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BRUSH
STROKES
Objective of “Brushstrokes”:
• To enable students to vary sentence structure (syntax) in
their writing
• Based on the concept that children acquire much of their
grammatical knowledge through imitation
• Students learn to use complex grammatical structures in
their own writing through imitating sentence patterns.
from Image Grammar by Harry Noden
Action Verbs
use strong action verbs (action words)
to go from passive voice to active voice delete the “BE” verbs (am, is, are, was, were)
- Use limp, skip, jump, roll, slide,
glide, fall, soar, collapse, bounce,
eject, scavenge, spin, rotate
The creepy long snake slithered through the tall grass.
The gravel road curled around the mountain.
An old rancher rambled through the field on his tractor.
Prepositional Phrase
a phrase that begins with a preposition (words
that indicate location) and ends with a noun (a
person, place, thing, or idea) or pronoun
- with her puppies
preposition
noun
The puppy is in the The puppy is on
the floor.
trashcan.
The puppy is beside
the phone.
prepositional phrases
• Review in grammar workbook – starting on
p. 141
• Prepositional phrases function as
adjectives and adverbs in sentences.
Appositive/Appositive Phrase
a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea)
or noun phrase (a noun plus adjectives or
prepositional phrases to describe the noun))
that renames the noun before it
• The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.
• The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen
table.
• The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling
across the kitchen table.
Note: there will never be a verb in an appositive or
appositive phrase
Participial Phrase
-ing or -ed form of a verb (action word) followed by a prepositional
phrase or an adverb
foaming at the mouth
frozen with terror
singing loudly
frightened by the thunder
frightened terribly by the thunder
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Carrying a heavy pile of books, he caught his foot on a step.
Arriving at the store, I found that it was closed.
Embarrassed by his sister, Frank hid from the other kids.
Smiling, she hugged the panting dog.
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Participial phrases function as adjectives; they are never the main verb of
the sentence.
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Present and past participles alone can also function as adjectives.
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Smiling, she hugged the panting dog.
Frightened, the boogey man checked under his bed for Chuck Norris.
The laughing children ran around the park.
The exhausted father welcomed his wife home from her weekend trip to Vegas.
Adjectives out of Order
placing adjectives (a word that describes a noun or
pronoun) after the noun; out-of-order
- parched and hungry
adjective
The cheese pizza,
hot and appetizing, The actor, costumed and
focused, delivered a
left us with desire. wonderful performance.
The tiger, hungry
and majestic,
devoured us with
his eyes.
• The dented, rusty car went into the
parking lot.
• (typical order - adjectives before the noun
they modify)
• The car, dented and rusty, went into the
parking lot.
• (adjectives out of order)
Shifting the adjectives after the noun makes them more powerful than placing
them before the noun.
This change also puts more emphasis on the adjectives and slows down the
rhythm of the sentence.
Noun Absolutes
In 6th grade, you learned that a noun absolute is:
a noun
(a person, place, thing, or idea)
+
an “-ing” verb
(action word)
at the beginning of a sentence
- paws curling
noun
+ “-ing” verb
Paws curling, the dog yawned.
Head rising, the snake threatened the rat.
In 7th grade, you expanded your understanding of noun absolutes to include:
Definition: a noun absolute is a phrase.
Basically it is a noun (or pronoun) + _________________
(another grammatical structure functioning
as an adjective)
For example:
a. noun + adjective or adjective phrase
Ex: His research complete, he began to write his report.
Ex: His face red with embarrassment, the coach finally found his whistle.
b. noun + present participle
Ex: Tires screeching, John braked to avoid the dog in the road.
c. noun ( or pronoun) + past participle
Ex: These issues resolved, the principal turned his attention to the budget.
That said, the teacher began the review.
His face twisted in hatred, the killer wildly stabbed his victim.
d. noun + prepositional phrase
Ex: He lay on the pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and dreamed about
adventures.
Ex: Pencil in hand, the child attacked the DBA test with determination.
e. noun + noun
Ex: Our opponent has chosen to ignore scientific principles, his theories a wish list of insupportable
propositions.
Ex: The defendant thought he would win the trial, his sister the only witness to the murder.