Download The Absolute Phrase - Ms. Mallery`s Classroom

Ms. MALLERY
English 10
Name
______________________________________________________
Parts of Speech in Summary
NOUN: a word that names something: a person, place, thing, or idea.
Function: Subject of clause………….Love is precious.
Object of the preposition….Mary threw the ball off the deck.
Noun head of a noun or absolute phrase…Jim, a man of few words, is shy.
Examples: Hope springs eternal. Gene asked his boss for a raise, pleading poverty. Jean asked her boss for a
raise. The boss, a woman of a few words, agreed to both raises, her employees both reacting with surprise.
Note: Pronouns often but not always function as nouns, and nouns are often identifiable by certain suffixes,
i.e., -s (plural), -ness, -tion, -ity, -ance, -ence, -logy, -er, -or, -ment, -ship. Also, nouns can function as
adjectives (ex., The highway department is on vacation.) and present participles (known as gerunds) can
function as nouns (ex., Fishing is relaxing.)
Practice: In the following paragraph, underline nouns that act as the subject of a clause.
The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother, filed into the
barn, cheeping feebly and wandering from side to side to find someplace where they would not be trodden
on. Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings nestled down inside it
and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap,
came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar.
-Excerpt from Animal Farm by George Orwell
VERB: a word that expresses action or existence. “Verb, it’s what you do!” –NIKE
Function: Verb of a clause…..Erin ran to the store.
Used to form verbal (verb phrases-one or more helping verbs and a main verb)…Kim
must have been embarrassed.
Types: Action Verb (ran, walk, spit, lunge, hit, etc.)
Linking Verb: be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being, smell, look, taste, remain, feel, appear,
sound, seem, become, grow
Helping Verb: shall, will, could, would, should, must, can, may, have, has, do, does, did,
am, is, are, was, were, been
Examples: Carrie threw the tomato. She was angry. She had been harassed.
Note: Verbs that form verbals (past and present participles and infinitives) do not function as verbs. They are
nouns or modifiers. Verbs are often identifiable by certain suffixes: -ed (past tense), -ate, -ize, -ify.
Practice: In the following paragraphs, underline all verbs of clauses including verbs used to form verbal.
The deportees were quickly forgotten. A few days after they left, it was rumored that they were in Galicia,
working, and even that they were content with their fate.
Days went by. Then weeks and months. Life was normal again. A calm, reassuring wind blew through our
homes. The shopkeepers were doing good business, the students lived among their books, and the children
played in the streets.
-Excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel
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ADJECTIVE: a word used to modify a noun
Special Types: Noun determiner, including—
Articles: a, an, the
Possessives: her, my, Rita’s, etc.
Numbers: Two, second, last, none, many, all, etc.
Examples: The detective found our car three hours after we hired him.
Note: Past and present participles can function as adjectives. Also, adjectives are often identifiable by certain
suffixes: -ate, -ive, -al, -ic, -y, -ful, -ous, -less.
Practice: Fill in the blanks using adjectives that describe/modify the noun.
1. Cary is a/an ___________________ girl who loves to be a soldier in the army!
2. The ___________________ book captured my attention as I turned each page.
3. A/an _________________________, devoted Marine saved a little boy’s life before he could run into the
line of fire.
4. Max received ___________________ cards when he was in the hospital.
ADVERB: a word used to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs
Examples: She snores loudly. It is a rather detestable annoyance. It very often wakes us.
Note: Adverbs tell how, when, where, why, how often, how much, in what manner, and under what
condition. Many adverbs end in –ly.
Practice: Fill in the blanks with appropriate adverbs. Circle the verb/adjective/ adverb it modifies.
1. He ran __________________ into the barracks to shield himself from the bullets flying through the air.
2. After he returned, Rex ______________ showered, ate, and slept so he could return to duty the following
day.
3. Mike is a hero because of his willingness to _____________ defend his country.
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PREPOSITION: a word (or group of words) that shows the relationship between its object (a noun) and some
other word in the sentence, i.e., a preposition is the first word in a prepositional phrase.
List: (these are just a select few!) along, behind, because of, beyond, off, of, in, like, for, during, out, out of,
outside, through, throughout, to, with, without, etc.
Example: The fish fell off my hook.
Note: Prepositions are often confused with adverbs because the prepositional phrase often functions as an
adverbial phrase.
Practice: Circle the prepositions in the flowing paragraph.
Because of the war, many military personnel have been distant from their families. Americans have rallied
together throughout this difficult time to show their support for our men and women soldiers, attempting to
make them feel at home wherever they may be. Without their heroic efforts, freedom would not be one of
the many things we enjoy in our country.
CONJUNCTIONS: a word that connects individual words or group of words. At this point, we will be considering
only coordinating conjunctions, which connect only the same or grammatically similar words or groups of words.
List: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
Practice: In the following paragraph, underline the coordinating conjunctions.
Every winter, districts in Kabul held a kite-fighting tournament. And if you were a boy living in Kabul, the
day of the tournament was undeniably the highlight of the cold season. I never slept the night before the
tournament. I’d roll from side to side, make shadow animals on the wall, even sit on the balcony in the dark, a
blanket wrapped around me. I felt like a soldier trying to sleep in the trenches the night before a major battle.
And that wasn’t so far off. In Kabul, fighting kites was a little like going to war.
-Excerpt from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
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Reviewing Parts of Speech (Function)
Directions: Identify all of the underlined words below and label their parts of speech as they function in the given
sentence. Some word pairs function as a single part of speech, i.e., helping verb or compound preposition.
1. Having so much time on his hands, George thought of going to summer school, but the kids in his classes
would be too young. –Malamud
time:___________________
in: ______________________
on: ____________________
would be: ________________
school: _________________
too: _____________________
but: ___________________
young: ___________________
2. When the house, a five-room railroad flat above a butcher store, got on his nerves, he cleaned it up—
mopping the floors with a wet mop and putting things away. -Malamud
Railroad: ___________________
on: ________________________
above: _____________________
cleaned: ___________________
butcher: ___________________
wet: _______________________
store: ______________________
things: ____________________
3. During the sultry days some of the storekeepers and their wives sat in chairs on the thick, broken sidewalks
in front of their shops, fanning themselves, and George walked past them and the guys hanging out on the
candy store corner.
-Malamud
during: ____________________
broken: ____________________
sultry: _____________________
George: ____________________
their: ______________________
walked: ____________________
sat:________________________
candy: _____________________
thick: ______________________
corner: ____________________
4. He thought of the jobs he had had since he quit school—delivery boy, stock clerk, runner, lately working in
a factory—and he was dissatisfied with all of them.
-Malamud
jobs:_______________________
stock:______________________
quit:_______________________
lately: ______________________
Now it’s your turn! In the space below, create TWO of your own compound sentences and label them according to their
parts of speech.
5.
6.
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Phrase Review
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
Structure: Preposition + (Modifiers) + Noun + (Modifiers) = the preposition + following phrase
Examples: Rhet went to school.
Rhet went to a new school.
Rhet went to a new school in Pennsylvania.
Notes: The modifiers before the noun are generally adjectives with occasional adverbs modifying those
adjectives. The modifiers after the noun will be prepositional phrases, participial phrases, or relative clauses.
The noun is referred to as the object of the preposition. Therefore, when pronouns are used they should be
objective case, i.e., me, him, her, us, and them.
Function: Most often prepositional phrases are either adverbial or adjectival. The examples are adverbial,
modifying the verb went, except in Pennsylvania which modifies the noun school.
Prepositions:
about
above
according to
across
after
against
along
along with
among
apart from
around
as
as for
at
because of
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
beyond
but*
by
by means of
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concerning
despite
down
during
except
except for
excepting
for
from
in
in addition to
in back of
in case of
in front of
in place of
inside
in spite of
instead of
into
like
near
next
of
off
on
onto
on top of
out
out of
outside
over
past
regarding
round
since
through
throughout
till
to
toward
under
underneath
unlike
until
up
upon
up to
with
within
without
NOUN PHRASE
Structure: Noun Determiner + Modifiers + Noun + Modifiers
Examples: The car, a red 1994 Mustang, was demolished.
The car, a red 1994 Mustang with a sunroof, was demolished.
Notes: Noun phrases always modify a noun by RENAMING that noun. Noun phrases are always FREE
and they (almost) always follow the noun they modify.
Practice: Fill in the blanks with your own noun phrase.
1. Mark, __________________________________________, rode the tank into the desert.
2. The book, _____________________________________, kept my attention from page to page.
3. _______________________________________, Billy had a heart of gold & loved to help those in need.
Create TWO of your own sentences use a noun phrase in each.
1.
2.
PRESENT PARTICIPIAL PHRASE
Structure: Verb+ING + complements and/or modifiers
Examples: Karl, folding his arms, listened.
Karl, standing with his arms folded, listened.
Function: Present participial phrases function as either nouns (gerunds) or adjectives modifying
nouns.
Examples: Folding his arms related a clear message.
Folding his arms, Karl just listened.
Notes: Present participial phrases may begin with an adverb, i.e., Slowly folding his arms, Karl
listened. Consider clarity when deciding to make present participial phrases either embedded or free.
Present participial phrases functioning as adjectives and modifying the subject can be placed either
in the initial, medial, (right after the subject), or final position.
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Examples: Knowing the consequences, Juana threw the pearl.
Juana, knowing the consequences, threw the pearl.
Juana threw the pearl, knowing the consequences.
Practice: Create THREE sentences incorporating present participial phrases.
1.
2.
3.
PAST PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
Structure: Verb + ED or EN or N + Modifiers
Examples: Forced up the tree, the bear just growled.
The dog, seen in room 225, is obviously lost.
The gift, bought at Sam’s, was appropriate.
Function: Past participial phrases function as adjectives modifying a noun.
Notes: Part participial phrases may begin with an adverb, i.e., Recently bought at Sam’s, the gift was
appropriate. Past participles CANNOT be followed by a complement (i.e., noun). Consider clarity when
deciding to make past participial phrases either embedded or free. Past participial phrases modifying the
subject can be placed either in the initial or medial (right after the subject) position.
Practice: Fill in the blanks with an appropriate past participial phrase to complete the sentences.
1. ________________________________, the night grew cold.
2. Shane, __________________________, made it through basic training.
3. The robot, __________________________, was obviously an intelligent machine.
You’re turn! Write two sentences of your own using past participial phrases in each!
1.
2.
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INFINITIVE PHRASE
Structure: TO + Verb + Modifiers
Examples: To know more grammar is his goal.
His efforts to be successful were fruitful.
To be successful, one must be focused.
Function: Infinitives function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Notes: Initial infinitive phrases are usually free modifiers. Otherwise, infinitive phrases are embedded.
Modifiers must not be placed between to and the verb (called a “split” infinitive.) Be careful not to confuse
an infinitive with a prepositional phrase beginning with to.
Examples: Infinitive—to wander around the school
Preposition—to the highest level
Practice: In the following sentences, identify if the underlined phrase is either infinitive or prepositional by
placing an I or P in the space provided.
1. _________ To love fondly is the best kind of love to give.
2. __________ Mary knows what it takes to be successful in her difficult psychology course.
3. ________ Jim shouted, “To the store we go!”
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Verb Forms
Infinitive &
Present Tense
Walk
Run
Take
Talk
Teach
Hurt
Buy
Have
Know
Fill
Burst
Need
Catch
Eat
Lie (fib)
Lie (down)
Lay
Break
Bring
Shrink
Freeze
Set
Sat
Speak
Do
Come
Rise
Raise
Swim
Drink
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Past Tense
Past Participle
Present
Participle
Regular OR
Irregular
Phrase Review
Directions: Circle the Head Word and identify the Type of Phrase that is underlined.
Sentence:
Type of Phrase:
1. The trees, a grove of white pine, were ready to be cut.
___________________________
2. The trees growing along Owego Creek are helpful in preventing erosion.
___________________________
3. The trees seen from where you are standing are red oak.
___________________________
4. The trees on this hill will be used for firewood.
___________________________
5. The trees were ready to be cut.
___________________________
6. Standing on the corner, Claude could see the whole parade.
___________________________
7. Clothed in a stunning gown, the girl looked so mature.
___________________________
8. The car, a red Miata, was the perfect contrast to her dress.
___________________________
9. The floats made by each class were especially creative this year.
___________________________
10. One float, representing TV cartoons, looked very spooky.
___________________________
11. Another float, created by very talented students, was sure to win.
___________________________
12. Still another, a recreation of stone-age home, demonstrated much class spirit.
___________________________
13. Claude, an exchange student from France, watched with interest.
___________________________
14. He had never seen anything quite like it, having only been in the United States one week.
___________________________
15. The football players rode in a dump truck borrowed from who knows where.
___________________________
16. At that point, Claude met Juana, recently arrived from Mexico.
___________________________
17. They smiled at one another, realizing their inability to communicate with one another.
___________________________
18. Coming to the rescue, Ms. Hospie informed them that she spoke both French and Spanish.
___________________________
19. The two smiled again, embarrassed by their dilemma.
___________________________
20. Thus began the love story, a story that would end happily.
___________________________
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Generating Interesting Sentences
This is an example Christensen includes in "A Generative Rhetoric of the Sentence";
1 He shook his hands,
2 a quick shake,
3 fingers down,
4 like a pianist. -Sinclair Lewis
Each addition to the base clause of this sentence downshifts on the part that comes before it. Christensen
numbers the levels to illustrate how deeply the downshifting goes (there are four levels to this sentence) and
how one can use this concept to think of sentences in terms of movement.
Here's another example Christensen includes from a master stylist:
2 Calico-coated,
2 small bodied,
2 with delicate legs and pink faces
3 in which their mismatched eyes rolled wild and subdued,
they huddled,
2 gaudy motionless and alert,
2 wild as deer
2 deadly as rattlesnakes
2 quiet as doves. --William Faulkner
This use of downshifting can be effectively paired with work on sentence combining. It can also be the first
step in a short session on playing with sentences, generating them for no other reason than, well, to play with
them.
Here's a sentence one of my students produced after we began looking at constructions this way (he's writing
about Jimi Hendrix, of course);
In the wail of the high notes and the deep distorted chords you feel the people's suffering and protest, you
feel Vietnam, you feel slavery, civil unrest and the plight of all the peoples in the United States.
Levels of Generality Review
Level: Base Clause (subject-verb)/Most General
May be divided by Medial (middle) Modifier
Level 2: Modifies Base Clause Directly
May come before Base Clause
Level 3 and Up: Modifies other Modifiers
Level 3 must follow or be in Level 2, etc.
Sentences can only begin Level I or Level 2.
All diagrams have an even number of slashes: one for where it was and one for what it is.
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Some sentences contain more than one Base Clause.
1.
1 A man on a dirt bike passed us,
2 moving cautiously along the ridge.
2.
2 While watching him ascend,
1 we were overcome by a passing wave of body odor.
3.
2 Before his companion reached us,
I we had left the trail
Direction of movement
Feeling sick, Stephanie leaned against the railing. (Moves to the right)
Stephanie leaned against the railing, feeling sick. (Moves to the left)
Levels of generality
(Additions add either a new base or more specific--less general--information to a base).
A. 2 Feeling sick,
1 Stephanie leaned against the railing.
B. 1 Stephanie leaned against the railing,
2 feeling sick,
2 wishing she were dead.
C. 1 The boat rocked and heaved, and
1 Stephanie leaned against the railing,
2 feeling sick.
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Levels of Generality: Starting Simple
The following sentences are provided to refresh you on the basics of levels of generality. Diagram each of
them carefully on a separate piece of paper. HINT: Find the base clause first!
1. A man on a dirt bike passed us, moving cautiously along the ridge.
2. While watching him ascend, we were overcome by a passing wave of body odor.
3. Before his companion reached us, we had left the trail.
4. We explored an old house foundation, pondering who had lived there.
5. Our thoughts wandered back through history, back to the days of pioneers.
6. Growing in the middle of the foundation was a small tree-a pin oak.
7. The cellar way, now just a gap in the foundation, faced to the west.
8. The bikers, probably both in their thirties, were obviously in good shape.
9. The male biker, however, was in need of a good shower.
10. As we descended the hill, he came nearer again, his forehead beaded with sweat.
11. We stepped aside, turning our heads and holding our breath.
12. He approached a fallen tree, one overgrown with moss, "overgrown" with decay.
13. Suddenly, as if hitting a wall, he stopped.
14. Before we realized it, he had reversed his bike, heading again in our direction.
15. Both of us, not wishing to seem obvious, slowed our pace-almost to nothing.
16. We tried to smile, but it was obviously strained, at least so it seemed to us.
17. Instead of passing us, though, he turned up the hill, circling around the fallen tree.
18. We resumed our descent, and before long, the companion came up from behind.
19. Her fragrance-unlike her male counterpart's-was pleasant, and our smile was genuine.
20. Our supposedly solitary hike, uninterrupted from that point on, resumed its affable nature, our thoughts
pondering the end of summer.
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Reviewing Levels of Generality
Directions: Diagram the following sentences by levels of generality as the teacher assigns them.
1. Having so much time on his hands, George thought of going to summer school, but the kids in his classes would
be too young. - Malamud
2. When the house, a five-room railroad flat above a butcher store, got on his nerves, he cleaned it up--mopping the
floors with a wet mop and putting things away. - Malamud
3. During the sultry days some of the storekeepers and their wives sat in chairs on the thick, broken sidewalks in front
of their shops, fanning themselves, and
George walked past them and the guys hanging out on the candy store comer. Malamud
4. He thought of the jobs he had had since he quit school—delivery boy, stock clerk, runner, lately working in a
factory- and he was dissatisfied with all of them.
5. Tough drunk, he looked the same as always, except for his tight walk, the quietness, and that his eyes were wet. Malamud
6. Unable to reply, he shut his eyes, but when- years later- he opened them, he saw that Mr. Cattanzara had, out of
pity, gone away. - Malamud
7. Malamud grew up in Brooklyn, where his parents- Jewish immigrants from
Russia---owned a neighborhood grocery store. - Knapp
8. Along with the theme of suffering, one finds in Malamud the theme of the
meaningful life, which is the antithesis of the "unlived life," against which his
characters are always contending. - Rahv
9. On the other hand, as we walked through the tough part of town, walking in the dark, with light and singing
coming out of the wine shops, and sometimes having to walk into the street when the men and women would crowd
together on the sidewalk so that we would have had to jostle them to get by, we felt held together by there being
something that had happened that they, the people who disliked us, did not understand. - Hemingway
10. The three with the medals were like hunting-hawks; and I was not a hawk,
although I might seem a hawk to those who had never hunted; they, the three,
knew better and so we drifted apart. - Hemingway
11. When he came back, there were large framed photographs around the wall, of all sorts of wounds before and after
they had been cured by the machines. Hemingway
12. When he was Hemingway the Writer- that is, when he was writing at his best—was disciplined, subtle and
profoundly engaged with the ethical and moral implications of the smallest human action. - Knapp
13. In fact, Hemingway was a highly educated man, a most sensitive man; like many artist, he felt the need to protect
his inner self from the public. - Knapp
14. At the end of the story, the major refuses to look at the photograph; he stares out the window at the landscape,
which- although it is not again described-we know is a wintry one. – Knapp
15. For most of his life Faulkner lived in Oxford, Mississippi, which became-in his stories- Jefferson, the county seat
of the legendary region about which he wrote his greatest books. - Knapp
16. I feel that this award was not made to me as a man but to my work—a life's work in the agony and sweat of the
human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something
which did not exist before. - Faulkner
17. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively
low in the heavens, I had been passing along, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country. - Poe
18. The radiance was that of the full, setting and blood-red moon, which now shone vividly through that once barely
discernible fissure, of which I have before spoken as extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction, to
the base. - Poe
19. A few days before Christmas, on the night of a full moon, Frank, dressed in his new clothes, hurried to the library,
about a dozen blocks from the grocery. Malamud
20. To her grandfather, the flowers are reminders of his dead wife, including his love for her, while to Cress they
symbolize the sweetness of nature and the exuberance and vitality she feels. - Knapp
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Crafting Sentences
Writers often add sophistication to their writing by revealing certain things to the audience instead of telling them. They
do this by adding various punctuation, phrases, and modifiers to their writing.
Here is a simple sentence which includes a noun and a verb:
Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece.
Too add more to this simple sentence, we can add a single-word modifier to make it more interesting:
Night is Elie Wiesel’s emotional masterpiece.
Because we added one modifier to this sentence, it gave the writer a voice- it reveals his/her feelings towards this
novel. To add an even stronger voice, we can place a double modifier in the sentence:
Night is Elie Wiesel’s emotional and touching masterpiece.
With a double modifier, the writer lets the audience hear his/her voice clearly-it’s clearly defined. Notice how the
sentence reveals the voice of the writer. We then can vary the placement of the modifiers in the sentence:
Emotional and touching, Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece.
Night, emotional and touching, is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece.
Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, emotional and touching.
Each varied sentence directs the reader’s attention in a new way. Along with variation, punctuation can also add new
information as well as give new meaning to sentences:
Night is Elie Wiesel’s emotional and touching masterpiece;
______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________. (Add an idea that discusses the book’s effect
on the reader)
Night is Elie Wiesel’s emotional and touching masterpiece:
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________. (Add an idea that explains why it is touching.
Night—__________________________ --is Elie Wiesel’s emotional and touching masterpiece.
(Provide background information on the author or historical context.)
Each punctuation signals to the reader how to relate ideas in a sentence. They also add sophistication and complexity
to a simple sentence.
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The Absolute Phrase
The absolute phrase is an extremely useful tool to any writer interested in engaging his or her reader. Used mostly in
narrative and/or descriptive writing, it allows the reader to visualize a scene, individual, etc., as the writer him or
herself viewed the very same scene.
Following is some information that will allow you to understand why and how the absolute phrase is used. We will
also cover how you can use this form.
1. Why use the absolute phrase?
a. To condense writing: In other words, instead of having a series of sentences that all relate to one another in
some way, certain words are removed since they really are not necessary for the reader of the sentence to
understand what is being said in the total sentence.
Example: Take these sentences:
The Corvette cruised down the highway. Its engine was quietly humming. The car's driver was
listening to the tape The Best of the Rolling Stones.
As they are written, the sentences provide information about what was happening at the same time as the Corvette
was cruising down the highway. However, there is nothing interesting or engaging about those sentences as written.
To cure this problem, we will transform the sentences that describe what was happening as the car cruised down the
highway, making them into absolute phrases. The new, improved model, so to speak, looks like this:
The Corvette cruised down the highway, its engine quietly humming, its driver listening to the tape
The Best of the Rolling Stones.
This example also demonstrates the second reason why absolutes are used.
b. To show action or detail happening simultaneously as the action or detail being modified: In other words,
while the Corvette cruised down the highway, the engine hummed and the driver listened. Another way of
looking at this is to imagine that you were walking down the highway when this car passed you. You would
have seen or heard all of this happening at the same time, not one after another. Therefore, when you use
these phrases in your writing, it's as if you are putting the reader into the situation, allowing him or her to
experience it in much the same way as you, the writer, did.
2. Absolute phrases have their own subjects. These subjects are different from that which they modify in one very
simple way. They are a part of the whole, NOT simply another way of renaming the whole. That's one of the reasons why
absolute phrases are radically different from noun phrases, even though they both have nouns as their headwords. To
understand this concept, let's refer back to the example above. If you look at the individual absolute phrases carefully,
you will notice that their subjects, or noun heads, do not rename the Corvette. Rather they focus on details that were
part of the total scene.
3. Absolute phrases have incomplete predicates. That is why they are phrases and not clauses and are, therefore,
dependent, unable to stand alone as sentences. Again, refer to the example above. If you look closely and think about
what you are seeing, you will notice that the information your eyes and brain are processing is only details, not
complete thoughts.
4. Because the absolute phrase does not have a complete predicate, it cannot stand alone as a sentence. However,
there is a simple and consistent way in which one can determine if a phrase that has a noun head is or is not an
absolute phrase. Here is how one tests for absolutes:
a. Locate the complete noun head.
b. Determine if it renames that which it modifies or if it is a part of that
which it modifies.
c. Check for absolute phrases by inserting "was" or "were" after the
complete noun head.
d. If the end result is a complete sentence, then what you started out with was an absolute phrase.
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was
Example: its engine ^quietly humming
was
Its driver^ listening to the tape The Best of the Rolling Stones
5. How do you punctuate the absolute phrase? The absolute phrase is always a free modifier, therefore, always
requiring marks of punctuation to set it off from that which it modifies.
6. How do you create an absolute phrase? Absolute phrases can be made by
applying this simple formula:
Noun head that is part of the whole
an incomplete predicate
Example using the base clause:
1 The mountain top view took his breath away,
Hint: Imagine all of the different scenery that one would witness, and imagine why it would take one's breath away.
For example: 2 the thundering waterfalls sending their crashing water down to the bubbling stream,
2 the rocky ledges severe in their beauty,
2 the flora and fauna rich and abundant.
All of these level 2's are absolute phrases since they have noun heads that are part of the whole and because they are
talking about action or detail that occurred at the same time as the breath was taken away by the beauty of the
mountaintop. They all provide the reasons for such a reaction while they also enable the reader of the sentence to
experience the scene as the viewer himself did.
Absolute Phrases Demonstrating Options for Incomplete Predicates
1. Present participle as the incomplete predicate:
Take the two sentences:
We worked on in silence
and
The crust was cracking uneasily under us.
To make the end product more interesting, transform the second sentence into an absolute phrase. This is done by
removing the tense marker "was" since it is clearly understood that the crust was cracking uneasily beneath us at the
same time that we walked on in silence. Therefore, a more sophisticated approach to these sentences ends up
illustrating the advantage of using the absolute:
1 We walked on in silence,
2 the crust cracking uneasily under us.
(noun head) + (present participle as incomplete predicate)
2. Past participle as the incomplete predicate:
Original sentences: Apple trees bloomed in the dust.
The last of daylight was seemingly sucked up into their white petals.
Revised version:
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1 Apples trees bloomed in the dusk,
2 the last of daylight seemingly sucked up into their white petals.
(noun head) + (past participle as incomplete predicate)
3. Noun used as incomplete predicate:
Original sentences: He dressed slowly.
The softness of his shirt was a reward against his skin.
Revised version: 1 He dressed slowly,
2 The softness of his shirt a reward against his skin.
(noun head) + (noun as incomplete predicate)
4. Pronoun used as incomplete predicate:
Original sentences: They ate in silence.
The only sound was that of their clicking knives and
sweeping spoons.
Revised version:
1 They ate in silence,
2 the only sound that of their clicking knives and sweeping spoons.
(noun head) + (pronoun as incomplete predicate)
5. Adjective used as incomplete predicate:
Original sentences: The hunter moved his shoulder under the weight of
the ducks.
His mind was full for the moment with the image of his
father's face.
Revised version:
1 The hunter moved his shoulder under the weight of the ducks,
2 his mind full for the moment with the image of his
father's face.
(noun head) + (adjective as incomplete predicate)
6. Prepositional phrase used as incomplete predicate:
Original sentences: A porter came out from under the shelter of the station.
His shoulders were up against the rain.
Revised sentence:
1 A porter came out from under the shelter of the station,
2 his shoulders up against the rain.
(noun head) + (prepositional phrase as incomplete predicate)
7. WITH used as a marker of the absolute:
Original sentences: In the wagon box behind was ma's white pine coffin.
Frost was on the heads of the nails.
Revised sentence:
1 In the wagon box behind was ma's white pine coffin,
2 with frost on the heads of the nails.
(with) + (noun head) + (prepositional phrase as incomplete predicate)
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Discriminating Between Base Clauses and Absolute Phrases
Directions: Sentences 1- 10 include absolute phrases as free modifiers. Your job will be to diagram them, proving
your ability to determine the difference between a base clause and an absolute phrase.
1. Their laughter bouncing off the theatre walls, the audience was obviously caught up in the mood of the play.
2. The patient waiting for x-rays sat in the stuffy reception room, his face transformed into a mask of apprehension.
3. Paintings lined the walls at the art fair, their colors bright and bold, their subjects wonderful heroes of our past.
4. He was a familiar figure on the campus, his costume a pair of tom jeans and the ever-famous Dick Tracy tee shirt.
5. With her arms full to overflowing, the librarian entered the classroom, her speech well prepared and over-rehearsed.
6. They arrived at the cottage heavily laden, their diving equipment and their clothes on their straining backs.
7. Hair teased to the max, pants tight as Saran Wrap, the lead vocalist strutted onto the stage, her attitude evident even
to the most naive of audiences.
8. Everyone was seated for Thanksgiving dinner, with the elders of the family at the table's head, the children placed
in the kitchen, and their parents nearest to the abundant supply of food that seemed to keep coming.
9. The rummage sale was a great success, many of the silliest items the first to go, some of the found treasures and
collectibles remaining until the final minutes.
10. Hand on hip, legs crossed, the new teacher leaned against the blackboard and pondered the student's response to
his question, his mind working overtime in an effort to bring some clarity to the issue.
Condensing Sentences Using Absolute Phrases
Directions: From each of the following set of sentences, develop a single sentence illustrating the use of the absolute
phrase as a free modifier. Use the first sentence as your base clause.
1. The tired doctor leaned over the operating table. His mouth was covered with a mask.
2. We sat in virtual silence. The brilliant leaves were falling about our feet.
3. The team practiced vigorously. A winning season was a goal for which they strove.
4. Adonis stood in readiness at the edge of the forest. His bow was raised to eye level.
5. She held the tablecloth carefully. It was delicate handmade lace. It was spread over her outstretched fingers.
6. They came home from their fishing trip disgusted. Their clothes were soaked. Their bones were chilled. Their
hands were empty.
7. August's sizzling winds burned the buildings. Roofs buckled from the heat. Walls were hot to the touch.
8. The student union at the college filled a need. The students used it as a combination study lounge and eatery.
9. The first performance of the hit movie was sold out. Ticket-holders waited restlessly in the lobby for the second
showing. Ushers tried to keep them in a line.
10. The desk was arranged for a busy day's work. There was an array of newly sharpened pencils. They were in a
painted mug. There were piles of paper and file cards within easy reach.
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Relative Clause Defined
To begin with, we are now talking about a grammatical structure that is referred to as a clause, not a phrase.
Therefore, the first order of business is to make clear the distinction between a phrase and a clause. As you have
already learned and experienced, a phrase is a structure that lacks either a subject, verb, or both. The clause, on the
other hand, always contains a complete subject and a complete verb (think of a base clause). When speaking of the
relative clause, we are referring to a dependent clause, meaning a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence.
When used properly, the relative clause enables the writer to effectively communicate an idea to his or her reader with
the minimum of confusion. Like the absolute phrase, it condenses writing, eliminating redundancy.
Following is a list of common relative pronouns that you will need to memorize. These will be the first tools needed
to build relative clauses.
who
whom
that
about whom
Those underlined are
whoever
whomever
in which
for whom
the most common.
whose
which
where
by whom
whosever
whichever
when
to whom
Like any word, which is referred to as a pronoun, a relative pronoun takes the place of a noun already used in a
sentence.
The examples, which follow, will help illustrate that principle of substitution.
I just bought some cheese. The cheese looks delicious.
Using one of the relative pronouns listed above, a more sophisticated version of these sentences becomes:
I just bought some cheese that looks delicious.
Despite her protests, I bought the chair. She did not want the chair.
Revised, these sentences become:
Despite her protests, I bought the chair that she did not want.
In both cases, the relative pronoun that was used in place of the noun being repeated. The whole structure, which, in
these cases, was underlined, represents the relative clause.
Following is some relevant information that will allow you to understand why and how the relative clause is used. We
will also cover how you can implement this into your own writing.
1. Why use the relative clause?
a. To eliminate redundancy. If you notice that your sentences
contain nouns that are used too often, therefore making your writing appear simplistic, you’ll find the
relative clause to
work to your advantage. Let's look at the following sentences
that their revision which makes use of the relative clause.
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Example: The other day I bought an outfit. The outfit looked great.
Revision: The other day I bought an outfit that looked great. (note that the clause that looked great modifies
the outfit and the word that eliminated the need to mention outfit again.)
b. To condense writing. Referring back to the previous example,
you'll notice that the number of words used became less,
although not to a great extent. However, the message was
communicated much more effectively, therefore proving that
economy in writing does pay off in dividends.
2. When and how to use the relative clause?
a. The relative clause is constructed by using a relative pronoun to replace the noun being repeated.
The rest of the pertinent information that refers to that noun is also included, therefore forming the
complete relative clause.
Let's refer back to the original example:
The other day I bought an outfit. The outfit looked great.
Making use of the relative pronoun to take the place of outfit and including the information looked great, you
end up with the relative clause that looked great. Note that in the original sentence, the word outfit was the
subject of that sentence. Therefore, if that is a pronoun that takes the place of a noun already used, it also
assumes the same duty as that word. Hence, the word that is the subject of the relative clause that looked
great.
b. The relative clause is used to modify nouns that have already been mentioned.
Used properly, the relative clause must follow immediately or as closely as possible after the noun being
modified. Take the following example as a useful illustration:
The lifeguard sat in his rowboat. The lifeguard's nose was beginning to peel.
The information in the second sentence is providing more information about the lifeguard who is mentioned
in the first sentence. If you were to revise these sentences in the following way, what would be wrong?
Attempted revision:
The lifeguard sat in his rowboat whose nose was about to peel.
If you noticed that it suggests that the rowboat had a nose, which was beginning to peel, you can clearly see
why it is important to place the relative clause properly.
Correct revision:
The lifeguard, whose nose was beginning to peel, sat in his rowboat.
By following the noun being modified, it is clearly seen to whom the information whose nose was beginning to peel is
referring.
3. The relative pronoun is always either the subject or the direct object of the relative clause, depending upon
the original position of the noun it is replacing.
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Preliminary Worksheet For Relative Clauses
Successfully combine the following sentences into one coherent sentence. Make sure that you use a relative pronoun
to complete the revision.
1.
I told you a story. It must not be repeated.
2. I just bought a new house. I really love the house.
3. Henry caught a trout. It was the largest fish ever caught in Ohio.
4. She often reflected about her past. She loved the past.
5. I will buy the purple hat. The purple hat looks wonderful on me.
6. I just bought a new stereo. Hear electronics says it is the top-of-the-line stereo.
7. The table you refinished is in the study. The table is a classic antique.
8. My uncle has offered to teach me to use oil paints. My uncle is a fine painter.
Correctly punctuate the following sentences. Some sentences may not require any changes.
1. Swimming which is good exercise is a lot of fun.
2. He loves books that can be read quickly.
3. Give the present to Jane or Jill whoever arrives first.
4. This plant which is a rare one doesn’t grow well indoors.
5. Wendy who has been my best friend for years is leaving the city and moving to a farm in New
Hampshire.
Now you are going to make some generalizations based upon your experience with this exercise on relative clauses.
1. A relative clause begins with a ____________________________________________.
2. What part of speech did the relative pronoun always replace?___________________
3. Where was the relative clause always found?________________________________
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Relative Clause Practice
Directions: Combine the following sentences using relative clauses.
1. The officer walked toward the latrine. The officer was a tall man with bright red hair.
2. The runner pulled ahead of everyone else. She was a sprinter from Newark Valley.
3. The bus crashed through the building. The building was a school full of only teachers.
4. Some skaters made a chain of themselves pulled by a motorcycle. They were all sophomores.
5. The officer walked toward the latrine. The officer was looking over her shoulder.
6. The runner pulled ahead of everyone else. She was picking up speed on the last lap.
7. Stefan earned $400 last summer. He was working for Stoughton Farms.
8. Tim asked for a library pass. Tim was searching for information on wrestling.
9. Tavio started working part-time. Tavio was forced to buy his own clothes.
10. The runner pulled ahead of everyone else. He was determined to win.
Directions: Add relative a relative clause to the following base clauses.
1. The seniors waited for the final bell.
2. The car had bad brakes.
3. He bought a large print by Picasso
4. Those bright beams made her wonder about the person following her.
5. They sat by the light of the moon.
6. From the hilltop they looked down the winding road.
7. The book lay on top of her radio.
8. Sam slowly turned to race to the back of the room.
9. Yolanda decided that another hour would be more than enough.
10. Everything was happening in the kitchen.
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The Subordinate Clause
The subordinate clause is also useful to the writer. By this time you should note the variety of ways a sentence can be
modified, providing the writer with many options to allow just the right combination through which to communicate
his/her message in the best manner possible. Your awareness of each of these options gives you many of the “tools”
which can enable you to become an effective writer.
Following is some relevant information that will allow you to understand why and how the subordinate clause is used.
How one constructs a subordinate clause will also be covered.
1. Why use the subordinate clause?
a. For sentence variety and continuity. If you notice that too often your sentences are short and choppy,
using the subordinate clause is an easy and effective way to combine two such related short sentences
and to clarify the relationship between the two ideas while doing so.
Example: Suddenly he sensed her presence.
She was standing behind the door.
There is nothing grammatically wrong with theses two sentences, but too many sentences like this running together
would be boring and repetitious. In addition, the relationship between these two sentences is not made clear. The
following sentence, now containing a subordinate clause, demonstrates how both these problems can be eliminated:
Suddenly he sensed her presence because she was standing behind the door.
b. To provide flexibility. The subordinate clause is a versatile writing tool because it can often be placed in
different locations within the sentence.
Because she was standing behind the door, suddenly he sensed her presence. Suddenly, because she was
standing behind the door, he sensed her presence.
2. How are subordinate clauses structured?
a. Virtually any sentence can be made into a subordinate clause by adding a SUBORDINATE
CONJUNTION at the beginning.
COMMON SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS:
after
although
as
if
once
since
until
when
whenever
wherever
whereas
whether
because
that
where
before
unless
while
COMMON PHRASAL SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS:
as if
as soon as
as long as
assuming that
as though
even if
even though
provided that
given that
in case
in order that
rather than
so that
Examples:
25 | P a g e
Base Clause: They had virtually no furniture for this room.
Subordinate Clauses: because they had virtually no furniture for this room
Since they had virtually no furniture for this room
When they had virtually no furniture for this room
b.
Because subordinate clauses originate from base clauses, by definition all subordinate clauses contain a
complete subject and verb (predicate).
Thus, a formula for the subordinate clause might be as follows:
SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTION + BASE CLAUSE
3. What about punctuation and position?
a. Subordinate clauses in the initial position are almost always free modifiers requiring a comma.
b. This is also generally the case for medial subordinate clauses as well. However, a set of dashes may be
used when placing the subordinate clause in a medial position constitutes a significant interruption to
the base clause.
c. In a final position, the subordinate clause is most often embedded because there tends to be a more
natural flow from the base clause into the subordinate clause.
Subordinate Clauses More Your Way
The following exercise gives you an opportunity to develop sentences using subordinate clauses by supplying most of
the new material in your own way. In the first set, you are given a base clause to which you are to add at least TWO
subordinate clauses, either embedded or free. For the second set, you are given a subordinate clause to which you are
to add a base clause plus other modifiers so that your sentence has at least two levels. Try putting some subordinate
clauses in the medial positions. Also, remember to punctuate your sentences correctly.
Base Clauses Given:
1. The moon rose slowly.
2. Rows of cans filled the shelves.
3. Telemachus closed the door behind him.
4. The glider soared above them.
5. A strange odor permeated the air.
6. Grandmother’s glasses kept slipping down her nose.
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7. Kino stood trembling beside the fence.
8. The question was settled.
9. Annie Sullivan waited patiently.
10. They counted the money carefully.
Subordinate Clauses Given:
1. as is there was absolutely nothing the matter
2. while Montressor tapped his foot
3. even if the transport is late
4. before a red-winged black bird ate it
5. as though they had found buried treasure
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More Practices on Clauses
Underline the clause modifier in the given sentences. Determine if it is a relative clause or a subordinate
clause. Then rewrite the base clause replacing the clause modifier with your own clause modifier.
1. The moth that was flying around my lantern earlier was now gone.
2. After we finished washing the car, Carrie asked us over for pizza.
3. The leaves fell gently from the tree that my grandfather had planted years ago.
4. The nurse needed some assistance with the paperwork because it was his first day on the job.
5. The coach who led the winning team carried her team’s trophy proudly.
6. A forest ranger asked her supervisor for an assistant because she was always working overtime.
7. If the car needs new brakes, Jerry will take it back to the dealer.
8. The stenographer whom the judge had never met was introduced after the trail.
9. Although Betty had it with her, she discovered she did not need it.
10. A parent whose teenagers are given little freedom will suffer the rebellion.
11. We almost stepped on the lizard, which was camouflaged by it color.
12. People usually have a good time when they feel like they belong.
13. There are six students whom their peers want to honor for their hard work.
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Sentence Expansion Exercise #1
(Add new information—ING pattern—to each of the following sentences.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Marge misplaced the package
Jason threw the bottle against the wall.
He found his skateboard in the dumpster.
The stockbroker felt happy for the first time in several months.
The man drove around the mall.
The animal contral officer stopped in front of their house.
As soon as she saw__________, she knew his name fit.
Sentence Expansion Exercise #2
Choose one sentence from the list above and add four more sentences to it. (You will have a writing five
sentences long)
Exercise #3
1.
2.
3.
4.
What effect were you trying to create for your reader?
Which is your favorite sentence of the ones you wrote in exercise #2? Why?
What words link your sentences together?
Where did you put commas? What do they tell your reader?
Sentence Expansion
Add new information to each of the following sentences. You may add it anywhere you wish as long as it begins with
a WH word (who, when, which, where, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
The girl listened to hip-hop constantly.
She never went anywhere without her radio.
She preferred Tupac to the sounds of the city.
Marcus Jones is a lawyer in Seattle.
Reflection: make a list of words you could add more information in the sentences above .What do these words have
in common? Which of these words could you substitute with a more specific word?
Dewriting Exercises
The following passage is “dewritten” from a story by John Updike. The significant details have been removed to
emphasize the story line. Rewrite it adding details, sentence additions that create the scene in a more vivid manner
than what appears below.
In walked three girls in nothing but bathing suits. From my cash register I couldn't see them until they
reached the bread. The one that caught my eye first wore a two-piece. She was a chunky kid. She had a
good tan. I held a box of Hi-Ho crackers. I rang it up again. The customer started giving me hell. She’s one
of those cash-register watchers. It made her day. She’s been watching cash registers for fifty years.
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Adding Details.
The following sentences—just like the ones above—are called sentence bases. They are powerful because
they offer you the potential to expand, to clarify your ideas, to fine-tune your meaning. Notice how you can
add information to sentence bases by adding Wh words as you did above or by adding groups of words at the
beginning, middle, or ends of the sentence bases.
Example: We enjoyed playing pretend.
1)Opener (add the new information before the base):
When we were little, we enjoyed playing pretend.
2)interrupter (add the new information in the middle of the base):
We, my friends and I, enjoyed playing pretend.
3)Closer (add the new information at the end of the base):
We enjoyed playing pretend when we were little.
We can add new information virtually anywhere to a sentence as long as it makes sense and sounds like something we
would hear others speak or write. Often when we write first drafts we really just write sentence bases. In our second
and third drafts we can add left out information to our bases by just listen to what we’re written and finding places
where we can add the new details.
Exercises
Exercise 1:
Add information to these bases:
1. Carlos leaned against the blackboard.
2. The theater closed early last night.
3. Latoya left the room at eight o’clock.
4. The deer leapt across the road.
5. The pilot took a deep breath and lowered the nose of the plane.
Exercise 2:
Shift the information you added in Exercise #1 (above) to another position in its sentence (opener,
interrupter, or closer). In other words, if you added an opener, shift the information to interrupter or closer
position.


Why can some information be shifted and some not?
How can you tell when information cannot be shifted?
Exploring Sentence Bases
Exercise 3:
Rewrite the following passage, adding details, sentence additions, action verbs, and new words to create the
scene in a more vivid manner than what appears below. Christensen called these kinds of “stripped” versions
of texts, “dewritten” exercises.
Dusk came over the town. Men stood around. Anger lay on the dust in the air. From inside the
saloon came the sound of one man’s laugh. A horse was tied up at the railing. It was a nag.
I looked over the doors. I could see only his shoulders and his hat. Then he raised his head. There
was his dark reflection in the saloon mirror.
“Hey, who’s the boss here?” he called out?
No one moved. The saloon was silent. The man laughed. Then he stood up to his full height. He
had caught sight of me.
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From E. L. Doctorow’s Welcome to Hard Times
Exercise #4:
Rewrite the following passage, adding details, sentence additions, and action verbs, and new words to create
the scene in a more vivid manner than what appears below.
Elisa watched to see the wagon pass. But it didn’t pass. It turned into the farm road in front of her
house. The dog darted from beneath the wheels and ran ahead. The two shepherds ran out at him.
All three stopped, and they circled. The caravan pulled up at Elisa’s wire fence and stopped. The
dog lowered his tail and retired under the wagon.
From John Steinbeck
________________________________________________________________________
The ING Pattern: A Combined Exercise
Complete the following exercises and then reflect on your observations about sentences.
Samples
A. Once in her room, she lay on her bed and read her book through all over again from the very
beginning,
frowning
and muttering to herself.
--Margaret Mahy, The Tricksters
B. Lurking in a rodent’s abandoned den,
Africa’s smallest cat keeps watch for a meal.
--National Geographic, March 2000
C. Father,
seeing my reluctance to join in,
comes and sits beside me on the wicker chair.
--Joy Kogawa, Obason
Exercises:
Part A.
Add new information in ING Patterns to the following bases:
a. She caught the coach’s eye.
b. We met in silence.
Part B.
Combine the following sentences into one of the “ING” sample patterns above:
A.
I am sitting in my nemaki on the wicker chair beside the fern.
I am eating a tea biscuit.
I am watching the goldfish with their little round mouths.
Their mouths pucker open and closed endlessly.
--Joy Okagawa
B.
I had overheard my mother’s sister once.
She complained aloud about my father’s drinking.
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C.
--Thomas Lynch
The supplement offers a new quotation.
It reinforces the view that the world can be used plurally or singularly as the need arises.
--Somon Winchester
Part C. Your Observation:



Which words can become “ING” words?
When are “ING” patterns effective to use?
Which words become sentence base words?
What is a Paragraph?
From Purdue University’s OWL
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. To be as effective as
possible, a paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, Topic Sentence, and
Adequate Development. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. Using and adapting them to your
individual purposes will help you construct effective paragraphs.
1. Unity:
The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with one focus or major point of
discussion, Is should not end with another or wander within different ideas.
2. Coherence:
Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. You can help create
coherence in your paragraph by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges.
Logical Bridges:


The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence
Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel from
Verbal Bridges:




Key words can be repeated in several sentences
Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences
Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentence
Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentences
3. A Topic Sentence
A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal
with. Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can
occur anywhere in the paragraph (as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere in the middle), an
easy way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put your topic sentence near
the beginning of the paragraph. (This is a good general rule for less experienced writers, although it is not the
only way to do it.)
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4. Adequate Development:
The topic (Which is introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately. Again, this
varies from paragraph to paragraph, depending on the author’s purpose, but writers should beware of
paragraphs that only have two or three sentences. It’s a pretty good bet that the paragraph is not fully
developed if it is that short.
Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed:











Use examples and illustrations
Cite data (fact, statistics, evidence, details, and others)
Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases)
Use an anecdote or story
Define terms in the paragraph
Compare and contrast
Evaluate causes and reasons
Examine effects and consequences
Analyze the topic
Describe the topic
Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)
5. Adequate Development:
The topic (Which is introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately. Again, this
varies from paragraph to paragraph, depending on the author’s purpose, but writers should beware of
paragraphs that only have two or three sentences. It’s a pretty good bet that the paragraph is not fully
developed if it is that short.
Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed:











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Use examples and illustrations
Cite data (fact, statistics, evidence, details, and others)
Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases)
Use an anecdote or story
Define terms in the paragraph
Compare and contrast
Evaluate causes and reasons
Examine effects and consequences
Analyze the topic
Describe the topic
Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)