and as the object of the final “in.” A second
“in” is not needed. I have personal problems in giving students exercises based on incorrect
sentences, so for now the KISS site does not include exercises that focus on “in which.” If users
of the KISS Approach would like some, we can, of course, add them, just by collecting examples
from students’ writing.
The “Which” Fragment
“Which” also assumes power beyond that of a subordinating conjunction and can command
a main clause. George Will, for example, is well-known, not only as a widely-read conservative
columnist, but also as a defender of good grammar. His column for June 3, 2006, as it appeared
in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, is titled “McCain will produce a delicious moment.” In
discussing the size of campaign contributions under the McCain-Feingold legislation, Will
wrote:
This doubling made it even easier than it already was to raise more money than
the public funding system could provide to presidential candidates, even if the
public were fully funding the system. Which the public emphatically refuses to
do.
Most grammarians would consider that “Which” construction to be a subordinate clause
fragment, and most teachers would probably mark it, in students’ writing, as an error. The
“correct” form would be “This”–“This, the public emphatically refuses to do.”
But as the examples below suggest, Will’s sentence is just one example of a construction
that is fairly common among professional writers even though it is considered incorrect by many
55
teachers. Thoughtful teachers, therefore, need to consider what they are going to do when they
see such sentences in their students’ writing — or run across them in analyzing texts. My own
sense is that I will probably still mark this construction as a subordinate clause fragment and an
error in my students’ writing, but I will do so only because many other teachers (including many
in fields other than English) will so consider them. Note that, unlike a “because” fragment, for
example, it is always clear that the “which” clause connects to the preceding main clause. If this
is an error, therefore, it is an error of usage, not an error in syntax.
In keeping with my prejudice against giving students examples of errors, KISS does not
include exercises specifically about “which” and subordinate clause fragments.
Additional Examples of “Which” Fragments
Boorstin, Daniel J. [Daniel Boorstin has written numerous scholarly works, has won the Pulitzer
Prize, and served for twelve years as the Librarian of Congress.]
The following are all from The Creators. N.Y.: Random House, 1992.
Often called the first Christian philosopher, Philo was a Jew. Which of course is not
surprising, since the Christian Messiah was also a Jew. (46-47)
But in the cultural panorama of the West, Justinian, the emperor of grand Christian
hopes, has received less than his due. Byzantium survives only in our peripheral vision.
Which is unfortunate, because Byzantium’s very location on the eastern edges of the
Roman Empire was a Fertile Verge where Roman ways met the novel and exotic. (128)
The clergy, [Saint Bernard] said, should be models of charity and simplicity, avoiding the
path of “scandalous curiosity.” Which was the very direction of Bernard’s archenemy,
Abelard, prophet of rationalism and a founder of scholastic theology. (248)
Not only had [Cervantes] created a novel, he had created the Western novel. Which gave
him a role among creators of our modern world comparable to that of Copernicus in the
world of discoverers. (306)
The landscape becomes the setting for parables of human nature. When earthquakes
shook the eastern Mediterranean on July 21, 365, “their affrightened imagination
enlarged the real extent of a momentary evil . . . and their fearful vanity was disposed to
confront symptoms of a declining empire and a sinking world.” Which they explained as
the retribution of a just Deity. (341)
They had no children, and she did not “care a straw whether her husband [was] an artist
or a cobbler.” Which encouraged Haydn to compose a canon for the familiar poem by
Lessing: . . . (446)
56
When Mme. Helvetius was sixty and the French writer Fontenelle was nearly one
hundred, he paid her the proverbial compliment of an aging wit, “Ah, Madame, if I were
only eighty again!” Which the witty Franklin, himself now nearly eighty, managed to
improve when once she accused him of putting off a visit to her that she had expected.
“Madame,” he said, “I am waiting till the nights are longer.” (580)
The Life of Johnson would be another product of this same obsession with capturing
experience by recording it. Which also helps explain the directness, the simplicity, and
lack of contrivance in the biography. (596)
The poet, Eliot insisted, must be equipped too with “the historical sense . . .nearly
indispensable to anyone who would continue to be a poet beyond his twenty-fifth year. . .
. a perception not only of the pastness of the past but of its presence.” Which means that
the poet must be learned and know his great predecessors. (629)
As his Russian philosophical disciple Nikolai Berdyayev (1874-1948) observed, “The
existence of evil is a proof of God’s existence. If the world consisted solely and
exclusively of goodness and justice, God would not be necessary, for then the world itself
would be God. God exists because evil exists. And this means that God exists because
freedom exists.” Which helps us understand why Dostoyevsky’s novels focus on the
story of a crime as he creates the theological detective story.” (663)
Espo, David
In Ohio, where President Bush’s ratings are low and support for scandal-scarred
Gov. Bob Taft even lower, Republicans are in trouble.
Which is why Democrats sound uncommonly optimistic as they look ahead to the
fall elections ....
[”Democrats see political promise in Ohio,” Williamsport Sun-Gazette, April 28, 2006. A-4.]
Parker, Kathleen
Nobody wants to play second string, and exotic dances are no exception to the rule.
Which becomes a problem when, by fate or misfortune, you’re cast in the media
drama du jour as ... The Second Dancer.
[”She coulda’ been a celebrity,” Williamsport Sun-Gazette, May 1, 2006. A-4.]
PPrroobblleem
mss iinn D
Deeffiinniinngg aa C
Cllaauussee
The KISS definition of “main clause” is much more systematic, and thus better, than what is
in most grammar textbooks. There are, however, still cases in which it is difficult to determine
main clause boundaries.
Where Do Clauses End?
In looking for quotations to use as exercises, I found the following sentence at
BasicQuotations.com:
57
Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the
heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.
There are two ways of explaining the clause structure of this sentence, and proponents of one
explanation will have great difficulty in convincing proponents of the other that they are wrong:
Music speaks [DO what cannot be expressed], soothes the mind (DO) and gives it
(IO) rest (DO), heals the heart (DO) and makes it to be whole, flows {from heaven} {to
the soul}. |
or
Music speaks [DO what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind (DO) and gives it (IO)
rest (DO), heals the heart (DO) and makes it to be whole, flows {from heaven} {to the
soul}.] |
Although some people may insist that it is music that soothes the mind (as in the first
explanation), others can validly interpret the sentence to mean that music speaks what soothes
the mind, etc., as (in the second explanation). Some people may not see a difference here, but
there is one. In the second explanation, music gives voice to whatever feelings, etc. soothe the
mind, etc., whereas in the first it is music itself that does the soothing. The primary points here
are that there is not always one “right” explanation, and that the ending of a clause is not always
clear-cut.
Quotations
The following sentence illustrates an analytical problem that you will rarely, if ever, see
discussed in a grammar textbook:
Alfred said, “Don’t do that. If you do, you will get hurt.”
The “Don’t do that” clause is easily explained as the direct object of “Alfred said.” But what is
the following “If you do, you will get hurt”? In terms of meaning (i.e., semantically), it also
functions as a direct object of “said.” But if we label such clauses as subordinate, we will find
cases in which the quotation consists of five or six sentences — or even paragraphs. To consider
all these sentences (or paragraphs) as subordinate clauses that function as direct objects almost
certainly violates the principles of the psycholinguistic model. Readers surely do not hold all
these sentences in short-term memory until they get to the end of the quotation.
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This gray area poses a problem for students who are trying to place brackets around
subordinate clauses and put vertical lines after main clauses. The KISS guideline is to consider
only the first main clause within the quotation as a subordinate clause. Thus:
Alfred said, [DO “Don’t do that.] | If you do, you will get hurt.” |
This approach not only makes the analysis easier, it also better coincides with the
psycholinguistic model. If I remember correctly, it is also the approach taken by Kellogg Hunt
and Roy O’Donnell in their research studies.
“You” Understood as the Subject of Compound Verbs
In a sentence such as “Do your homework and then clean your room,” the understood
subject is “you,” but the clause structure can be viewed in two different ways:
You Do your homework and then clean your room. |
You Do your homework | and then you clean your room. |
Either alternative is acceptable, but a problem does occur in statistical studies concerning the
average length of main clauses. For purposes of consistency in such studies, KISS opts for the
compound verbs unless what would be the first main clause is longer than seven words.
Subordinate Clauses that Modify More than One Main Clause
Consider the following sentence from Ouida’s A Dog of Flanders:
So many passers-by had trodden through and through the snow, so many diverse paths
had crossed and recrossed each other, that the dog had a hard task to retain any hold on
the track he followed.
It contains two “main clauses”:
So many passers-by had trodden through and through the snow
and
so many diverse paths had crossed and recrossed each other
These two main clauses are then followed by a subordinate clause of result, but that clause of
result applies to (i.e., is subordinate to, and thus part of) both main clauses. In effect, it means:
So many passers-by had trodden through and through the snow, [that the dog had a
hard task to retain any hold on the track [he followed]].
and
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So many diverse paths had crossed and recrossed each other, [that the dog had a hard
task to retain any hold on the track [he followed]].
In analyzing a sentence such as this, KISS notation breaks down — unless we wanted to revise
the sentence to repeat the subordinate clause as I have just done, but that seriously changes the
style of the original. Thus we can mark it as two main clauses, but we need to note that the
subordinate clause in the second also applies to the first:
So many passers-by had trodden through and through the snow, / so many diverse
paths had crossed and recrossed each other, [Adv. (of result) to both “So” and “so” that
the dog had a hard task to retain any hold on the track [he followed.]] /
Although the preceding establishes a KISS procedure for analyzing such sentences, it does not,
of course, answer the fundamental question — Where does the first main clause end? But that is
not a question that I can answer. It simply depends on how one wants to define it.
SSoom
mee U
Unnccoom
mm
moonn C
Cllaauussee C
Coonnssttrruuccttiioonnss
The Hypothetical “That”
Some teachers claim that a noun clause must begin with a subordinating conjunction, and
that if there is none, there is an understood “that.” It is certainly true that noun clauses at the
beginning of a sentence must begin with a subordinating conjunction, and that “that” is often the
conjunction. The purpose of the conjunction is to indicate to readers that the following S/V
pattern is not the main clause. But there is no implied that quotations that function as, for
example, direct objects—He said, “Will you please pass the salt?”
Likewise, an implied “that” does not make much sense in the following sentence, found in
The Big Joke Book, by Carleton B. Case (Chicago, Shrewesbury Publishing Co., 1924, p. 226).
“She decides [DO under what index an index to the index of the filing cabinets shall be placed.]”
Other Uncommon Clause Constructions
On page 34 of Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced I found:
Naturally, seeing as he worked as receptionist here, I thought he was all right.
This use of “as” as a conjunction for a noun clause that functions as a direct object is, as far as I
know, British slang.
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Somewhat related to one of the "which" questions, sometimes part of a subordinate clause
appears before the subordinating conjunction, as in the following sentence from Black Beauty:
Fearful as it was, no one stopped, no one turned back.
These are fairly rare. Indeed they are far apart and difficult to find if you are looking for them.
Thus KISS does not have an exercised specifically devoted to them.
E
Exx.. 11.. SSuubboorrddiinnaattee C
Cllaauusseess aass T
Taaggss
Exercise 1.a is fairly simple. You might want to have students do it in class and check it, and
then assign exercise 1.b. for homework.
Ex. 1.a - Based on Postern of Fate, by Agatha Christie
1. "It wasn't an accident (PN), [Inj. was it]?" |
2. "He knew some (DO) {of the stories} {about it}, [Inj. you know]." |
3. "And they said [DO she was a spy (PN)], [Inj. wasn't she]?" [#1] |
4. "Well [Inj], I think [DO things got told (P) him (RIO) [#2], [Inj. you know]]." |
5. "So [#3] that's a Mrs. Bodlicott (PN), [Inj. is it]?" |
6. "You don't think [DO you ought to go {to the hospital}], [Inj. do you]?" |
7. "He used to talk sometimes, [Inj. he did]." |
8. "A rose {by any other name} would smell as sweet (PA) [#4]. | Juliet said that (DO),
[Inj. didn't she]?" |
9. "He goes {to London}, [Inj. does he not], most days [NuA]." |
10. "*You* Excuse me (DO), [Inj. won't you]." | [The period is in the original.]
Notes
1. Note the ambiguity here. It is doubtful that they said, “She was a spy, wasn’t she.” Thus the
“wasn’t she” meaningfully applies to both the “they said” and the “she was a spy.” In other
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words, the question probably should have been “didn’t they?” The sentence thus reflects the
grammatical looseness of speech. The same question arises in sentence # 4.
2. “Him” is a retained indirect object after the passive “got told.” The active voice version would
be “Somebody told him things.”
3. Alternatively, this “So” can be explained as a coordinating conjunction. See KISS Level 3.2.2
- “So” and “For” as Conjunctions.
4. People who have trouble explaining “sweet” as an adjective after “would smell” can consider
this a palimpsest pattern with “would smell” written over “would be.” See KISS Level 2.1.4
- Palimpsest Patterns.
Ex. 1.b. - Based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri
1. "*You* Don't let her get cold [#1], [ [Tag] do you hear?]" |
2. "She must come {to school} next winter [NuA]; [#2] [ [Tag] [#3] *you* remember that
(DO)]." |
3. You can hear the fir-trees roar [#4] here, [ [Tag] can't you? |
4. You tried very hard to conceal it [#5], [ [Tag] did you not? ] |
5. "You would like to know [#6], [ [Tag] wouldn't you, Heidi [DirA]? ]" |
6. I want the goats to give me splendid milk [#7], [ [Tag] *you* remember]. |
7. "You can find a way (DO) {for her to stay [#8] }, grandfather [DirA], [ [Tag] can't you?
]" |
8. "You are not afraid (PA), [ [Tag] I hope?]" [ [#9] said the doctor, getting up [#10]]. |
9. "No. *You* Please send them (DO) {to Clara}; | she will like them (DO), [ [Tag] I am
sure (PA) ]." |
10. "[Adv. to "must be" If we hope {for an improvement} {in her condition}], we must be
extremely cautious (PA) and careful (PA), [ [Tag] *you* remember that (DO)! ]" |
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Notes
1. “Cold” is a predicate adjective after the infinitive “get” (which means “become”). “Her” is the
subject of the infinitive, and the infinitive is the direct object of “don’t let.”
2. Because of the semicolon, we could alternatively consider this as two main clauses.
3. Note how tag questions slide into the direct object or interjection question which is the subject
of KISS Level 3.2.3.
4. “Fir-trees” is the subject of the infinitive “roar.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “can hear.” [At first glance “The fir-trees roar here” appears to pass the sentencetest for finite verbs as opposed to verbals, but if we replace “fir-trees” with a pronoun, it
would be “them,” and “them roar here” does not pass the sentence test.
5. “It” is the direct object of the infinitive “to conceal.” The infinitive phrase functions as the
direct object of “tried.”
6. The infinitive “to know” functions as the direct object of “would like.”
7. “Me” is the indirect and “milk” the direct object of the infinitive “to give,” the subject of
which is “goats.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “want.”
8. “Her” is the subject of the infinitive “to stay.” The infinitive phrase functions as the object of
the preposition.
9. One can, if one wishes, explain the quotation as the direct object of said, or one can see the
quotation as the main clause and from “said” to the end as a subordinate clause that
functions as an interjection. See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct Object?
10. “Up” can be explained either as an adverb to “getting” or as a phrasal verb (meaning
“rising.” “Getting (up)” is a gerundive that modifies “doctor.”
E
Exx.. 22.. T
Thhee W
Wiittcchh iinn ""W
Whhiicchh"" ((aanndd ""W
Whhoo""))
Ex. 2.a. - Based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri
1. There a few cottages lay scattered [#1] about, [Adj. to "cottages" {from the furthest} {of
which} a voice called out {to her} {through an open door}]. |
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2. [Adv. to "awoke" and "roused" When the clock {from the old church tower} struck one
(DO) ], Sebastian awoke and roused his comrade (DO), [Adj. [#2] which was no
easy matter (PN)]. |
3. He generally invited Peter to stay [#3] {to supper} afterwards, [Adj. [#4] which liberally
rewarded the boy (DO) {for all his great exertions}]. |
4. [DO [#5] "That certainly is not too much (PN),"] the old lady said {with a smile},
taking {out of her pocket} a big, round thaler [#6], [Adj. to "thaler" {on top} {of which}
she laid twenty pennies (DO)]. |
5. A small, white goat, called Snowhopper [#7], kept up bleating [#8] {in the most piteous
way}, [Adj. [#9] which induced Heidi to console it [#10] several times [NuA]]. |
6. [DO [#5] "You have enough (DO) now,"] he declared. | "[Adv. to "won't be" If you
pick them (DO) all to-day,] there won't be any left [#11] to-morrow." | Heidi
admitted that (DO), [ [#12] {besides which} she had her apron already full [#13] ]. |
Notes
1. “Scattered” can be considered as part of the passive finite verb phrase, or it can be explained
as a gerundive that functions as a predicate adjective in a palimpsest pattern in which “lay”
is written over “were.”
2. The antecedent of this “which” is the verb “roused”—“Rousing his comrade was no easy
matter.”
3. There are at least two ways to explain “Peter to stay.” “Peter” can be considered the indirect
object of “invited” and the subject of the infinitive “to stay.” This option makes the
infinitive phrase the direct object of “invited.” People who do not like that explanation may
want to consider “Peter” as the direct object and the infinitive as an adverb (where?) to
“invited.”
4. This “which” can be seen as referring to “supper,” but some readers may feel that the
invitation (“invited”) is as important as the supper.
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5. For an alternative explanation of the clause structure, see KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or
Direct Object?
6. “Thaler” is the direct object of the gerundive “taking,” which modifies “lady.”
7. “Snowhopper” is a retained predicate noun after the passive gerundive “called.” (See KISS
Level 5.7 - Passive Voice and Retained Complements.] The gerundive phrase modifies
“goat.”
8. “Bleating” is a gerund that functions as a direct object. “Up” can be considered part of the
verb (“kept up” = “continued”) or it can be seen as an adverb to “kept.”
9. “Which” can easily be explained as having “way” as its antecedent, but was it the piteous way,
or was it the continued bleating that induced Heidi? In other words, the finite verb phrase
“kept up bleating” can also be seen as the antecedent of “which.”
10. See Note 3.
11. “Any” can be explained as a predicate noun with “left” as a gerundive that modifies it. At
KISS Level 5.8, however, some people will prefer to see “any left” as a noun absolute that
functions at the predicate noun.
12. Technically this “which” refers to “that,” but most readers will probably find this sentence
initially confusing, particularly because “that” would be a typical subordinating conjunction
after “admitted.” Thus most readers will have to reprocess to see that although the “which”
refers to “that,” it meaningfully refers to “there won’t be any left.”
13. The KISS explanation of “apron full” is to consider it an ellipsed infinitive construction—
“her apron *to be* full.” That makes “apron” the subject and “full” the predicate adjective in
the infinitive phrase, the phrase functioning as the direct object of “had.” This is, however, a
case in which some people might prefer the “objective complement” explanation. See the
discussion of ellipsed infinitives in KISS Level Four.
Ex. 2.b. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
1. I should have missed this extraordinary, supernatural, and incredible expedition (DO),
[Adj. to "expedition" the recital {of which} may well meet {with some skepticism}]. |
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2. But Conseil had one fault (DO) | -- he was ceremonious (PA) {to a degree}, and
would never speak {to me} (IO) but [#1] {in the third person}, [ [#2] which was
sometimes provoking (PA) [#2] ]. |
3. {In reality} the column {of water} would be shorter (PA), [ [#3] as we are speaking
{of sea-water}, [Adj. to "sea-water" the density {of which} is greater (PA) {than that}
[#4]
{of fresh water} ]]. |
4. {Instead of digging [#5] } {round the Nautilus}, [ [#6] which would have involved greater
difficulty (DO) ], Captain Nemo had an immense trench made [#7] {at eight yards}
{from the port quarter}. |
5. They embarked {in the corvettes} the Boussole [#8] and the Astrolabe [#8], [Adj. to
"Boussole" and "Astrolabe" neither {of which} were again heard of (P) ]. |
6. Enormous trees, [Adj. to "trees" the trunks {of which} attained a height (DO) {of 200
feet}, ] were tied (P) {to each other} {by garlands} {of bindweed}, real natural
hammocks [#9] , [Adj. to "hammocks" which (DO) a light breeze rocked]. |
7. But this return {to the upper strata} was not so sudden (PA) {as to cause relief [#10] }
{from the pressure} too rapidly [#10], [ [#11] which might have produced serious
disorder (DO) {in our organization}, and brought on internal lesions (DO), so fatal
[#12]
{to divers}]. |
8. {In the distance} lay the Nautilus {like a cetacean} asleep {on the water}. | {Behind us},
{to the south and east}, *lay* [#13] an immense country, and a chaotic heap {of rocks
and ice}, [Adj. to "heap" the limits {of which} were not visible (PA)]. |
9. The first thing [Adj. to "thing" I noticed] was a range (PN) {of mountains} about two
thousand feet [NuA] high [#14], [Adj. to "mountains" the shapes {of which} were most
capricious (PA)]. |
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10.
"Ned Land [DirA]," [ [#15] asked the commander], "you have often heard the
roaring (DO) {of whales}?" |
"Often [#16], sir; [DirA] but never {*of* such whales} [Adj. to "whales" the sight {of
which} brought me (IO) in two thousand dollars (DO)]." |
Notes
1. Note the ellipsis—“but *would speak* in the third person.”
2. This “which” refers to the implicit “his speaking in the third person.” (Whether these clauses
are adjectival or adverbial is not discussed by grammarians, so students can see them either
way.) Note that “provoking” could be considered part of the finite verb phrase, but can also
be viewed as a gerundive that functions as a predicate adjective.
3. Some grammarians would probably consider this clause as adverbial, but a good argument
could be made that it functions more as an interjection—it explains why the speaker thinks it
would be shorter.
4. Alternatively, “than” can be explained as a subordinating conjunction in an ellipsed clause—
“than that of fresh water *is great*.”
5. “Digging” is a verbal, a gerund that functions as the object of the preposition.
6. This “which” refers to the implicit “digging.”
7. “Trench” can be considered the direct object, and “made” a gerundive that modifies “trench,”
but at KISS Level 5.8 - Noun Absolutes, many people may prefer to see “trench made” as a
noun absolute that functions as the direct object of “had.”
8. “Boussole” and “Astrolabe” are appositives to “corvettes.” Note that they are not set off by a
comma. See KISS Level 5.4 - Appositives.
9. “Hammocks” is an appositive to “garlands.”
10. “Relief” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to cause.” The infinitive phrase
functions as the object of the preposition “as.” {The “as” phrase modifies the preceding
“so.” “Rapidly” functions as an adverb to “to cause.”
11. This “which” denotes the infinitive “to cause,” and thus the entire infinitive phrase.
12. “Fatal” is a post-positioned adjective to “lesions.” See KISS Level 5.5.
13. Because the finite verb is ellipsed, some people will see this sentence as a fragment.
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14. “High” is a post-positioned adjective to “mountains.”
15. KISS explains this clause as an interjection. See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct
Object?
16. This entire sentence is an understandable fragment, the main parts of which are stated in the
previous sentence.
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 55..44 A
Appppoossiittiivveess
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
What IS an Appositive?
An appositive is a construction that chunks to another construction simply by identity of
meaning. No connecting words (prepositions or conjunctions) make the connection. Most
textbooks deal only with very simple appositives — nouns that function as appositives to nouns.
We were guided by our old acquaintance, the trapper.
But within KISS we can deal with much more. In addition, students should learn to deal with
elaborated appositives — appositives that are themselves modified by prepositional phrases,
clauses, gerundives, etc. They can also explore how other constructions (finite verbs,
prepositional phrases, clauses, etc.) can function as appositives.
When should we introduce students to appositives?
This is an important question. Some people believe that students can handle appositives very
early. My son was, if I remember correctly, in second grade when he was asked to combine two
sentences by using an appositive: “Mary is a marine biologist. She studies fish.” He asked for my
help, but when I showed him “Mary, a marine biologist, studies fish,” he did not like the
sentence. He’s not alone.
Kellogg Hunt, in “Early Blooming and Late Blooming Syntactic Structures,” argues that
appositives are “late-blooming” and notes that in his study few of the high school students that
he studied used them. Part of the problem of course, may be that none of these students were
taught how to analyze sentences in the first place.
Although an understanding of clauses is much more important than appositives, simple
appositives can probably be added to students’ analytical toolbox as early as fifth grade — if you
68
have the time, and if the students have a basic ability to identify S/V/C patterns. Currently, the
grade-level KISS curriculum introduces them in fifth grade.
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises
1. Place parentheses around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline every subject once, every verb twice, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,”
“DO”).
3. Put brackets [ ] around every subordinate clause and use arrows or labels to indicate their
function.
4. Put a vertical line at the end of every main clause.
5. Write “App” over every appositive and draw an arrow from it to the word to which it stands in
apposition.
Probable Time Required: For simple appositives, two exercises?
Ex. 1.a - Based on “Perseus,” by Charles Kingsley
1. Halcyone was a fairy maiden (PN), the daughter [#1] {of the beach} and {of the wind}. |
2. "For I drive them (DO) forth {by strange paths}, Perseus [DirA], [Adv. (purpose) to
"drive" that they may fight the Titans (DO) and the monsters (DO), the enemies
[#2]
{of Gods and men}.]" |
3. There was no living thing (PN) {around them}, not a fly, not a moss [#3] {upon the
rocks}. |
4. But Polydectes the wicked [#4] knew him (DO), and hardened his heart (DO) still
more. |
5. And now he must devour me (DO), [ [#5] guiltless (PA) though I am ] - me [#6]
[Adj. to "me" who never harmed a living thing (DO), nor saw a fish (DO) {upon the
shore}
{but [OP I gave it (IO) life (DO), and threw it (DO) back {into the sea} ] } ]. |
6. {By nightfall} the Gorgons were far behind, two black specks [#7] {in the southern sky}, [
[#8]
till the sun sank] and [ *til* he saw them (DO) no more]. |
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7. We know not the way (DO) {to the Gorgon}; | but we will ask the giant Atlas (IO),
above [#9] {upon the mountain peak}, the brother [#10] {of our father}, the silver Evening
Star [#10]. |
8. I am Perseus (PN), the grandson [#11] {of this dead man}, the far-famed slayer [#11] {of
the Gorgon}. |
9. Then he passed the Thracian mountains (DO), and many a barbarous tribe (DO),
Paeons [#12] and Dardans [#12] and Triballi [#12], [Adv. to "passed" till he came {to the
Ister stream, and the dreary Scythian plains}]. |
10. The sandals themselves [#13] will guide you (IO) {on the road}, [Adv. (cause) to "will
guide" for [#14] they are divine (PA) and cannot stray]; | and this sword itself [#15],
the Argus-slayer [#15], will kill the Gorgon (DO), [Adv. (cause) to "will kill" for [#14] it
is divine (PA), and needs no second stroke (DO)]. | [#16]
Notes
1. “Daughter” is an appositive to “maiden.”
2. “Enemies” is an appositive to “Titans” and “monsters.”
3. “Fly” and “moss” are (negated) appositives to “thing.”
4. “The wicked” is an appositive to “Polydectes.” (The “the” makes the adjective function as a
noun.”
5. This clause can be explained in three different ways. Because it starts with the adjective
“guiltless,” it can be seen at adjectival to “me.” Because the conjunction is “though,” it may
be seen as adverbial (condition) to “must devour.” Some people may prefer to see it as an
interjection.
6. “Me” is an appositive to the previous “me.”
7. “Specks” is an appositive to “Gorgons.”
8. The simple explanation is to consider these two “til” clauses as adverbial to “were.” Note
however that this “were” is modified by “far behind.” But they remained behind after they
70
disappeared. Thus the “til” clauses really modify the appositive “specks,” almost as if the
mind reads an ellipsed “and”—“were far behind *and were* two black specks.” This, of
course, would change the appositive into a predicate noun.
9. “Above *us*” This ellipsed phrase and “upon the mountain peak” can also be described as
adverbial to “will ask.” I have marked them as adjectival because they also describe “Atlas”
and can be mentally processed as an ellipsed adjectival clause—“Atlas *who is* above upon
the mountain peak.”
10. “Brother” and “Evening Star” are both appositives. “Brother” is an appositive to “Atlas,” but
the referent of “Evening Star” is ambiguous. It could also be “Atlas,” but since there is no
“and” connecting the two appositives, it is more likely to be “father.” Readers who already
know the relationships of these people would see no ambiguity with this. The rest of us
usually do not read it in sufficient detail to even consider the question.
11. “Grandson” and “slayer” are appositives to “Perseus.”
12. “Paeons” “Dardans” and “Triballi” are appositives to “tribe.”
13. “Themselves” is an appositive to “sandals.”
14. See KISS Level 3.2.2 - “So” and “For” as Conjunctions.
15. “Itself” and “Argus-slayer” are appositives to “sword.”
16. Note the parallel construction of the two main clauses—subject, followed by a “self”
appositive, (finite verb), complement, followed by an adverbial “for” clause. And, within the
“for” clauses, the subject is a pronoun that renames the main subject. These subjects each
have compounded finite verbs, the first of which is a “to be” verb, each with the same
complement (“divine”).
Ex. 1.b. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
1. Martha, the young housemaid [#1], [Adj. to "Martha" who had just risen {to her feet}],
looked and pointed also. |
2. Mr. Roach, the head gardener [#2], was not {without curiosity}. |
3. Do you want anything (DO) -- dolls -- toys -- books [#3]? |
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4. Poor little thin, sallow, ugly Mary [#4] -- she actually looked almost pretty (PA) {for a
moment}. |
5. She herself [#5] fell asleep once more {in the corner} {of the carriage}, lulled [#6] {by the
splashing} {of the rain} {against the windows}. |
6. Mr. Craven [#4], he won't be troubled (P) {about anythin'} [Adv. (time) to "won't be
troubled" when he's here]. |
7. Everybody {in the house} is asleep -- everybody [#7] {but us}. |
8. She thought [DO she saw something (DO) sticking [#8] {out of the black earth} -some sharp little pale green points [#9] ]. |
9. "You could not do any harm (DO), a child [#10] {like you}!" |
10. "Did you hear a caw (DO)?" | Colin listened and heard it (DO), the oddest sound
[#11]
{in the world} to hear [#12] {inside a house}, a hoarse "caw-caw." [#11] |
Notes
1. “Housemaid” is an appositive to “Martha.” Note that if there were no comma between
“housemaid” and the following clause, the clause would tend to function restrictively to
modify “housemaid.”
2. “Gardener” is an appositive to “Mr. Roach.”
3. “Dolls,” “toys,” and “books” are appositives to “anything.”
4. “Mary” is an appositive to “she,” or, if you wish, vice versa. (You will probably not find this
discussed in most grammar textbooks.
5. “Herself” is an appositive to “she.”
6. “Lulled” is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “She.”
7. “Everybody” is an appositive to “Everybody.”
8. “Sticking” can be explained as a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “something.” At KISS Level
5.8, some people will prefer to see “something sticking” as the core of a noun absolute that
functions as the direct object of “saw.”
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9. “Points” is an appositive to “something.”
10. “Child” is an appositive to “you.”
11. “Sound” is an appositive to “it,” and the later “caw-caw” is an appositive to “sound.”
12. The verbal (infinitive) “to hear” functions as an adjective to “sound.”
Ex. 2.a. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
1. Mary and Dickon brought Colin (IO) things (DO) to look at [#1] -- buds [#2] [Adj. to
"buds" which were opening], buds [#2] [Adj. to "buds" which were tight closed (PA)
[#3]
], bits [#2] {of twig} [Adj. to "bits" whose leaves were just showing green (PA) [#4]
], the feather [#2] {of a woodpecker} [Adj. to "feather" which had dropped {on the
grass}], the empty shell [#2] {of some bird} early hatched [#5] . |
2. She had seen something (DO) {under the ivy trail} -- a round knob [#6] [Adj. to "knob"
which had been covered (P) {by the leaves} hanging [#7] {over it}. |
3. [Adv. to "began" Before she was ready (PA) {for breakfast}] she began to suspect [#8]
[DO that her life {at Misselthwaite Manor} would end {by teaching her a number [#9]
} {of things} quite new [#10] {to her} -- things [#11] {such as putting on her own shoes
and stockings, and picking up things [#12] } [Adj. to "things" she let fall [#13] ]]. |
4. Some were pictures (PN) {of children} -- little girls [#14] {in thick satin frocks} [Adj. to
"frocks" which reached {to their feet} and stood out {about them}], and boys [#14]
{with puffed sleeves and lace collars and long hair}, or {with big ruffs} {around their
necks}. |
5. His eyes seemed to be taking in everything (DO) -- the gray trees [#15] {with the gray
creepers climbing {over them} and hanging [#16] {from their branches} }, the tangle
[#15]
{on the walls} and {among the grass}, the evergreen alcoves [#15] {with the stone seats
and tall flower urns} standing [#17] {in them}. |
Notes
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1. The verbal (infinitive) “to look at” functions as an adjective to “things.”
2. “Buds,” “buds,” “bits,” “feather,” and “shell” are appositives to “things.”
3. “Closed” is a verbal (gerundive) that functions as a predicate adjective.
4. If we consider “green” a predicate adjective, then “were showing” is a palimpsest pattern with
“showing” written over “becoming.” (See KISS Level 2.1.4 - Palimpsest Patterns.)
Alternatively, with a subtle difference in meaning, “green” could be viewed as a noun that
functions as a direct object.
5. “Hatched” is a verbal (gerundive) that functions as an adjective to “bird.”
6. “Knob” is an appositive to “something.”
7. “Hanging” is a verbal (gerundive) that functions as an adjective to “leaves.”
8. The verbal (infinitive) “to suspect” functions as the direct object of “began.”
9. “Number” is the direct, and “her” is the indirect object of the verbal (gerund) “teaching.” The
gerund phrase functions as the object of “by.”
10. “New” is a post-positioned adjective to “things.” (See KISS Level 5.5.)
11. “Things” is an appositive to the preceding “things.”
12. “Shoes” and “stockings” are direct objects of “putting.” “Things” is the direct object of
“picking.” “Putting” and “picking” are verbals (gerunds) that function as the objects of the
preposition “such as.” (Alternatively, “such” can be considered a post-positioned adjective,
leaving “as” to be the preposition.
13. “Fall” can be considered part of the finite verb, or it can be seen as a verbal (infinitive) that
functions as the direct object of “let.”
14. “Girls” and “boys” are appositives to “children.”
15. “Trees,” “tangle,” and “alcoves” are appositives to “everything.”
16. “Climbing” and “hanging” can be described as verbals (gerundives) that modify “creepers,”
the object of the preposition. At KISS Level 5.8, some people may prefer to see “creepers
climbing . . . and hanging” as the core of a noun absolute that functions as the object of the
preposition “with.”
17. “Standing” can be explained as a gerundive that modifies “seats” and “urns.” See also note #
16.
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Ex. 2.b. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, by Jules Verne
1. Was it the voice (PN) {of another unfortunate creature}, abandoned [#1] {in the middle}
{of the ocean}, some other victim [#2] {of the shock} sustained [#3] {by the vessel}? |
2. There [#4] remained then only two possible solutions {of the question}, [Adj. to
"solutions" which created two distinct parties (DO): {on one side}, those [#5] [Adj. to
"those" who were {for a monster} {of colossal strength}]; {on the other}, those [#5] [Adj.
to "those" who were {for a submarine vessel} {of enormous motive power}]]. |
3. [Adv. to "came" As he was taking observations (DO) {with the sextant}], one {of the
sailors} {of the Nautilus} ( the strong man [#6] [Adj. to "man" who had accompanied
us (DO) {on our first submarine excursion} {to the island} {of Crespo} ] ) came to clean
the glasses [#7] {of the lantern}. |
4. I made out his prevailing qualities (DO) directly: self-confidence [#8] -- [Adv. to
"made out" because his head was well set (P) {on his shoulders}], and [Adv. to "made
out" *because* his black eyes looked around {with cold assurance}; calmness [#8] --
[Adv. to "made out" for his skin, rather pale [#9], showed his coolness (DO) {of
blood}]; energy [#8] -- evinced [#10] {by the rapid contraction} {of his lofty brows}; and
courage [#8] -- [Adv. to "made out" because his deep breathing denoted great power
(DO) {of lungs}]. |
5. Millions {of luminous spots} shone brightly {in the midst} {of the darkness}. | They
were the eyes (PN) {of the giant crustacea} crouched [#11] {in their holes}; giant
lobsters [#12] setting themselves [#13] up {like halberdiers}, and moving their claws [#13]
{with the clicking sound} {of pinchers}; titanic crabs [#12], pointed [#14] {like a gun} {on
its carriage}; and frightful-looking poulps [#12], interweaving their tentacles [#15] {like a
living nest} {of serpents}. |
Notes
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1. The verbal (gerundive) “abandoned” modifies “creature.”
2. “Victim” is an appositive to “creature.”
3. The verbal (gerundive) “sustained” modifies “shock.”
4. For alternative explanations of “There,” see KISS Level 2.1.3 - Expletives (Optional).
5. “Those” and “those” are appositives to “parties.” The two “for” phrases can be seen either as
adverbial to “were” or as predicate adjectives. [Note the use of the colon and semicolon in
this sentence.]
6. “Man” is an appositive to “one.”
7. “Glasses” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to clean.” The infinitive phrase
functions as an adverb (of purpose) to “came.”
8. These are all appositives to “qualities.”
9. “Pale” is a post-positioned adjective to “skin.”
10. The verbal (gerundive) “evinced” modifies “energy.”
11. The verbal (gerundive) “crouched” modifies “crustacea.”
12. These are all appositives to “crustacea.”
13. The verbals (gerundives) “setting” and “moving” modify “lobsters.” “Themselves” is the
direct object of “setting,” and “claws” is the direct object of “moving.”
14. The verbal (gerundive) “pointed” modifies “crabs.”
15. “Tentacles” is the direct object of the gerundive “interweaving,” which modifies “poulps.”
Ex. 3. - Writing—Elaborating Appositives with a Subordinate Clause
The following versions are, in essence, tests to see that each appositive can reasonably be
modified by a subordinate clause.
1. Charlie, an athlete [App], enjoys playing all kinds [#1] {of sports}. |
Charlie, an athlete who loves baseball, enjoys playing all kinds of sports.
2. Scuba Steve, a scuba diver [App], likes to go swimming [#2]. |
Scuba Steve, a scuba diver who lives in Los Angeles, likes to go swimming.
3. George, an amateur astronomer [App], found a new star (DO). |
George, an amateur astronomer who is still in high school, found a new star.
4. Chris Edsell, the all-star basketball player [App], broke his ankle (DO) this year [NuA]. |
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Chris Edsell, the all-star basketball player who won the championship game for us last
year, broke his ankle this year.
5. William, a student [App], deserves a C (DO) {in this class}. |
William, a student who works hard sometimes, deserves a C in this class.
6. We lost Mysha (DO), our pet cat [App]. |
We lost Mysha, our pet cat, who loved bacon.
7. AC/DC, a rock band [App], released a new album (DO). |
AC/DC, a rock band that we saw in a concert, released a new album.
8. Mr. Stevens, the history teacher [App], taught us (IO) {about the Civil War}. |
Mr. Stevens, the history teacher who loves to talk about government, taught us about
the Civil War.
9. Mary, the lead singer [App] {of the band}, spent all afternoon (DO) signing autographs
[#3]
.|
Mary, the lead singer of the band that was formed at our high school, spent all
afternoon signing autographs.
10. They live {with the Thompsons}, the family [App] {across the street}. |
They live with the Thompsons, the family across the street who went to Disney World
last summer.
Notes
1. “Kinds” is the direct object of the verbal (gerund) “playing.” The gerund phrase functions as
the direct object of “enjoys.”
2. “Swimming” is a verbal (gerund) that functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb to the verbal
(infinitive) “to go.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “likes.”
3. “Autographs” is the direct object of the verbal (gerund) “signing.” The gerund phrase
functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb.
Ex. 4 - The Punctuation of Appositives —AURORA, by Guido Reni
Hyperion had three wonderful children (DO), Apollo [#1], the god {of the sun},
Selene, the goddess {of the moon}, and Aurora, the goddess [#1] {of the dawn}. | [Adv. to
"fades" When Aurora appears] her sister, Selene (the moon [#2] ), fades | and night
rolls back {like a curtain}. | Now *you* let us look [#3] {at this masterpiece} {by Guido
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Reni} carefully [Adv. (result) to "let" that we may know [DO how wonderful (PA) is the
coming {of day}]]. |
Aurora, {in a filmy white robe}, is dropping flowers (DO) {in the path} {of Apollo}
(the sun [#4] ) [Adv. to "is dropping" as he drives his dun-colored horses (DO) {above the
sleeping Earth}]. | The Horæ (the hours [#5] ), a gliding, dancing group [#5] {of lovely eings},
accompany the brilliant god (DO). | Each hour is clothed (P) {in garments} {of a special
tint} {of the great light} {of day}, red [#6], orange [#6], yellow [#6], green [#6], blue [#6], purple
[#6]
, and violet [#6]. | The golden-hued Apollo sits supreme (PA) [#7] {in his chariot} {of the
sun}. |
The fresco [ [#8] -- fresco means painted (PA) {on fresh plaster} -- ] is {on the
ceiling} {of the Rospigliosi Palace}, {*in* Rome}. | The painting is as brilliant (PA) {in
color} to-day [Adv. to "as" as it was *brilliant* (PA) [Adv. to "was" when *it was* [#9]
painted (P) three hundred and fifty years [NuA] ago]]. |
Aurora, {like most} {of the gods and goddesses}, fell {in love} {with a mortal}. | She
asked Zeus to make her husband immortal [#10] | but she forgot to ask [#11] [DO that he
should never grow old (PA) ]. | And, [Adv. to "deserted [#12] fickle woman (PN) that
she was!] [Adv. to "deserted when he became gray (PA) and infirm (PA)], she
deserted him (DO) | and, to put a stop [#13] {to his groans}, she turned him (DO) {into a
grasshopper}. |
Her son, Memnon [#14], was made (P) king [#15] {of the Ethiopians}, | and {in the war}
{of Troy} he was overcome (P) {by Achilles}. | [Adv. to "sent" When Aurora, [Adj. to
"Aurora" who was watching him (DO) {from the sky},] saw him fall [#16] ] she sent his
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brothers (DO), the Winds [#17], to take his body [#18] {to the banks} {of a river} {in Asia
Minor}. | {In the evening} the mother and the Hours and the Pleiades came to weep [#19]
{over her dead son}. | Poor Aurora! [Inj] even to-day her tears are seen (P) {in the dewdrops}
{on the grass} {at early dawn}. |
Notes
1. “Apollo,” “Selene,” and “Aurora” are appositives to “children.” “God” is an appositive to
“Apollo,” and “goddess” is an appositive to “Selene” and “Aurora” respectively.
2. Appositive to “Selene,” which is an appositive to “sister.”
3. “Us” is the subject of the infinitive “look.” The infinitive phrase is the direct object of “let.”
4. Appositive to “Apollo”
5. Appositive to “Horæ”
6. Appositives to “tint”
7. “Supreme” is a predicate adjective in a palimpsest pattern in which “sits” is written over “is.”
See KISS Level 2.1.4 - Palimpsest Patterns.
8. This clause functions as an interjection. (See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct
Object?.) Most style books would claim that “fresco,” because it denotes the word itself,
should be in quotation marks or in italics. The structure of the clause itself is awkward in
that it defines a noun with a gerundive. This could lead into long discussions about what
nouns actually are—for example, the distinction between “essence” and “accident.”
9. This is a semi-reduced clause. See KISS Level 3.2.1 - Semi-Reduced and Other Ellipsed
Clauses.
10. “immortal” is a predicate adjective in an ellipsed infinitive construction—“her husband *to
be* immortal.” “Husband is the subject of the ellipsed infinitive, and the infinitive phrase
functions as the direct object of the infinitive “to make.” “Zeus” is the indirect object of
“asked” and the subject of the infinitive “to make.” That infinitive phrase functions as the
direct object of “asked.”
11. The infinitive “to ask” functions as the direct object of “forgot.”
12. This is an adverbial clause of condition. It is idiomatic and fairly rare.
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13. “Stop” is the direct object of the infinitive “to put.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb of purpose to “turned.”
14. Appositive to “son”
15. “King” is a retained predicate noun after the passive “was made.” The active voice version
would be “They made him *to be* king.” See KISS Level 5.7 - Passive Voice and Retained
Complements.
16. “Him” is the subject of the infinitive “fall.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “saw.”
17. Appositive to “brothers”
18. “Body” is the direct object of the infinitive “to take.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb (of purpose) to “sent.”
19. The infinitive “to weep” functions as an adverb (of purpose) to “came.”
Ex. 5. - Rewriting: Appositives & Subordinate Clauses
A.
1. App: Now, one {of them}, the girl
hanging {over the chasm}. |
[App]
, had actually rolled {out of the slide} and was
SC: Now, one of them, who was a girl, had actually rolled out of the slide and was
hanging over the chasm.
MC: Now, one of them was a girl, and she had actually rolled out of the slide and was
hanging over the chasm.
2. App: Here, too, the prevailing colours {of the mountains}, red [App] and white [App] and
green [App], most showed themselves (DO). |
SC: Here, too, the prevailing colours of the mountains, which were red and white and
green, most showed themselves.
MC: Here, too, the prevailing colours of the mountains most showed themselves. They
were red and white and green.
3. App: An hour [NuA] {after luncheon} [#1], one day [NuA], Polly, Hickory Hunt, her cousin
[App]
, and Wan Lee, a Chinese page [App], were crossing the nursery floor (DO) {in a
Chinese junk}. |
SC: An hour after luncheon, one day, Polly, Hickory Hunt, who was her cousin, and Wan
Lee, who was a Chinese page, were crossing the nursery floor in a Chinese junk.
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MC: Hickory Hunt was Polly's cousin. Wan Lee was a Chinese page. An hour after
luncheon, one day, Polly, Hickory, and Wan Lee were crossing the nursery floor in a
Chinese junk.
B.
1. MC: She would have taken Bridget (DO) {into her confidence}. | Bridget was her
nurse (PN). |
SC: She would have taken Bridget, who was her nurse, into her confidence.
App: She would have taken Bridget, her nurse, into her confidence.
2. MC: {On the ridge} they met one "Patsey (DO)." | He was the son (PN) {of a
neighbour}. |
SC: On the ridge they met one "Patsey," who was the son of a neighbour.
App: On the ridge they met one "Patsey," the son of a neighbour.
3. MC: Your Majesty's own dolly is Lady Mary (PN), | and she broke the spell (DO)! |
SC: Your Majesty's own dolly, who is Lady Mary, broke the spell!
App: Your Majesty's own dolly, Lady Mary, broke the spell!
Note
1. Note how “after luncheon” can be seen either as an adjective to “hour” and/or as an adverb to
“were crossing.” Based on the KISS Psycholinguistic Model, I’ve connected it to “hour”
because the perceiver’s brain tends to chunk as soon as meaningfully possible.
Ex. 6.a. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
1. {For my own part,} too many thoughts crowded my brain (DO), | too many insoluble
questions pressed {upon me}, | too many fancies kept my eyes half open [#1]. |
[#2]
2. The harpooner looked {at me} fixedly {for some moments} {before answering [#3] },
struck his broad forehead (DO) {with his hand} (a habit [#4] {of his} ), as if to
collect himself [#5], and said {at last}, [DO "Perhaps I have, Mr. Aronnax [DirA]."] |
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3. {During low water} the natives roamed about {near the Nautilus}, but were not
troublesome (PA); | I heard them (DO) frequently repeat the word [#6] "Assai,"
[#7]
| and {by their gestures} I understood [DO that they invited me to go [#8] {on
land}, an invitation [#9] [Adj. to "invitation" that I declined]]. |
4. I reckoned then [DO we should have eight hours (DO) to swim [#10] {before sunrise}
-- an operation [#11] quite practical [#12] [Adv. to "quite" if we relieved each other
(DO) ]]. |
5. To quit the Nautilus [#13] {under such conditions} would be as bad (PA) {as jumping
[#14]
} {from a train} going [#15] {at full speed} -- an imprudent thing [#16] , to say the
least [#17] {of it}. |
6. What was the good (PN) {of digging [#18]} [Adv. to "was" if I must be suffocated (P),
crushed [#19] {by the water} [Adj. to "water" that was turning {into stone}]] -- a
punishment [#20] [Adj. to "punishment" that the ferocity {of the savages} even
would not have invented]! |
7. I returned {to my room}, [#21] clothed myself (DO) warmly -- sea boots [#22], an
otterskin cap [#22], a great-coat [#22] {of byssus}, lined [#23] {with sealskin}; | I was
ready (PA), | I was waiting. |
8. Our prison was suddenly lighted (P) -- | [ [#24] that is to say [#24] ], it became filled (P)
{with a luminous matter}, so strong [#25] [Adv. (result) to "so" that I could not bear
it (DO) {at first} ]. |
Notes
1. Expect students to be confused here until they get to ellipsed infinitives in KISS Level 4.
“Eyes” is the subject, and “open” is a predicate adjective in an ellipsed infinitive
construction—“eyes *to be* half open.” The infinitive phrase is the direct object of “kept.”
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2. Because the last two main clauses are more specific versions of the first, cannot they be
validly explored as appositives to the first main clause?
3. “Answering” is a verbal (gerund) that functions as the object of the preposition.
4. “Habit” is an appositive to the finite verb phrase—“Striking his broad forehead with his hand
was a habit of his.”
5. You won’t find this one in the grammar textbooks. There are two ways to explain it. The first,
and probably the best is to view it as an ellipsed adverbial subordinate clause—“as if *he
wanted* to collect himself.” Some people, however, may prefer to see “as if” as a
preposition with the verbal (infinitive) “to collect himself” as the object of the preposition.
In either case, the construction modifies “struck,” and “himself” is the direct object of “to
collect.”
6. In KISS Level 4, students will learn that “them” is the subject of the infinitive “repeat,” and
“word” is its direct object. The whole infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of
“heard.”
7. “Assai” is an appositive to “word.”
8. “Me” is both the indirect object of “invited” and the subject of the verbal (infinitive) “to go.”
The infinitive phrase is the direct object of “invited.”
9. “Invitation” is an appositive to the finite verb “invited.”
10. The verbal (infinitive) “to swim” can be described as an adjective to “hours” and/or as an
adverb to “should have.”
11. “Operation” is an appositive to the “to swim” infinitive phrase.
12. “Practical” is a post-positioned adjective to “operation.” (See KISS Level 5.5.)
13. “Nautilus” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “To quit.” The infinitive phrase
functions as the subject of “would be.”
14. “Jumping” is a verbal (a gerund). Its function can be explained as being the object of the
preposition “as.” Some grammarians, however, prefer to see it as an ellipsed clause—“as
jumping from a train going full speed *would be bad*.”
15. “Going” can be explained as a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “train.” At KISS Level 5.8,
some people will prefer to see “train going” as the core of a noun absolute that functions as
the object of the preposition “from.”
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16. “Thing” is an appositive to the gerund “jumping,” and, by implication, to the infinitive “To
quit.”
17. “Least” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to say.” The infinitive phrase functions
as an interjection.
18. “Digging” is a verbal (a gerund).
19. “Crushed” can be explained as a gerundive to “I” or as an appositive to “suffocated.”
20. “Punishment” is an appositive to the preceding clause—“I must be suffocated, crushed . . . “
21. Note that there is no “and” joining the two finite verbs.
22. “Boots,” “cap,” and “great-coat” are appositives to the finite verb “clothed.”
23. “Lined” is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “great-coat.”
24. This is one that you will not find discussed in the grammar textbooks. The KISS view is to
explain “that is to say” as a clause that functions as an interjection, mainly because it is
metacommentary—text about the text. In essence, it says that the following main clause is a
restatement of the preceding main clause. And that makes the second main clause an
appositive to the first.
25. “Strong” is a post-positioned adjective to “matter.” See KISS Level 5.5.
Ex. 6.b. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sentence six includes grammatical errors because it is the speech of one of the characters.
1. He's not going to trouble himself (DO) {about you}, that's [#1] sure (PA) and
certain (PA). |
2. Once or twice a year [NuA] I'd go an' work {at the roses} a bit [NuA] -- prune [#2] 'em
(DO) an' dig [#2] {about th' roots}. |
3. Ben stood still (PA) [#3] [Adv. (manner) to "still" as if he were [#4] afraid (PA) to
breathe [#5] ] -- [ [#6] as if he would not have stirred {for the world}, [Adv. to "not"
(undesired result) lest his robin should start away]]. |
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4. And he stood {without stirring [#7] } -- almost {without drawing his breath [#7] } -- [#8]
[Adv. (time) to "stood" until the robin gave another flirt (DO) {to his wings} and
flew away]. |
5. He managed to make himself look taller [#9] [Adv. (comparison) to "taller" than he
had ever looked before] -- inches [NuA] taller [#10]. |
6. "They was afraid (PA) [Adv. (cause) to "afraid" his back was weak (PA)] | an'
they've always been takin' care (DO) {of it} -- keepin' [#11] him lyin' [#12] down and
not lettin' [#11] him walk [#13]." |
7. Colin's face looked dreadful (PA), white and red and swollen [#14], | and he was
gasping and choking; [#15] | but savage little Mary did not care an atom [NuA]. |
8. That night [NuA] Colin slept {without once awakening [#16] } | and [Adv. (time) to "lay"
and "smiled" when he opened his eyes (DO) {in the morning}] he lay still (PA) [#17]
and smiled {without knowing it [#18] } -- smiled [#19] [Adv. (cause) to "smiled" because
he felt so curiously comfortable (PA)]. |
9. He wondered [DO if Susan Sowerby had taken courage (DO) and written {to
him} only [Adv. (cause) to "had taken" and "written" because the motherly creature
had realized [DO that the boy was much worse (PA) -- was fatally ill (PA) [#20] ]]]. |
10. "They are daffodils (PN) and lilies (PN) and snowdrops (PN). | They are
working {in the earth} now -- pushing up pale green points [#21] [Adv. (cause) to
"pushing up" because the spring is coming]." |
Notes
1. Some people will consider the comma before “that’s” as an error—a comma splice. But with
the comma can not an argument be made that the “that” is an appositive to the preceding
main clause?
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2. The verbs “prune” and “dig” are appositives to “work.”
3. This is a palimpsest pattern with “stood” written over “was.” See KISS Level 2.1.4.
4. “Were” is in the subjunctive mood. See KISS Level 2.1.7.
5. The verbal (infinitive) “to breathe” functions as an adverb to the predicate adjective “afraid.”
6. The dash that precedes it and the repetition of “as if” imply that this clause functions as a
restatement of the preceding one, which it does. In essence, it functions as an appositive to
the preceding “as if” clause.
7. “Stirring” and “drawing” are verbals (gerunds) that function as objects of the preposition
“without.” “Breath” is the direct object of “drawing.”
8. Do no the dashes that set off the second prepositional phrase, the parallelism of the structures,
and the similarity in meaning, all make the second prepositional phrase an appositive to the
first?
9. “Himself” is the subject and “taller” is a predicate adjective of the verbal (infinitive) “look.”
That infinitive is the direct object of the infinitive “to make” which functions as the direct
object of “managed.”
10. The adjective “taller” is an appositive to the previous “taller.”
11. “Taking care” is explained as meaning “keeping him lying down and not letting him walk.”
Thus the verbs “keeping” and “letting” can be viewed as appositives to “taking.”
12. Most modern grammars do not view noun absolutes as functioning as nouns, but “him lying
down” is best explained as a noun absolute that functions as the direct object of “keeping.”
See KISS Level 5.8. The traditional explanation is to consider “him” the direct object of
“keeping” and “lying” a participle (KISS gerundive) that modifies “him.” The problem with
this view is that the sentence does not mean that they kept him. It means that they kept him
lying down.
13. “Him” is the subject of the infinitive “walk.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “lettin’.”
14. “White,” “red,” and “swollen” are adjectives that clarify the predicate adjective “dreadful.”
Thus they can be viewed as appositives to it.
15. Note how the semicolon emphasizes the shift from a focus on Colin to a focus on Mary.
16. “Awakening” is a verbal (gerund).
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17. “Lay still” is a palimpsest pattern with “lay” written over “was.” See KISS Level 2.1.4.
18. “It” is the direct object of the verbal (gerund) “knowing” that functions as the object of the
preposition “without.”
19. The verb “smiled” is an appositive to the preceding “smiled.”
20. The preceding dash suggests that the verb phrase “was fatally ill” is an appositive to the
preceding verb phrase “was much worse.”
21. “Points” is the direct object of “pushing.” Does not the preceding dash make “pushing” an
appositive to the verb “working”?
Ex. 7.a. - “The Last Hour,” by Ethel Clifford
O [Inj] joys [DirA] {of love} and joys [DirA] {of fame},
It is not you (PN) [Adj. to "you" I shall regret;] |
I sadden [Adv. to "sadden" lest I should forget
The beauty (DO) woven [#1] {in earth's name}:
The shout [#2] and battle [#2] {of the gale},
The stillness [#2] {of the sun-rising},
The sound [#2] {of some deep hidden spring},
The glad sob [#2] {of the filling sail},
The first green ripple [#2] {of the wheat},
The rain-song [#2] {of the lifted leaves},
The waking birds [#2] {beneath the eaves},
The voices [#2] {of the summer heat}.] |
Notes
1. Gerundive to “beauty.”
2. Appositive to “beauty.”
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Ex. 7.b. - From THE CHILDREN OF ODIN by Padraic Colum
{In those times} the Gods lived, Odin [#1] and Thor [#1], Hödur [#1] and Baldur [#1], Tyr
[#1]
and Heimdall [#1], Vidar [#1] and Vali [#1], as well as Loki [#1], the doer [#2] {of good}
and the doer [#2] {of evil}. | And the beautiful Goddesses were living then, Frigga [#3],
Freya [#3], Nanna [#3], Iduna [#3], and Sif [#3]. | But {in the days} [Adj. to "days" when the
Sun and Moon were destroyed (P) ] the Gods were destroyed (P) too -- all the Gods [#4]
{except Baldur} [Adj. to "Baldur" who had died {before that time}], Vidar [#5] and Vali [#5],
the sons [#6] {of Odin}, and Modi [#5] and Magni [#5], the sons [#7] {of Thor}. |
Notes
1. “Odin,” “Thor,” “Hödur” “Baldur,” “Tyr,” “Heimdall,” “Vidar,” “Vali,” and “Loki” are
appositives to “Gods.” (The easiest way to explain “as well as” is to consider it to be
idiomatic for “and.”
2. “Doer” is an appositive to “Loki.”
3. “Frigga,” “Freya,” “Nanna,” “Iduna,” and “Sif” are appositives to “Goddesses.”
4. This “Gods” is an appositive to the previous “Gods.”
5. “Vidar,” “Vali,” “Modi,” and “Magni” are additional objects of the preposition “except.”
6. This “sons” is an appositive to “Vidar” and “Vali.”
7. This “sons” is an appositive to “Modi” and “Magni.”
Ex. 8. - Just for Fun – “Andre, the Giant”
Andre, a simple peasant [#1], had only one thing (DO) {on his mind} [Adv. to
"had" as he crept {along the east wall}]: | "Andre creep [#2]... | Andre creep [#2] ... |
Andre creep [#2] ." |
Notes
1. “Peasant” is an appositive to “Andre.” This initial use of an appositive sets up the grammatical
ambiguity that follows.
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2. The humor here exists in the ambiguous grammatical function of “creep.” It could be a finite
verb, or it could be a predicate noun in an ellipsed S/V/C pattern, but the latter could also
make “creep” an appositive to “Andre.” It is also possible to see the three “Andre creep”
constructions as appositives to “thing.”
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 55..55 PPoosstt--PPoossiittiioonneedd A
Addjjeeccttiivveess
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
“Post-positioned adjectives” is actually a short-cut because, as the instructional material
indicates, most cases can be explained as ellipsed clauses based on an S/V/PN pattern. For
students who can understand appositives, this construction should be very easy to master, and it
is also important for statistical stylistic studies because it has the effect of tightening the style by
eliminating the pronoun and form of the verb “to be” that appear is subordinate S/V/PA clauses.
Some writers use this construction frequently; others don’t.
Probable Time Required
For students who have mastered clauses, two exercises should suffice.
Ex. 1.a - From Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Note how, in some cases, the post-positioned adjectives become separated from the nouns
they modify.
1. She has not the slightest desire (DO) to do something [#1] useful [PPA]. |
"something *that is* useful"
2. Heidi came running [#2] {to Peter}, {with her apron} full [PPA] {of flowers}. |
"apron *that was* full of flowers"
3. Something strange [PPA] and weird [PPA] was happening {in the house}. |
"Something *that was* strange and weird"
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4. "Yes, {of course}. | [#3] You can have several (DO) [Adv. (condition) to "may have" if
you have room (DO) {for them},"] [ [#4] the old man said, glad [PPA] to find a good
home [#5] {for the kittens}]. |
"man . . . *who was* glad"
5. Nothing remarkable [PPA] happened {for a few days}. |
"Nothing *that was* remarkable"
6. "This is a chair (PN) {for me} [#6]. | I am sure (PA) {of it} [Adv. to "sure" because
it is so high (PA)]. | How quickly it was made (P)!" [ [#4] said the child, full [PPA] {of
admiration and wonder} ]. |
"child, *who was* full"
7. [Adv. to "would run" When the wind would howl {through the fir-trees} {on those
stormy days}], Heidi would run out {to the grove}, thrilled [PPA] and happy [PPA] {by
the wondrous roaring} {in the branches}. |
"Heidi . . . *who was* thrilled and happy" ["Thrilled is also a gerundive.]
8. Soon Peter arrived, white [PPA] {with fear}, [Adv. to "white" [#7] for he thought [DO
his doom had come]]. |
"Peter . . . *who was* white"
9. [Adv. to "were surprised" When they had all come down {with terrified looks}], they
were most surprised (P) to see Mr. Sesemann [#8] fresh [PPA] and cheerful [PPA],
giving orders [#9]. |
"Mr. Sesemann *who was* fresh and cheerful"
10. Heidi had suddenly learned to read [#10] {with the utmost correctness}, most rare [PPA]
{with beginners}. |
"*which was* most rare" [Here we have a "which" that refers to a verb. See KISS
Level 3.2.4 - "Tag" and Other Questions about Clauses.]
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Notes
1. “Something” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to do.” The infinitive phrase
functions as an adjective to “desire.”
2. “Came running” is a palimpsest pattern with “came” written over “was.” See KISS Level 2.1.4
- Palimpsest Patterns.
3. In statistical studies, this would be counted as a main clause fragment.
4. KISS explains clauses like this one as interjections. For an alternative explanation, see KISS
Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct Object?
5. “Home” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to find.” The infinitive phrase functions
as an adverb to “glad.”
6. Like many of the prepositional phrases in this exercise, this one can be seen as an adjective
and/or as an adverb. In this case “for” me can be seen as describing “chair” and or “is.”
7. As a subordinating conjunction, “for” often introduces an adverbial clause of cause, but cause
in the sense that the clause gives not so much a direct cause/effect connection, but rather the
writer’s reason (cause) for what was just said. In this case, for example, the “for” clause
explains the writer’s reason for stating that Peter was white with fear. The “for” is a more
tentative “because”. See KISS Level 3.2.2 - “So” and “For” as Conjunctions.
8. “Mr. Sesemann” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to see.” The infinitive phrase
can be explained in two ways. It can be seen as an adverb (How?) to “were surprised.”
Alternatively, it can be seen as a retained subject after a passive verb—“To see Mr.
Sesemann fresh, cheerful, and giving orders most surprised them.” See KISS Level 5.7 Passive Voice and Retained Complements.
9. “Orders” is the direct object of the verbal (gerundive) “giving.” The gerundive phrase
modifies “Mr. Sesemann.”
10. The infinitive “to read” functions as the direct object of “had learned.”
Ex. 1.b. - Based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
1. Captain Farragut was a good seaman (PN), worthy [PPA] {of the frigate} [Adj. to
"frigate" he commanded]. |
A reduction of "seaman who was worthy . . . . "
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2. The sea, very calm [PPA], was {in our favor}. |
A reduction of "sea, which was very calm, . . . . "
3. He was tall (PA), had a large forehead (DO), straight nose (DO), clearly cut mouth
(DO), beautiful teeth (DO), {with fine tapered hands} [#1], indicative [PPA] {of a highly
nervous temperament}. |
A reduction of "hands, which were indicative . . . . "
4. The horizon, free [PPA] {from fog}, made observation (DO) easy [#2]. |
A reduction of "horizon, which was free . . . . "
5. I wondered [DO if Captain Nemo, foolishly imprudent [PPA], would steer his vessel
(DO) {into that pass} [Adj. to "pass" where Dumont d'Urville's two corvettes
touched]]; [Adv. to "wondered" [#3] when, swerving [#5] again, and cutting [#5] straight
{through *the pass*} {to the west}, he steered {for the island} {of Bilboa}]. |
A reduction of "Captain Nemo, who might be foolishly imprudent . . . . "
6. The earth seemed covered (P) {with verdure} {from the shore} {to the summits} {in the
interior}, [Adj. to "summits" that were crowned (P) {by Mount Kapogo}, 476 feet [NuA]
high [PPA] ]. |
A reduction of "Mount Kapogo, which was . . . high. "
7. A large gallery, black [PPA] and deep [PPA], opened {before us}. |
A reduction of "gallery, which was black and deep, . . . ."
8. I had wished to visit the reef [#5], 360 leagues [NuA] long [PPA], [Adj. to "reef" {against
which} the sea, always rough [PPA], broke {with great violence}, {with a noise} {like
thunder}]. |
A reduction of "reef, which was . . . long, . . . ."
A reduction of "sea, which was . . . rough, . . . ."
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9. {Under this} the Abraham Lincoln attained the mean speed (DO) {of nearly eighteen
knots and a third} an hour [NuA] -- a considerable speed [#6], but, nevertheless,
insufficient [PPA] to grapple [#7] {with this gigantic cetacean}. |
A reduction of "speed, but which was nevertheless insufficient . . . ."
10. Should I find {down there} a whole colony (DO) {of exiles}, [Adj. to "exiles" who,
weary [PPA] {of the miseries} {of this earth}, had sought and found independence
(DO) {in the deep ocean}]? |
A reduction of "who were weary . . . and had sought and found . . . ." [Does not the
reduction of "weary" to a post-positioned adjective de-emphasize it?]
Notes
1. What this “with” phrase exactly modifies will be a matter of debate. In one view, it modifies
the preceding direct objects.
2. At KISS Level 4, “observation easy” will be explained as an ellipsed infinitive construction—
“observation *to be* easy.” “Observation” is the subject and “easy” is the predicate
adjective to the ellipsed infinitive, and the entire infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “made.”
3. Note how the semicolon before “when” cuts it from the immediately preceding clause and
throws it back to “wondered.”
4. “Swerving” and “cutting” are verbals (gerundives) that modify the following “he.”
5. “Reef” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to visit.” The infinitive phrase is the direct
object of “had wished.”
6. “Speed” is an appositive to the preceding “speed.”
7. The verbal (infinitive) “to grapple” functions as an adverb to “insufficient.”
Ex. 2. – Rewrite: From MC to SC to PPA – From “The White Cat”
1. There was once a King who had three sons. | They were all handsome and brave. |
SC: There was once a King (PN) [Adj. to "King" who had three sons (DO),
[Adj. to "sons" who were all handsome (PA) and brave (PA) ]]. |
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PPA: There was once a King [Adj. to "King" who had three sons (DO), all
handsome [PPA] and brave [PPA] ]. |
2. The two elder sons had brought little dogs. | The dogs were so delicate and small
that one hardly dared to touch them. |
SC: The two elder sons had brought little dogs (DO) [Adj. to "dogs" that were so
delicate (PA) and small (PA) [Adv. to "so" that one hardly dared to touch
them [#1] ]].|
PPA: The two elder sons had brought little dogs so delicate [PPA] and small [PPA]
[Adv. to "so" that one hardly dared to touch them]. |
3. Then entered a little figure. | It was not two feet high. |
SC: Then entered a little figure, [Adj. to "figure" who was not two feet [NuA] high
(PA) ]. |
PPA: Then entered a little figure, not two feet high [PPA]. |
4. Where shall I find the dog, and a horse? | They must be swift enough for such a
journey. |
SC: Where shall I find the dog (DO), and a horse (DO) [Adj. to "dog" and "horse"
that are swift (PA) enough {for such a journey}]? |
PPA. Where shall I find the dog, and a horse swift [PPA] enough for such a
journey? |
5. Now he should like them to search, by land and sea, for a piece of linen. | It must
be so fine that it would pass through the eye of a very small needle. |
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SC: Now he should like them to search [#2] , {by land and sea}, {for a piece} {of
linen} [Adj. to "piece" and/or "linen" that is so fine (PPA) [Adv. to "so" that it
would pass {through the eye} {of a very small needle}]]. |
PPA: Now he should like them to search, by land and sea, for a piece of linen
so fine [PPA] [that it would pass through the eye of a very small needle]. |
Notes
1. “Dared” can be considered a helping verb, so that “to touch” becomes part of the finite verb
phrase, or “to touch” can be explained as an infinitive that functions as the direct object of
“dared/”
2. “Them” is the subject of the infinitive “to search.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct
object of “should like.”
Ex. 3. - “For flowers that bloom,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
{For flowers} [#1] [Adj. to "flowers" that bloom {about our feet}],
{For tender grass}, so fresh, so sweet [#2],
{For song} {of bird} and {*for* hum} {of bee},
{For all things} fair [#2] [Adj. to "things" we hear or see],
{For blue} {of stream} and {*for* blue} {of sky},
{For pleasant shade} {of branches} high [#2],
{For fragrant air and cooling breeze},
{For beauty} {of the blooming trees},
{For mother-love and father-care,}
{For brothers} strong [#2] and {*for* sisters} fair [#2],
{For love} {at home} and here [#3] each day [NuA],
{For guidance} [Adj. to "guidance" lest we go astray],
{For this new morning} {with its light},
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{For rest and shelter} {of the night},
{For health and food}, {for love and friends},
{For ev'rything} [Adj. to "ev'rything" His goodness sends],
Father [DirA] {in heaven}, we thank thee (DO). |
Notes
1. All of these parallel “For” prepositional phrases function as adverbs to “thank.”
2. These are post-positioned adjectives, reductions of “*that are* so fresh, and so sweet,” etc.
3. Although we could simply describe “at home” as an adjective to “love,” the adverb “here”
raises questions. To explain it, we need to look deeper into the structure of the sentence and
see, for example, “For love [*which is at home and here each day].” That makes “at home,”
“here” and “day” all adverbs to the ellipsed “is.”
The text from which this was taken is The Pathway to Reading: Fourth Reader, by Bessie Blackstone
Coleman, Willis L. Uhl, and James Fleming Hosic. N.Y.: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1926, p. 81. It
includes the following:
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 55..66 D
Deellaayyeedd SSuubbjjeeccttss
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
“Delayed Subjects and Sentences” simply denote sentences that have a placebo subject
(almost always “it”) with the meaningful subject delayed until later in the sentence. For example,
It is true that he was late.
means
That he was late is true.
Sometimes it may make more sense to consider the sentence, rather than the subject to be
delayed, as in
It was Bob who was playing baseball in his back yard,
means
Bob was playing baseball in his back yard.
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In cases like this, delaying the sentence puts more emphasis on the question of who was playing.
Ultimately, however, the delayed subject slides into the delayed sentence such that either
explanation can be considered acceptable. Consider:
It was in the seventh year of these hopeless peregrinations, in the dawn of a
similar springtime to that in which his wife had died, [that he came at last one
night to the vicinity of this self-same patch that crowned the rise to the Red Cliff].
Whether one considers the “that” clause a delayed subject or a delayed sentence is really a
question of terminology, so that either label can be accepted.
Because most delayed subjects are formed by infinitives or by subordinate clauses, the first
two exercises in the “complete” books focus on each of these separately. You might want to skip
these two, and start with the third exercise, which includes sentences that could be considered
delayed sentences. The fourth exercise is for additional practice, if needed. The fifth is a passage
for analysis, and the sixth asks students to write or find sentences and, at the teacher’s option,
create an exercise.
Students who have a solid command of subordinate clauses, and a minimal command of
infinitives should find delayed subjects relatively easy to master.
The origin and stylistic purpose(s) of this delaying construction might be an interesting topic
for a Master’s thesis. As noted above, it can be used to shift the meaningful focus. David Crystal,
a famous British linguist, offers another suggestion and illustrates it with the following two
sentences:
It was nice having John and Mary come and see us the other day.
Having John and Mary come and see us the other day was nice.
He then claims that “I have put this choice before thousands of people, over the years, and they
always opt for the first.” He suggests that “We do not like long subjects.” Thus we delay them.
(The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left. Oxford University Press, 2006.
128-129.)
Suggested Directions for Analytical Exercises
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,” or
“DO”).
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3. Place brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause. If the clause functions as a noun, label its
function. If it functions as an adjective or adverb, draw an arrow from the opening bracket to
the word that the clause modifies.
4. Place a vertical line after each main clause.
5. Label each delayed subject “DS.”
Probable Time Required: Two exercises?
Ex. 1 - Infinitives as Delayed Subjects - from Heidi by Johanna Spyri
1. It won't take long to learn [DS]. |
To learn won't take long.
2. It is difficult (PA) to understand [DS] him. |
To understand him is difficult.
3. It is impossible (PA) to instill [DS] any knowledge {into this being}. |
To instill any knowledge into this being is impossible.
4. It would take several hours [#1] to have [DS] her carried [#2] up {from Ragatz}. |
To have her carried up from Ragatz would take several hours.
5. It was awfully hard (PA) {for Heidi} to stop [DS] crying [#3] [Adv. [#4] when she had
once begun]. |
To stop crying when she had once begun was awfully hard for Heidi.
or
For Heidi to stop crying when she had once begun was awfully hard.
6. She told him (IO) [DO that it had not been her intention (PN) to leave [DS] Heidi
[#5]
{with him} long]. |
She told him that to leave Heidi with him long had not been her intention.
7. The boy thought [DO it was a more useful occupation (PN) to look [DS] {for hazelrods} { [#6] than to learn to read }], [Adv. [#7] for he always needed the rods (DO)]. |
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The boy thought that to look for hazel-rods was a more useful occupation than to learn to
read, for he always needed the rods.
8. I cannot say [DO how hard (PA) it is {for me to refuse Clara this trip [#8] } [DS] ]. |
I cannot say how hard to refuse Clara this trip is for me.
9. But grandfather [DirA], sometimes I felt [Adv. to "felt" as if I could not bear it (DO)
any longer to be away {from you}]! |
But grandfather, sometimes I felt as if I could not bear to be away from you any longer!
[This "to be" is not a delayed subject; it is an appositive. We might consider it a delayed
direct object, but the structure should be clear to students because the logic of delaying is the
same.]
10. Tinette had not even told the child (IO), [Adv. to "not" for she thought it *to be*
[#9]
{beneath her dignity} to speak [DS] {to the vulgar Heidi}]. |
Tinette had not even told the child, for she thought that to speak to the vulgar Heidi was
beneath her dignity.
Notes
1. “Hours” could be considered a direct object here, but some of us will see it as answering the
question “How long?” and thus consider it a Noun Used as an Adverb.
2. “Her carried” is the direct object of the delayed subject “to have.” It can be explained as an
ellipsed infinitive construction—“have her *to be* carried.” This perspective makes “her”
the subject of the infinitive “to be carried.” Alternatively, “her carried” can be explained as a
noun absolute that functions as the direct object of “to have.” See KISS Level 5.8 - Noun
Absolutes.
3. “Crying” is a verbal (gerund) that functions as the direct object of “to stop.” As the sentences
below it suggest, “to stop” can alternatively be explained as the object of the preposition
“for.” That makes the whole “for” phrase the delayed subject.
4. Some people will see this “when” clause as modifying “to stop”; others will view it as going
to “was.” Either explanation is acceptable.
5. “Heidi” is the direct object of “to leave.”
6. The verbal (infinitive) “to read” is the direct object of the infinitive “to learn.” “To learn”
functions as the object of the preposition “than,” and the “than” phrase chunks to “more.”
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[Some grammarians would argue that “than” here functions as a subordinating conjunction
in an ellipsed subordinate clause “than *it was useful* to learn to read.” This explanation is
also valid.
7. Two equally valid explanations are possible here. I have marked the “for” clause as if it
modifies “thought.” Others may see it as modifying “was,” which would put this clause
inside the direct object clause. One could argue that there is a difference in meaning, but the
difference is slight.
8. “Clara” is the indirect and “trip” is the direct object of the infinitive “to refuse.” For
alternative explanations, see Note 7.
9. Perhaps the best and easiest way to explain this is to see “it” as the subject of an ellipsed
infinitive “to be.” That makes “it” the subject of the infinitive, and the infinitive phrase the
direct object of “thought.”
Ex. 2 - Clauses as Delayed Subjects - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the
Seas
1. And, {in these disastrous times}, [ [#1] when the ingenuity {of man} has multiplied the
power (DO) {of weapons} {of war}], it was possible (PA) [Del Subj. that, {without
the knowledge} {of others}, a state might try to work such a formidable engine [#2] ]. |
2. "Well [Inj], Ned [DirA]," [ [#3] said I,] "is it possible (PA) [Del Subj. that you are not
convinced (P) {of the existence} {of this cetacean} [Adj. to "cetacean" that we are
following]]?" |
3. It is certain (PA) [Del Subj. that I soon came to, thanks [#4] {to the vigorous rubbings}
[Adj. to "rubbings" that I received]]. |
4. It is my opinion (PN) [Del Subj. that we shall never again see the like (DO)]. |
5. It was plain (PA) to see [#5] [Del Subj. that this Mediterranean, inclosed [#6] {in the
midst} {of those countries} [Adj. to "countries" which he wished to avoid [#7] ], was
distasteful (PA) {to Captain Nemo}]. |
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Notes
1. This “when” clause can be viewed as adjectival to “times’ and/or adverbial to “was.”
2. “Engine” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to work.” The infinitive phrase
functions as the direct object of “might try.”
3. KISS explains this clause as an interjection. See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct
Object?
4. I would explain “thanks” as a noun used as an adverb, but I’m fairly certain that some
grammarians would have other explanations.
5. The verbal (infinitive) “to see” functions as an adverb to “plain.”
6. “Inclosed” (so spelled in the original) is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “Mediterranean.”
7. The verbal (infinitive) “to avoid” functions as the direct object of “wished.”
Ex. 3 – From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
1. It is possible (PA) [Del Subj. that certain events, unforeseen [#1], may oblige me to
consign you [#2] {to your cabins} {for some hours or some days}, [Adv. to "to consign" as
the case may be]]. |
[That certain events, unforeseen, may oblige me to consign you to your cabins for some
hours or some days, [as the case may be,]] is possible.
or
Certain events, unforeseen, may possibly oblige me to consign you to your cabins for
some hours or some days, [as the case may be].
2. These polypi are found (P) particularly {in the rough beds} {of the sea}, {near the
surface}; | and consequently it is {from the upper part} [Del Subj. that they begin their
operations (DO) [Adj. to "operations" {in which} they bury themselves (DO) {by
degrees} {in the débris} {of the secretions} [Adj. to "secretions" that support them
(DO) ]]]. |
. . . and consequently they begin their operations in which they bury themselves by
degrees in the débris of the secretions that support them, from the upper part.
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3. However, it was only two months [NuA] before [Del Subj. that we had become,
{according to Captain Nemo} [#3] , "passengers (PN) {on board the Nautilus,}" but, {in
reality}, prisoners (PN) {of its commander} ]. |
However, only two months before we had become, according to Captain Nemo,
"passengers on board the Nautilus," but, in reality, prisoners of its commander.
4. It is {upon these banks}, and {on these waters}, [ [#4] says Michelet], [Del Subj. that
man is renewed (P) {in one} {of the most powerful climates} {of the globe} ]. |
Upon these banks, and on these waters, says Michelet, man is renewed in one of the
most powerful climates of the globe.
5. It was no common misanthropy (PN) [Del Subj. which had shut Captain Nemo
(DO) and his companions (DO) {within the Nautilus}], but a hatred (PN), either
monstrous [#5] or sublime [#5], [Adj. to "hatred" which (DO) time could never
weaken]. |
[What had shut Captain Nemo and his companions within the Nautilus] was no
common misanthropy , but *it was* a hatred, either monstrous or sublime, which time
could never weaken.
Notes
1. “Unforeseen” is a post-positioned adjective to “events,” a reduction of “events *that may be*
unforeseen . . . .”
2. “Me” is the subject, and “you” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to consign.” The
infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “may oblige.”
3. Although the writers of most grammar textbooks would consider this phrase to be adverbial,
note that it can also be considered an interjection.
4. KISS explains this clause as an interjection. See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct
Object?
5. “Monstrous” and “sublime” are post-positioned adjectives to “hatred.”
Ex. 4 - From My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales, by Edric Vredenburg
1. "Don't you know [DO it's a sin (PN) to steal [#1] ?"] [ [#2] roared the Beast]. |
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2. It was Suliman (PN) [Delayed Subject who had helped Zélie to escape [#2] ]. |
3. What good (DO) would it do {to him} to be handsome, rich, or powerful [#4] [Adv. to
"would do" if he were [#5] wicked (PA) ]? |
4. It seems {to me} [Delayed Sentence [#6] that a clever, faithful dog would be very good
company (PN) ]. |
5. Dear me [Inj] , it was shocking (PA), the way [#7] [Adj. to "way" those two sisters
grumbled]. |
Notes
1. The infinitive “to steal” functions as a delayed subject.
2. For an explanation that considers “roared” the verb in the main clause, see KISS Level 3.2.3 Interjection? Or Direct Object?
3. “Zélie” is simultaneously the indirect object of “helped” and the subject of the infinitive “to
escape.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “helped.”
4. “Handsome,” “rich” and “powerful” are predicate adjectives after the infinitive “to be.” The
infinitive phrase functions as a delayed subject.
5. “Were” is in the subjunctive mood. See KISS Level 2.1.7 - The KISS Perspective on the
Subjunctive Mood.
6. I have labeled this a delayed sentence because it would be very unusual for anyone to write or
say “That a clever, faithful dog would be very good company.” The clause, however, still
functions as a delayed subject because if we ask “What seems?” the answer is in the clause.
I would be perfectly happy if students simply label this clause as a delayed subject.
7. Here we have a relatively rare case of a noun phrase that functions as a delayed subject.
Ex. 5 - From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (A Passage for Analysis)
Nesbit splits this in two in her “Quotations from Shakespeare,” The copy of her text has a
semicolon, instead of a comma, after “fear,” and a comma after “come.” I have followed The
Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition, N.Y., 1997, p. 1553.
Cowards die many times [NuA] {before their deaths}; |
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The valiant never taste {of death} {but once} [#1]. |
{Of all the wonders} [Adj. to "wonders" that I yet have heard],
It seems {to me} most strange (PA) [Del Subject that men should fear [#2],
Seeing [#3] [DO of "Seeing" that death, a necessary end [#4],
Will come [Adv. to "will come" when it will come]]]. |
Notes
1. The “but once” phrase functions as an adverb to “never.”
2. The implied (ellipsed) direct object is “death.”
3. “Seeing” is a gerundive to “men.”
4. “End” is an appositive to “death.”
[Ex. 6 - Treasure Hunt (and/or Recipe Roster)]
K
KIISSSS L
Leevveell 55..77 PPaassssiivvee V
Vooiiccee &
&R
Reettaaiinneedd C
Coom
mpplleem
meennttss
N
Nootteess ffoorr T
Teeaacchheerrss
Why Teach (or Study) Active and Passive Voice?
The active / passive voice distinction is not central to sentence structure — is it not primarily
a question of nexus or modification. This means that students do not need the distinction in order
to explain how every word in any sentence chunks to the main S/V/C pattern. Why then should
they learn it? There are two answers to that question. First, it is important to good reading.
Passive voice eliminates the "doer" of the action expressed in the verb and thereby side-steps the
question of responsibility:
Taxes were raised.
A bomb was dropped.
Workers were laid off.
People who recognize passive voice are much more likely to ask "Who raised the taxes?" "Who
dropped the bomb?" "Who laid off the workers?" And, in turn, the "Who?" question leads to
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"Why?" Some teachers believe that the ability to recognize passive voice makes students more
responsible readers — and more effective citizens.
Unfortunately, other teachers forbid the use of passive voice. This is somewhat silly in that
these teachers forbid the use of passive voice in a context in which most students can't recognize
passive voice in the first place. The result is that the teachers object to passive voice, when they
recognize it in the students' writing, but students, not understanding, simply do what the teacher
says and shrug off the question. Thus, the second reason for teaching passive voice, especially in
a KISS context, is to enable students to understand — and even object to — what these extremist
teachers are demanding.
If passive voice did not have an important function in the language, it would not exist in the
first place. There are, as noted above, many cases in which the doer of the action is not known.
But there are many cases in which the doer is either obvious or irrelevant, for example, "In this
restoration project, the houses on Liberty Street will be torn down." And there are cases in which
the flow and focus of the information makes the passive more effective — "Tom Jones died
Wednesday. He was killed in an automobile accident." The focus here is on Tom Jones, and thus
putting "He" in the subject position makes much more sense than does "An automobile accident
killed him." Instead of simply forbidding passive voice, teachers should enable students to
recognize it, and then discuss the options — and the effects of these options — that passive voice
provides. Virginia Tufte presents an excellent explanation of the advantages of passive voice
(plus numerous examples) in her Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. (Graphics Press, 2006).
The Exercises in this Level
Exercises 1 a & b - Identifying Passive Voice
As suggested above, the main problem in the teaching of passive voice is that students are
not taught how to identify verbs in the first place. By the time they get to this KISS Level,
however, most students should be experts at identifying subjects and finite verbs. Thus
recognizing passives should be relatively easy -- and meaningful. The first two exercises in this
level simply help students recognize passive verbs as passives.
Exercise 2 - Passive Verb or Predicate Adjective?
The passive voice slides into predicate adjectives. For examples, consider two sentences:
a.) The ground was always frozen in the winter.
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b.) Bill was told that by a friend.
In (a.) "was frozen" is passive in form, but rarely, if ever, would anyone state who or what froze
it. The focus of the sentence is on the state (condition) of the ground. Thus, although the verb
form is passive, we can justifiably consider "frozen" a predicate adjective. Sentence (b.),
however, is definitely a passive verb because its active version is "A friend told Bill that."
When they are first learning to identify verb phrases, many students will mark "told" as a
predicate adjective. To address this problem, Exercise 9 back in Level 1.2 (Adding
Complements) pushed students to underline twice all passive verb forms. There, in other words,
they were encouraged to underline both "was frozen" and "was told" twice. Here, however,
students should be ready to understand and discuss the distinction.
Exercises 3 a – d - Rewriting from Passive to Active or Active to Passive
Seeing and manipulating are, of course, two different things. Exercises 4 and 5 give students
sentences in one voice and ask them to rewrite in the other. There are actually four exercises
here. Exercises 4a and 4b are relatively simple sentences not based on real texts. These exercises
are included in the books for every grade level. Exercises 5a and 5b are based on real texts and
are different in every grade level book.
Exercise 4 through 7 - Retained Complements
In a sentence such as "Sally was given a reward," "reward" is considered a retained
complement, retained from the active voice version, "They gave Sally a reward." In analyzing
randomly selected sentences you will probably find that most retained complements are either
infinitives or subordinate clauses. Thus KISS includes exercises that focus on each of these,
followed by a "mixed" exercise.
Exercise 8 - "To be to"
In analyzing randomly selected sentences, you may frequently run into cases of "to be" plus
an infinitive. They involve ellipsis and can be explained in two ways. Depending on the context,
they can be explained as active voice:
I was to sleep in my own stall.
I was *going* to sleep in my own stall.
or as passives with infinitives as retained direct objects:
I was *expected* to sleep in my own stall.
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The passive explanation is preferable when the context suggests that the subject is constrained
because someone else is doing the expecting, supposing, ordering, etc. (I have never seen a
grammar textbook deal with these.)
Exercise 9 - A Passage for Analysis
Thoughtful readers probably noticed that several of the points made above suggest that
context is important for understanding passive voice. That is the objective of these exercises.
Exercise - 10 - A Treasure Hunt
As noted, some teachers tell students not to use passive voice. This exercise, which is the
same in each grade level, invites students to find passages that contain passive voice and to
explore when and why actual writers (and speakers) use it.
Ex. 1.a. - From The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
1. The mysteriousness {of the morning} was explained (P) {to Mary}. |
2. She was not disturbed (P) {by the wails and the sound} {of things being carried [#1] in
and out} {of the bungalow}. |
3. [Adv. to "could have been expected" As Mary knew very little [#2] {of her mother}] she
could scarcely have been expected (P) to love her [#3] or to miss her [#3] very much
[Adv. to "to love" and "to miss" when she was gone (PA)]. |
4. "You are going to be sent (P) home [NuA]," [ [#4] Basil said {to her}]. |
5. But Mrs. Medlock was not {in the least} disturbed (P) {by Mary and her thoughts}. |
6. The walls were covered (P) {with tapestry} {with a forest scene} embroidered [#5] {on it}. |
7. She was displeased (P) {with his garden}. |
8. Mary was most attracted (P) {by the mother and Dickon}. |
9. Now she was followed (P) {by nobody}. |
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10. She found herself (DO) {in one long gallery} [Adj. to "gallery" whose walls were
covered (P) {with these portraits}]. |
Notes
1. “Being carried” can be described as a gerundive that modifies “things,” the object of the
preposition. At KISS Level 5.8, some people will prefer to view “things being carried” as
the core of a noun absolute that functions as the object of the preposition.
2. If we consider “little” as answering the question “knew what?” it would be a direct object.
Those who see it answering the question “knew how much?” will justifiably see it as a Noun
Used as an Adverb.
3. “Her” is the direct object of the verbals (infinitives) “to love” and “to miss.” The infinitives
are retained direct objects after the passive verb. (The active voice version would be
“*Someone* could have expected her to love and to miss. . . .”
4. KISS explains this clause as an interjection. See KISS Level 3.2.3 - Interjection? Or Direct
Object?
5. “Embroidered” is a verbal (gerundive) that modifies “tapestry.”
Ex. 1.b. - Based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri
1. {Across the room} a large kettle was suspended (P) {over the hearth}, and opposite [#1]
{to it} a large door was sunk (P) {into the wall}. |
2. Climbing up the ladder [#2], she arrived {at a hayloft}, [Adj. to "hayloft" which was
filled (P) {with fresh and fragrant hay}]. |
3. Here a neat little bed was already prepared (P). |
4. The old goat was sold (P) {to somebody} {in Mayenfeld} two days [NuA] ago. |
5. This poor little girl was confined (P) {to her rolling-chair} and needed a companion
(DO) {at her lessons}. |
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6. The uncle's heart is filled (P) {with gratitude} too deep [#3] {for any words} [Adv. to "is
filled" when the doctor tells him (IO) [DO that he will make ample provision
(DO) {for the child}]]. |
7. Clara was highly entertained (P) {by these events}, and said: [DO "Heidi has not
done it (DO) {on purpose} and must not be punished (P) ]." |
8. Only [Adv. to "could be heard" when she shrieked {for Sebastian}] could her voice be
heard (P). |
9. Mr. Sesemann had hardly left, [Adv. to "had left" when the grandmother's visit was
announced (P) {for the following day}]. |
10. {In the last week} {of Mrs. Sesemann's stay}, Heidi was called (P) again {to the old lady's
room}. |
Notes
1. “Opposite” is an adjective to “door.”
2. “Ladder” is the direct object of the gerundive “Climbing.” The gerundive phrase modifies
“she.”
3. “Deep” is a post-positioned adjective to “gratitude.” See KISS Level 5.5 - Post-Positioned
Adjectives.
PPaassssiivvee V
Veerrbb oorr PPrreeddiiccaattee A
Addjjeeccttiivvee??
Ex. 2. - From “Snow-White and Rose-Red”
In each of these sentences, the focus is more on the status of the subject rather than the act
by which it came to that status. In other words, who did it is not really relevant. Note that some
people may consider some of these as passive verbs, but alternative explanations are allowed.
The point is that some of these sentences CAN be seen as having predicate adjectives rather than
passive verbs.
1. The maidens {by this time} were quite used (PA) {to his ungrateful, ungracious ways}. |
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2. Their mother was satisfied (PA) {as to their safety}, and felt no fear (DO) {about
them}. |
3. The way {to the town} ran {over a common} [Adj. to "common" {on which} {in every
direction} large masses {of rocks} were scattered (PA) about]. |
4. [Adv. to "must remain" When the earth is frozen (PA) hard [#1] ], the bad dwarfs
must remain underground. |
5. It was sometimes hidden (PA) {in the grasses}. |
Note
1. Some people may prefer to see “hard” as an adverb, but note how close this is to a palimpsest
pattern with “is frozen” written over “is.” From this perspective, “hard” can also be seen as a
predicate adjective. See KISS Level 2.1.4 - Palimpsest Patterns.
Ex. 3.a. - Rewriting Passive Verbs as Active & Active as Passive
A. Passive to Active
1. Trees will be planted (P) {in the open spaces}. |
We will plant trees in the open spaces.
2. That toy was given (P) {to me} (IO) {by my best friend}. |
My best friend gave me that toy.
3. The picture {of the missing child} is being posted (P) everywhere. |
They are posting the picture of the missing child everywhere.
4. That movie will be seen (P) {by millions of people}. |
Millions of people will see that movie.
5. Definitions can now be found (P) {in on-line dictionaries}. |
You can now find definitions in on-line dictionaries.
B. Active to Passive
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1. My grandfather told that story (DO). |
That story was told by my grandfather.
2. Not everyone likes apples (DO). |
Apples are not liked by everyone.
3. Something or someone hurt Sammy (DO) {on Saturday}. |
Sammy was hurt on Saturday.
4. A neighbor found our dog (DO) a mile [NuA] {from here}. |
Our dog was found a mile from here by a neighbor.
5. They scheduled the school picnic (DO) {for Sunday}, May 23rd [#1]. |
The school picnic was scheduled for Sunday, May 23rd.
Note
1. “May 23rd” is an appositive to “Sunday.” See KISS Level 5.4 - Appositives.
Ex. 3.b. - Rewriting Passive Verbs as Active & Active as Passive
A. Passive to Active
1. The class play was attended (P) {by almost every parent}. |
Almost every parent attended the class play.
2. The mice {in the attic} [#1] were caught (P) {by the cat}. |
The cat caught the mice in the attic.
3. The homework was finished (P) early {by Rita}. |
Rita finished the homework early.
4. Toothpaste was smeared (P) all {over the bathroom mirror} {by my brother}. |
My brother smeared toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror.
5. Marines were parachuted (P) {onto the island}. |
Marines parachuted onto the island.
B. Active to Passive
1. My parents sold their old car (DO) {for $4,000}. |
Their old car was sold by my parents for $4,000.
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2. Someone stole cookies (DO) {from the cookie jar}. |
The cookies were stolen from the cookie jar.
3. Sarah kept her pet mice (DO) {in a big shoe box}. |
Sarah's pet mice were kept in a big shoe box.
4. Al found the needle (DO) {in a hay stack} [#2]. |
The needle in a hay stack was found by Al.
5. {Because of the rain}, Tom's bicycle left tracks (DO) all {over his parents' front lawn}. |
Because of the rain, tracks were left by Tom's bicycle all over his parents' front lawn.
Notes
1. Note the difference between “The mice in the attic were caught by the cat.” and “The mice
were caught in the attic by the cat.” The first implies that there were mice elsewhere. The
active voice version is ambiguous.
2. By considering this prepositional phrase an adjective, I’m implying that it is the proverbial
needle. If we consider the phrase to be adverbial, then “needle” means some other specific
needle.
Ex. 3.c. - From Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children
A. Passive to Active
1. Other poor men had been driven (P) {out of their homes} {by the Normans}. |
The Normans had driven other poor men out of their homes.
2. The river was swollen (P) {by the winter rains}. |
The winter rains swelled the river.
3. Robin was closely followed (P) {by the Bishop's men}. |
The Bishop's men closely followed Robin.
4. He was more and more delighted (P) {with his new companion}. |
His new companion delighted him more and more.
5. The venison was excellently cooked (P). |
They cooked the venison excellently.
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B. Active to Passive
1. [Adv. to "was" If it pierced and sorely wounded my heart (DO)], it was only the
bright glance (PN) {from her eyes}. |
If my heart is pierced and sore wounded, it is only with the bright glances from her eyes.
2. Soon the noise {of neighing and trampling horses} filled the woody paths (DO). |
Soon the woody paths were filled with the noise of neighing and trampling horses.
3. {After a few minutes} someone again bound up the wound (DO) to stop the blood
flowing [#1]. |
After a few minutes the wound was bound up again to stop the blood flowing.
4. The Sheriff caught one (DO) {of Robin's men} and locked him (DO) up {in prison}. |
One of Robin's men was caught by the Sheriff and locked up in prison.
5. {In those days} people used very seldom to write letters [#2] . |
In those days letters were very seldom written.
Note
1. First of all, the infinitive “to stop” functions as an adverb (of purpose) to “bound.” There are
several ways to explain “blood flowing.” Many people will probably prefer to use an
explanation that uses an ellipsed “from”—“to stop the blood *from* flowing.” This view
makes “flowing” a gerund that functions as the object of the preposition. The prepositional
phrase can be seen as adverbial to “to stop,” and “blood” would be the direct object of “to
stop.” Another alternative is to see “flowing” as a gerundive that modifies the direct object
“blood.” Perhaps a better explanation is to see “blood” as a noun used as an adverb to
modify the gerund “flowing.” This makes “flowing” the direct object of “to stop.”
2. “Letters” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to write.” The infinitive phrase
functions as an adverb (of purpose) to “used.”
Ex. 3.d. - From The Queen of the Pirate Isle, by Bret Harte
A. Passive to Active
113
1. The dark passage was illuminated (P) {by candles}. |
Candles illuminated the dark passage.
2. {At the mouth} {of the other tunnels} they were greeted (P) {by men} [Adv. (manner) to
"were greeted" as if they [#1] were carrying tidings (DO) {of great joy}]. |
At the mouth of the other tunnels men greeted them as if they were carrying tidings of great
joy.
3. Part {of her existence} had been passed (P) {as a Beggar Child}. |
She passed part of her existence as a Beggar Child.
4. Patsey was {at once} enrolled (P) | and the banana *was* eaten (P). |
They enrolled Patsey at once and ate the banana.
5. It could only be discovered (P) {by a person} [Adj. to "person" who could not possibly
know [DO that he or she had discovered it (DO)]], [Adj. to "person" who never
could or would be able (PA) to enjoy it [#2] ], [Adj. to "person" who could never see
it (DO), never feel it (DO), never, {in fact} know anything (DO) {at all} {about it }]! |
This passive version may be preferable to the active voice version. In the active voice, the
main subject and verb are separated by three parallel “who” clauses, the first of which itself
includes a subordinate clause. The last two contain compounded finite verbs. Such
separation of subject and verb makes the sentence difficult for many people to read. The
active voice puts the verb (and the meaningful subject) at the beginning, followed by the
subordinate clauses.
Only a person [Adj. to "person" who could not possibly know [DO that he or she
had discovered it (DO)]], [Adj. to "person" who never could or would be able
(PA) to enjoy it [#2] ], [Adj. to "person" who could never see it (DO), never feel it
(DO), never, {in fact} know anything (DO) {at all} {about it }], could discover it
(DO)! |
B. Active to Passive
114
1. The entire band {of Red Rovers} accompanied them (DO). |
They were accompanied by the entire band of Red Rovers.
2. Patsey's father worked this "diggings." (DO) |
These "diggings" were worked by Patsey's father.
3. The faces {of the men} below [#3] paled {in terror}. |
The faces of the men below were paled in terror.
4. The others repeated his extraordinary bow (DO) {with more or less exaggeration} {to
the point} {of one humourist losing his balance [#4] }! |
His extraordinary bow was repeated by the others with more or less exaggeration to the
point of one humourist losing his balance!
5. Then they saw the extended figure detach [#5] [DO of "detach" what looked {like a
small black rope}] {from its shoulders} and throw it [#5] {to the girl}. |
Then the extended figure was seen to detach what looked like a small black rope from its
shoulders and throw it to the girl.
Notes
1. You might want to have students discuss the ambiguity of the pronoun reference in this
sentence. Who is the “they”? in the “if” clause—“men”? or “them”?
2. “It” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to enjoy.” The infinitive phrase functions as
an adverb to the predicate adjective “able.”
3. “Below” is a preposition with its object ellipsed—“below *them*.” The phrase identifies
which men are meant so it functions as an adjective.
4. “Balance” is the direct object of “losing.” “Losing” can be explained as a verbal (gerundive)
that modifies “humorist,” the object of the preposition. At KISS Level 5.8, some people will
prefer to see “humourist losing balance” as the core of a noun absolute that functions as the
object of “of.”
5. “Figure” is the subject of the verbals (infinitives) “detach” and “throw.” (“It” is the direct
object of “throw.”) The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “saw.”
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Ex. 4. - An Exercise on Retained Complements
Note: The image in the exercise is from an illustration by William Nicholson for Margery Williams' The
Velveteen Rabbit. The text and illustrations are available at Project Gutenberg.
1. Candice was given (P) a hug (RDO) {by her grandmother}. |
From the active voice -- Her grandmother gave Candice a hug.
2. Ann was made (P) president (RPN) {of the Black Beauty Book Club}. |
From the active voice -- They made Ann *to be* president of the Black Beauty Book Club.
[In the active version, the direct object of "made" is the ellipsed infinitive phrase Ann *to
be* president.]
3. The class was sung (P) a song (RDO) {about Thanksgiving}. |
From the active voice -- Someone sang the class a song about Thanksgiving.
4. {After a long conference} {among the refs}, the game was considered (P) a tie (RPN). |
From the active voice -- After a long conference among the refs, they considered the game
*to be* a tie. [See # 2.]
5. Dwayne had been chosen (P) the leader (RPN) {of the club}. |
From the active voice -- They chose Dwayne to be the leader of the club.
6. The rabbit will be made (P) comfortable (RPA) {in a soft, cozy nest}. |
From the active voice -- They made the rabbit *to be* comfortable in a soft, cozy nest. [See
# 2.]
7. The suspect was found (P) innocent (RPA) {after a long trial}. |
From the active voice -- After a long trial, they found the suspect *to be* innocent. [See #
2.]
8. The door had been held (P) open (RPA) {by a small rock} {from the path}. |
From the active voice -- A small rock from the path held the door *to be* open. [See # 2.]
9. Wanda was tickled (P) pink (RPA) {by the new toy}. |
From the active voice -- The new toy tickled Wanda *to be* pink. [See # 2.]
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10. The children had been told (P) a story (RDO) {about a Velveteen Rabbit}. |
From the active voice -- Someone had told the children a story about a Velveteen Rabbit.
Ex. 5. - Retained Complements (Clauses) from Heidi by Johanna Spyri
1. Grandmama was told (P) [RDO how the miracle had happened]. |
Active Voice: Someone told Grandmama how the miracle had happened.
2. Soon it was resolved (P) [RDO that everybody should visit the grandmother (DO)
[#1]
]. |
Active Voice: Soon they resolved that everybody should visit the grandmother.
3. [Adv. to "beamed" When they were told (P) [RDO that Clara might stay {for a
month or so}]], their faces beamed more than ever [#2]. |
Active Voice: When someone told them that Clara might stay for a month or so, their faces
beamed more than ever.
4. The butler was told (P) [RDO that he should get ready (PA) {for travelling [#3] }
{with the child} ]. |
Active Voice: Someone told the butler that he should get ready for travelling with the child.
5. She was informed (P) [RDO that it was not safe (PA) {for anybody}], and [RDO
that only goats could climb such dreadful heights (DO)]. |
Active Voice: Someone informed her that it was not safe for anybody, and that only goats
could climb such dreadful heights.
Notes
1. Out of context it may sound somewhat strange, but this sentence could also be explained as a
delayed subject. “That everybody should visit the grandmother was soon resolved.” See
KISS Level 5.6 - Delayed Subjects and Sentences.
2. The quick and easy explanation of “than ever” is to consider it a prepositional phrase that
modifies “more.” People who feel uncomfortable with “ever” as the object of a preposition
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can explain “than ever” as an ellipsed subordinate clause - “than they had ever beamed
before.”
3. “Travelling” is a gerund that functions as the object of “for.”
Ex. 6. - Infinitives as Retained Complements Based on Black Beauty
1. I was forced (P) to gallop {at my utmost speed}. |
“To gallop” is a direct object retained from the active—“Someone forced me to gallop at my
utmost speed.” In the active version, “me” is the subject of the infinitive “to gallop,” and the
infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “forced.”
2. She was brought (P) to be {with me}. |
The infinitive “to be” can be explained here as functioning as an adverb (of purpose) to “was
brought.” Alternatively, however, it can be viewed as a direct object retained from the
active—“Someone brought her to be with me.” In this active version, “her” can be seen as
the subject of the infinitive, and the infinitive phrase as the direct object of “brought.”
3. I often noticed the great speed (DO) [Adj. to "speed" {at which} butchers' horses were
made (P) to go]. |
“To go” is a retained direct object from the active—“Someone made the butcher’s horses go
. . . .”
4. The drayman was proved (P) to be very drunk, and was fined (P). |
“Drunk” is a predicate adjective after the infinitive “to be.” The infinitive is a retained direct
object from the active—“They proved the drayman to be very drunk, and he was fined.”
5. They were obliged (P) to put strong straps {under our bodies}, | and then we were
lifted (P) {off our legs} {in spite} {of our struggles}, and were swung (P) {through the
air} {over the water}, {to the deck} {of the great vessel}. |
“Straps” is the direct object of the infinitive “to put.” The infinitive phrase is a retained
direct object from the active—“Something obliged them to put . . . .” In the active voice
version, “them” is the subject of the infinitive “to put,” and the infinitive phrase functions as
the direct object of “obliged.”
6. Horses are used (P) to bear their pain {in silence}. |
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“Pain” is the direct object of the infinitive “to bear.” Some grammarians would consider “are
used to bear*ing*” as the finite verb here, and that explanation is acceptable within KISS.
However, if we consider “are used” as meaning “are accustomed,” then the infinitive phrase
can be considered a retained direct object from the active “Their life accustoms horses to
bear their pain . . . .” As still another alternative, we could consider the infinitive as
functioning as an adverb to “are used.”
Ex. 7. - Retained Complements (Mixed) based on Heidi by Johanna Spyri
1. [Adv. to "came" When he was made (P) master (RPN) [#1] ], he came home [NuA] {to
the village} and married my sister (DO) Adelheid [#2]. |
When they made him master, . . . .
2. She is convinced (P) [RDO that an old Sesemann is wandering about, expiating
some dreadful deed [#3] ]. |
Someone convinced her that old Sesemann . . . .
3. Tinette was told (P) to prepare Heidi [#4] {for her departure}. |
Someone told Tinette to prepare . . . .
4. The happy grandmama was told (P) [RDO that Heidi had suddenly learned to read
[#5]
{with the utmost correctness}, most rare [#6] {with beginners}]. |
Someone told the happy grandmama that . . . .
5. The butler, hardly able to keep his countenance [#7] , was told (P) to place [#8] the dish
{on the table} and leave the room [#8]. |
Someone told the butler . . . to place . . . .
6. Here she was also given (P) her lessons (RDO). |
Here they also gave her her lessons.
7. {After that} the child was told (P) how (RDO) to accost the servants and the
governess [#9] ]. |
After that they told the child how . . . .
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8. He was named (P) "Alm-Uncle" (RPN) [#1] [Adv. to "was named" when he moved up
{to the Alm}]. |
The people named him "Alm-Uncle" . . . .
9. Heidi was puzzled (P) what to do [#10] next, | but having discovered a bell [#11], she
pulled it (DO) {with all her might}. |
What to do next puzzled Heidi, but . . . .
10. Often she could hardly repress her sobs (DO) and was obliged (P) to make the
strangest faces [#12] to keep herself [#13] {from crying [#14] out}. |
Notes
1. KISS explains the active voice versions of these as ellipsed infinitive phrases that function as
direct objects. For example, in “they made him master,” “him” is the subject and “master” is
the predicate noun to an ellipsed “to be” --“made him *to be* master.”
2. “Adelheid” is an appositive to “sister.”
3. “Deed” is the direct object of the gerundive “expiating.” The gerundive phrase modifies
“Sesemann.”
4. “Heidi” is the direct object of the infinitive “to prepare.” The infinitive phrase functions as a
retained direct object.
5. The infinitive to “read” functions as the direct object of “had learned.”
6. “Rare” is a post-positioned adjective in a rare “which” clause -- “*which was* most rare . . . .”
This “which” refers to the entire “Heidi had suddenly learned to read with the utmost
correctness.” See the KISS Level 3.2.4 - “Tag” and Other Questions about Clauses.
7. “Countenance” is the direct object of the infinitive “to keep.” The infinitive phrase functions
as an adverb to “able,” which is a post-positioned adjective to “butler.”
8. “Dish” is the direct object of the infinitive “to place” and “room” is the direct object of the
infinitive “to leave.” The infinitives function as retained direct objects after the passive “was
told.”
9. “Servants” and “governess” are direct objects of the infinitive “to accost.” The infinitive
phrase functions as an adjective to “how.”
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10. The infinitive “to do” functions as an adjective to “what.” The phrase can be explained in at
least three different ways: 1.) as a delayed subject, 2.) as the object of an ellipsed preposition
-- “*by* what to do next,” or 3.) as a retained complement after the passive “was puzzled.”
11. “Bell” is the direct object of the gerundive “having discovered.” The gerundive phrase
modifies “she.”
12. “Faces” is the direct object of the infinitive “to make.” The infinitive phrase can be seen as
an adverb to “was obliged,” but it can also be seen as a retained complement after the
passive verb. [True, we would rarely say, “Something obliged her to make strange faces,”
but just because we do not use the active voice version does not mean that we cannot explain
the passive form.]
13. “Herself” is the direct object of the infinitive “to keep.” The infinitive functions as an adverb
(of purpose) to “to make.”
14. The gerund “crying” functions as the object of the preposition “from.”
Ex. 8. - “To be” plus an infinitive based on Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
1. I was *expected* (P) to give him (IO) a rest (DO) here. |
Or “I was going to give ....” The passive is a transformation of the active “They expected
me to give him a rest here.”
2. He was *told* (P) to ride steadily. |
Or “He was *going* to ride steadily.” The passive is a transformation of the active
“They told him to ride steadily.”
3. I understood [DO that I was *supposed* (P) to go on, [Adj. to "to go on" which (DO
of "did") {of course} I did, glad [Adv. to "glad" that the stone was gone (PA)], but
still {in a good deal} {of pain}]]. |
Or “I was *going* to go on. . . . “ The passive is a transformation of “they supposed
me to go on . . . . “ (“Go on” can be considered a phrasal verb meaning “continue.”)
For more on the explanation of “which,” see “The Witch in ‘Which’ (and “Who’)” in
KISS Level 3.2.4.
“Glad” is a post-positioned adjective to “I,” as is the prepositional phrase “in a good
deal of pain.”
“Gone” is a gerundive that functions as a predicate adjective.
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4. {In this place} I was *destined* (P) to get my experience (DO) {of all the different
kinds} {of bad and ignorant driving} [Adj. to "driving" {to which} we horses are
subjected (P) ]. |
Or “I was going to get . . . .” Here we get into the philosophical, but the passive
version implies that something else causes him to get the experience. It would be the
passive of “something destined me to get.”
Grammarians disagree as to whether “driving” is a gerund or a “regular” noun.
“Horses” is an appositive to “we.”
5. James was *ordered* (P) to drive them. |
Or “James was *going* to drive them. The passive is a transformation of the active voice,
“The master ordered James to drive them.”
Ex. 9.a. - Sheep-Shearing, From McGuffey’s Second Reader
Sheep are washed (P) and sheared (P) some time [NuA] {in the month} {of June}. | This
should be done (P) quite early {in the month}, [Adv. to "early" before the hot days begin]. |
It is fine sport (PN) {for those} [Adj. to "those" who look on], but not much fun
(PN) {for the sheep}. |
It is best (PA) {for the sheep} to have the wool taken [#1] off; | otherwise they would
suffer {in the summer time}. |
[Adv. to "are driven" When the time comes {for washing the sheep [#2] }], they are
driven (P) {to a pond or a little river}. |
Then they are thrown (P) {into the water}, one [NuA] {at a time}. | The men [Adj. to
"men" who are {in the water}] catch them (DO), and squeeze the wet wool (DO) {with
their hands} to get the dirt [#3] all {out of it}. |
[Adv. to "are taken" When the wool is thoroughly dried (P),] the sheep are taken (P)
{to the shearer}; | and he cuts off the wool (DO) {with a large pair} {of shears}. |
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It is then dyed (P), spun (P), and woven (P) {into cloth}. |
{In a short time}, [Adv. to "grows" before the cold winter comes], new wool grows
out {on the sheep}. | {By the coming} {of spring} there is so much (PN), [Adv. (result) to
"so" that it must be cut (P) off again]. |
Notes
1. “Wool taken” can be explained as a noun absolute, or it can be explained as an ellipsed
infinitive “the wool *to be* taken”. See “Ellipsed Infinitives” in KISS Level 4, and see
KISS Level 5.8 - Noun Absolutes. In either case, “wool taken” functions as the direct object
of the infinitive “to have.” The infinitive phrase functions as a delayed subject—“To have
the wool taken off is best for the sheep.” See KISS Level 5.6 - Delayed Subjects and
Sentences.
2. “Sheep” is the direct object of the gerund “washing.” The gerund phrase functions as the
object of the preposition “for.”
3. “Dirt” is the direct object of the infinitive “to get.” The infinitive phrase functions as an
adverb (of purpose) to “squeeze.”
Ex. 9.b. - 7th Heaven, by a sixth grade student
7th Heaven is being taken (P) {off the air}. | Many viewers are disappointed (P)
{in the failing show}. | People {throughout the world} watch this show (DO). |
There are several points (PN) to be made [#1] {about this show's good qualities}. |
{For example}, the fact [Adj. to "fact" this show has been {in the 95%} {of most popular
shows} {for four years}] has been overlooked (P). | It has stayed popular (PA) [Adv.
to "has stayed" because people want to see family [NuA] based shows [#2] , [Adj. to
"shows" which [#3] 7th Heaven is.]] | {Throughout the world} disappointed viewers have
been hoping for just one more season (DO) {of their favorite weeknight show}. |
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[Adv. to "mentioned" [#4] When talking {with producers} {of 7th Heaven}], they
mentioned [DO of "mentioned" the show would be shut down (P) {because of the cost}.]
| One idea lit a spark (DO) {in my head}. | A FUNDRAISER! [#5] | This would not only
raise enough money (DO) {for the show}, | but it would prove the show's popularity
(DO). | {On August 29, 2000,} 2,000,000 letters went out {in seven different languages}
requesting a small fee [#6] [
[#7]
if able to.] | {Within the first week}, we had raised 1,200,
396 dollars (DO). | The fund raiser worked well, | but the producers just wouldn't
crack. | That day [NuA] it was rainy (PA) and cold (PA). | A letter was received (P) {by a
family} {in New York City}. | It stated [DO of "stated" that [Adv. to "would watch" when
their family had any problems (DO) {with growing [#8] up}], they would watch 7th
Heaven (DO).] | The show was an excellent way (PN) to open up space [#9] {for discussion
and family time}. |
The letter was given (P) {to the producers and cast}. | It was decided (P) {with help}
{from us}. | 7th Heaven will survive one more season (DO). |
Notes
1. The verbal (infinitive) “to be made” functions as an adjective to “points.”
2. “Shows” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to see.” The infinitive phrase functions
as the direct object of “want.”
3. The easiest way of analyzing this is to consider the “which” as a predicate noun (pronoun
functioning as a predicate noun, if one wants to get technical) in the clause “which 7th
Heaven is.” Note that the “which” has two functions, 1) PN in the clause, and 2) subordinate
conjunction, attaching the clause to “shows.” This double function of some pronouns is
more easily seen in constructions such as:
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That is the boy [who won the race].
That is the boy [whom John saw in the park].
In the first sentence, “who” is the subject of “won,” whereas in the second, “whom” is
the preferred form because it functions as the direct object of “saw.”
Some people may prefer a more complex explanation of “which 7th Heaven is,” because
they may view is as meaning “which is [what 7th Heaven is].” In this view, “what” functions
as the predicate noun in the pattern “7th Heaven is what,” and the subordinate clause
functions as the predicate noun of “which is.” Note, by the way, that this is a long
explanation for a construction that this sixth grade writer had no trouble in handling.
4. This is a semi-reduced clause, and there is a problem with it. Normally, clauses can be semireduced when the subject of the clause is identical to the subject of the clause that the
subordinate clause is modifying. For example, “When going to the store, she lost her purse”
implies “When *she was* going to the store, she lost her purse.” But if we expand the
sentence this sixth grader wrote, we get “When *they were* talking with the producers of 7th
Heaven, they ....” Technically, this means “When the producers were talking with the
producers of 7th Heaven, the producers ....”
How much of a problem is this? Some teachers will claim, with reason, that a reader can
easily understand what is meant, so the problem is not serious. Other teachers may consider
it to be a serious flaw. Personally, I would usually ignore a flaw such as this in a sixth
grader’s writing. There are usually reasons for the errors in students’ writing, and the more I
think about this one, the more I begin to see some humor in it. First of all, the research
suggests that the average student begins to develop cognitive command of subordinate
clauses in seventh grade. We are dealing with a sixth grader and a construction that goes
beyond simple subordination to the reduction of a clause.
Next, the simplest way to “correct” such as error is to supply the meaningful subject. If
we do this, and we consider what may have been going on in the writer’s mind, we find the
following. The correction would be—“When I was [or we were] talking with the producers
of 7th Heaven . ...” Now wouldn’t that be the dream of a sixth grader whose favorite program
is 7th Heaven. Almost too much to ask for. Well, probably too much to ask for. And thus, the
“I” or “we” gets suppressed, and the construction ends up being flawed. The juggling that
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was going on in the writer’s working memory may be further reflected in the fact that
“mentioned” was spelled “mensioned.”
5. “A Fundraiser!” is a fragment, but note that it is easily processed as an appositive to “idea.”
6. “Fee” is the direct object of the verbal (gerundive) “requesting.” The gerundive phrase
modifies “letters.”
7. I would not expect students to get this until after they were VERY comfortable with analyzing
subordinate clauses. “If” always functions as a subordinate conjunction. In order to explain
the structure of “if” clauses, we often need to state a fair number of ellipsed words. In this
case, the full structure is “requesting *that people send* a small fee if *they are* able to
*do so*.” Thus the “if” clause is adverbial to “send,” and the “that” clause is the direct
object of “requesting.”
8. “Growing” is a verbal (gerund) that functions as the object of the preposition “with”
9. “Space” is the direct object of the verbal (infinitive) “to open.” The infinitive phrase functions
as an adjective to “way.”
Notes for and from the Pennsylvania 2000-2001
Writing Assessment Handbook Supplement
This is a sample based on Prompt #2 for “Focus” with an assessment of 2. The
handwriting is fairly legible. The writer spells “disappointed” as “dissipointed.”
The reasons given in the Supplement for the assessment of 2 are:
This student begins the essay expressing that “7th Heaven” should not be taken off the air. Then
he or she loses focus and writes about “A FUNDRAISER!” instead of persuading the station to
keep the show on the air. There is no apparent point achieved though the student does stay on
topic. (p. 11)
A
Appppeennddiixx
In addition to explaining the codes and colors used in the analysis keys, this key is also
called “The KISS Grammar Toolbox.” It presents, in very brief form, all the essential concepts
that students will need to learn in order to explain, and thus intelligently discuss, how any word,
in any English sentence, functions within that sentence.
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The KISS Grammar Toolbox
With the exception of passive voice (which is required to understand retained complements),
this list includes all the concepts and constructions that students need in order to explain the
function of any word in any sentence. In effect, it is the KISS Toolbox. The following colors and
codes are used throughout the analysis keys in the KISS Workbooks.
Two KISS Concepts
Compounding – Coordinating Conjunctions
Whereas most grammar texts explain compounding in multiple places (compound subjects;
compound verbs, compound clauses, etc.) KISS treats compounding as a concept. Any identical
parts of speech (such as adjective and adjective) or any construction can be compounded, usually
by using "and," "or," or "but"). Once students can be expected to identify the constructions that
are being joined, the conjunctions are coded orange.
Ellipsis – The Omission of Understood Words
The analysis keys indicate words that are ellipsed by placing them between asterisks –
*You* close the door.
KISS Levels One and Two
Subjects and finite verbs are underlined, with subjects colored green and finite verbs blue.
(Html does not allow for double underlining of finite verbs.) Complements are in brown and
labeled: PN (Predicate Noun); PA (Predicate Adjective); IO (Indirect Object); and DO (Direct
Object). A (P) after a finite verb indicates that it is in passive voice.
Adjectives and Adverbs are not always identified, but when they are, adjectives are in green
and adverbs in blue. In some of the upper level keys, adjectives and adverbs are identified simply
by being in smaller type to show how much of the text students can already be expected to
analyze. Sometimes they are not colored because the result is a confusion of colors. Likewise,
once students have some experience identifying prepositional phrases, I do not usually ask them
to draw arrows from simply adjectives and adverbs to the words they modify. Doing so often
results in a confusion of lines on the students' papers.
Prepositional Phrases are identified {by braces}. The words in adjectival phrases are in
green; adverbial; phrases are in blue because we are more interested in the functions of phrases
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than in the functions of individual words. Embedded phrases and the phrases they are embedded
in are underlined when the directions specifically call for identifying the embeddings.
KISS Level Three
Subordinate clauses are identified (P) {by red brackets}. The function {of the clause}
follows the opening bracket (DO). Subordinate conjunctions [Adj. to "conjunctions" that have
no other function (DO)] are {in bold red}. A vertical line "|" identifies the end (DO) {of each
main clause}. |
KISS Level Four
The functions of verbals (gerunds, gerundives, and infinitives) are explained in notes.
KISS Level Five
All these constructions are identified by bracketed, superscript links that lead to the basic
instructional material about them.
Expletives (It and There) [Exp]
Noun Used as an Adverb [NuA]
Interjection [Inj]
Direct Address [DirA]
Appositive [App]
Delayed Subject [DS]
Post-Positioned Adjective [PPA]
Retained Complements [RDO], [RPN], [RPA]
Noun Absolute [NAbs]
If additional explanation is needed, links are included in notes at the bottom of the page.
Using the KISS Analysis Keys
Originally, there were analysis keys for each KISS level for each KISS exercise. They used
a lot of paper so they have been replaced by one key, a key in which every word in every
sentence is explained. My assumption is that parents and teachers will usually know which
words students should be expected to explain. In many cases, the keys include notes about this.
But this can be confusing for teachers who are not themselves comfortable with KISS
terminology. Consider a couple of examples.
An exercise in KISS Level 1.5 (Adding Prepositional Phrases) includes the sentence:
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The corn which had been sowed in the field over the field-mouse's home grew up high
into the air, and made a thick forest for the poor little girl, who was only an inch high.
The first thing we should note is that this is a very sophisticated sentence for a grammar
textbook. The directions for this exercise are:
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,”
or “DO”).
In the analysis key, you will find it analyzed as:
The corn [Adj. to "corn" which had been sowed (P) {in the field} {over the fieldmouse's home}] grew up high {into the air}, and made a thick forest (DO) {for the
poor little girl}, [Adj. to "girl" who was only an inch [NuA] high (PA).] |
Based on the directions, you should expect the students to analyze the following:
The corn which had been sowed {in the field} {over the field-mouse's home}
grew up high {into the air}, and made a thick forest (DO) {for the poor little
girl}, who was only an inch high (PA).
In other words, you can ignore the rest of the analysis. It is there as information for parents and
teachers who want to know how to analyze every word. You are, of course, always welcome to
ask questions on the KISS Grammar List or the Yahoo Grammar Group about sentences in
exercises (or any other sentences).
Creating Directions for Your Students
The directions for KISS analytical exercises are in the Master Books for each level and also
in the exercises in the workbooks. Don’t forget, however, that you can adapt these directions to
suit the needs of your own students. The only things I would suggest is that once students get to
prepositional phrases, the following basic sequence should usually be used. (Numbers 3 and 4, of
course, would be added in KISS Level 3.)
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements (“PA,” “PN,” “IO,” or
“DO”).
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3. Place brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause. If the clause functions as a noun, label
its function.
4. Place a vertical line after each main clause.
Because students will already have the sentences to be analyzed one paper in front of them, they
will not have to copy sentences, etc. It therefore should take them very little time to do these four
things, and these four mark out the major parts of most sentences.
Directions for KISS Punctuation Exercises
Punctuation exercises are very easy for anyone to create. Simply select a short text, remove
all the punctuation marks, change capital letters to lower case, and give the students the text with
the following directions:
Directions: The punctuation and capitalization in the following text was lost.
Please fix it (right on this page).
These exercises will be most effective if they are followed by a class discussion of various
changes that students made, particularly if the students are also shown the punctuation in the
original passage.
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Directions for Sentence-Combining Exercises
The following directions are standard for KISS sentence-combining exercises. I give them
here so that you can use them to create your own exercises without confusing students by
changing directions that they may be accustomed to. These are, I should note, the directions that
were used for the "Aluminum" passage created by Roy O'Donnell.
Read the passage all the way through. You will notice that the sentences are
short and choppy. Study the passage, and then rewrite it in a better way. You may
combine sentences, change the order of words, and omit words that are repeated
too many times. But try not to leave out any of the information.
Directions for De-Combining Exercises
Many of the sentences in the following selection are long and complex.
Rewrite the passage, breaking each sentence into as many shorter sentences as
you can. Then consider the stylistic differences between the original and your
rewritten version.
Although textbooks tend to focus on combining exercises, de-combining may be as or more
important than combining exercises. Developmental psychologists such as Piaget and Vygotsky
claimed that reversibility -- the ability to undo a mental operation -- is a sign of cognitive
mastery. More specifically in terms of syntactic maturity, de-combining exercises can help
students see the relationships between ellipsed and reduced forms (such as verbals) and the
simpler "underlying" sentences. Finally, decombining exercises give students a somewhat
different perspective on style since they will find some sentences very difficult to decombine.