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Engaging Grammar: Practical Advice for Real Classrooms
Presented by Amy Benjamin
www.amybenjamin.com
November 5-9
Patchogue and Rocky Point Schools
“ I’ve never known a person
who wasn’t interested in language.”
-Steven Pinker, The Language
Instinct
I
teaching grammar.
“I’m not sure I’m right.”
I never learned
this.
Takes away from
real writing instruction
“Not interesting. Not fun.”
“Doesn’t transfer.
Doesn’t stick.”
“Rigid.”
“Too negative.
It’s like math.
M
I.
Cesar Chavez helped the farm workers.
He advocated for them. He did not
encourage violence. He led a boycott
instead of violence. The boycott was an
effective method of resistance. (30)
III.
Cesar Chavez, advocate for farm
workers, helped them not by
encouraging violence, but by leading
a boycott. The boycott was an effective
method of resistance.. (25)
II.
Cesar Chavez helped the farm workers,
and he advocated for them. He did not
encourage violence. He led a boycott
instead of violence, and the boycott
was an effective method of resistance.
(32)
IV.
Cesar Chavez, advocate for farm
workers, helped them not by
encouraging violence, but by leading
a boycott, which is an effective method
of resistance. (24)
Grammar is the most significant
determiner of sophisticated style.
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Grammar: Your Remarkable Ability to Understand Language
The mords slobly bordled a slom don
in the nox.
Who did it? How many of them were there?
What was done? Who or what was it done to?
How many of them were there? How was it done?
Where was it done? When was it done? What was the don like?
Parts of Speech:
Nouns: mord, don, nox
Morphology:
Mords is plural
Verb: bordle
Bordled is in past tense
Adjective: slom
Slom modifies don
Adverb: slobly
Slobly is derived from
slob
Sentence Constituents:
Subject: The mords
Predicate: slobly bordled a slom don in the nox
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Direct Object: a slom dom
Prepositional Phrase: in the nox
Object of the preposition: nox
(Handout, 2)
SUBJECT:
Single word
Adjective + Noun
Noun + Prepositional
phrase
Adjective + Noun +
prepositional phrase
It
“‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy was the borogrove
And the mome raths outgrabe.”
from “The Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll
Who? What?
Did, or are, what?
What kind?
Where? When? Why? How?
To what extent?
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1. Grammar is a system of making sentences out of parts.
The parts have to match (agree):
Number (singular or plural)
Gender (masculine, feminine, neutral)
Case (subjective, objective, possessive)
Tense (past, present, future)
2. Writers and speakers place the parts in a certain order
and that order affects the impact of the message.
3. The two main parts of language are nouns and verbs.
Everything else either modifies nouns or verbs or joins words,
phrases, and clauses.
M
What should the study of grammar accomplish?
1. Better communication between teachers and students
about language
2. Understanding the rhetorical effects of grammatical choices:
What can a sentence do?
How can I be in control of my sentences?
Chapter 1, page 3-7: Why? What? How?
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How?
Learning Principles Based On:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Manipulatives
Visuals
Patterns
Intuition
Inductive reasoning
Authentic language
M
Patrick Hartwell: “Grammar, Grammars, and the
Teaching of Grammar” (1997)
Grammar III:
Language etiquette
“good” and “bad” Grammar IV:
“School Grammar”:
grammar
Grammar II:
Naming parts of speech;
Linguistic descriptions
Identifying subject, pred.
of how Grammar I is
direct obj, etc.
used: dialect, language
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change, lang acquisition
Grammar I:
The grammar in
our heads:
intuitive understandigs
Grammar V:
Rhetorical grammar:
Making informed, delibera
decisions about how to for
sentences for particular
effects upon the reader.
The Basics
Phrase Group of words, either noun + modifiers or
verb + modifiers; not both
Clause
A noun + verb unit that may or may not be
a sentence
Sentence An independent clause (noun + verb unit that
can stand alone)
Handout, 3
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Out of the words,
students make
phrases;
Out of the phrases,
students make
sentences;
Phrase: part of a sentence
Sentence: You can put the
words “IT IS TRUE THAT…”
in front of words that make a
sentence;
Out of the sentences,
students make
subordinate clauses;
A sentence has a SUBJECT
and a PREDICATE, like a
bicycle has two wheels
Out of the subordinate clauses, (see next slide)
students make complex
sentences
Subordinating conjunctions: AAAWWUBBIS:
although, as, after
while, when
until
because, before
if
since
To create a complex sentence:
The “basket” (subordinate clause) can
be placed on the back of the bike
(no comma necessary) or on the
front of the bike (needs a comma).
M
Gardening is my favorite weekend activity
Because I like worms
,
because I like worms.
gardening is my favorite activity.
M
Gardening is my favorite activity on a rainy day because I like worms.
(add modifiers: When? Where? Why? How? To What Extent?)
Declarative
Can you put
It is true that….
in front of it?
Subject Wheel tells:
Who or what?
(or “I intend to prove that…”)
Predicate
Wheel tells:
What about it?
Complete
Sentence
Can you turn it into
a yes/no question?
Can you
add a “Stick-on” question?
M
Handout 18
Isn’t it?
Aren’t we?Don’t you?
etc.
The bicycle as a metaphor for what makes a complete sentence:
Subject Wheel tells:
Who or what?
Predicate Wheel tells:
What about it?
Subordinate (dependent)
clause is like a basket.
In can be placed in front,
in back, or in the middle
of the main clause.
Handout, 19
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A complete sentence can be turned
into a yes/no question:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
You used to work at Sears.
You’ve never worked at Sears.
I’ve seen you before.
That cute little light green house
with the dark green shutters in the
middle of town is for sale by owner.
Your cousins, the couple with the
triplets,
live in New Jersey.
You don’t live in New Jersey.
This is a great movie.
Ron Howard directs terrific movies.
All Americans of voting age should
vote.
Handout, 20
When you used to work at Sears.
Because you used to work at
Sears
If all Americans of voting age
would vote.
A movie directed by Ron Howard.
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Match the“Stick-On” Questions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
You used to work at Sears.
You’ve never worked at Sears.
I’ve seen you before.
That cute little light green house
with the dark green shutters in the
middle of town is for sale by owner.
Your cousins, the couple with the triplets,
live in New Jersey.
You don’t live in New Jersey.
This is a great movie.
Ron Howard directs terrific movies.
I think.
Therefore I am.
All Americans of voting age should vote.
Haven’t I?
Doesn’t he?
Aren’t I?
Didn’t you?
Don’t they?
Shouldn’t they?
Don’t I?
Isn’t it?
Isn’t it?
Do you?
Have you?
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Handout, 21
How to Make Stick-On
Questions in English:
Find the subject and the verb. A pronoun is going
to have to replace the noun phrase that
comprises the subject, so decide which pronoun
that should be. Invert subject and verb, using the
auxiliary. If no auxiliary is present, use the
appropriate form and tense of “do.” If the
statement is in the negative, turn it into a
positive; if positive, turn it into a negative.
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The sentence-making kit
Fold over index card:
1)It is true that…2)bicycle 3)yes/no q 4)tag?
in, on, at, for, with (useful prepositions)
Inside:
Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, so
Common subordinating conjunctions:
aaawwubbis: after, as, although, while,
when, until, before, because, if, since
Handout, 22
The setting is highschool this girls name is Melinda
shes in ninthgrade. Its just a reglar highschool. Merriwether
in Syracuse NY and its Andy Evans is the beast which they
call IT. In the janitors closet the safe place were she all ways
gose. In the cafeteria she has noone to sit with they throw
potatoes at her. Her bedroom is kinda pathetic. Because
it kinda stuck in the 90’s.
1) The setting is highschool this girls name is
Melinda shes in ninthgrade.
2) Its just a reglar highschool.
3)Merriwether in Syracuse NY and its Andy Evans is
the beast which they call IT.
4) In the janitors closet the safe place were she all
ways gose.
5) In the cafeteria she has noone to sit with they
throw potatoes at her.
6) Her bedroom is kinda pathetic.
7) Because it kinda stuck in the 90s.
The setting for the novel Speak is Merriwether
High School in Syracuse, New York. This is a suburban
high school in an upper middle class neighborhood.
Our protagonist is Melinda. Melinda has entered the ninth
grade as the story begins. She describes various
classrooms like homeroom, science class, English class,
and art class. Her most important class is art class. In art class,
Melinda can express herself. Melinda does not express herself
in speech.
(1)The setting for the novel Speak is Merriwether High School
in Syracuse, New York.
(2) This is a suburban high school in an upper
middle class neighborhood.
(3) Our protagonist is Melinda.
(4) Melinda has entered the ninth grade as the story begins.
(5) She describes various classrooms like homeroom, science
English class, and art class.
(6) Her most important class is art class.
(7) In art class, Melinda can express herself.
(8) Melinda does not express herself in speech.
Two kinds of words:
Form Class Words:
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Structure Class Words:
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Determiners (noun signals)
Pronouns
Can change form.
Can do each other’s jobs
sometimes.
Cannot change form.
We don’t get many new
ones.
We get new ones.
Handouts, 4)
Page 29
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Kinds of Information
Noun Phrases:
Who?
What?
Adjective Structures
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
Handout, 5
Verb structures:
What is its action?
What is its nature?
Adverb structures:
Where?
When?
Why?
In what manner?
How often?
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Noun: Owner’s Manual
Congratulations on your wise purchase of a NOUN. Your NOUN may be
used to fit into the following frame:
The____________.
Your NOUN is used to name people, places, things, ideas, qualities, states of
mind, and all kinds of other things that need naming.
Your NOUN may be easily converted into an adjective. All you have to do is put
another NOUN after it and have it make sense. (COW pasture, for
example).
Your NOUN may be the kind of NOUN that can be made plural. Only NOUNS
may be made plural.
Your NOUN may be able to be made possessive by adding ‘s. Only NOUNS
may be made possessive. When you make your NOUN possessive, it
becomes an adjective.
You may add all kinds of modifiers before and after your NOUN. You may
replace your NOUN along with its modifiers with a pronoun.
Feel free to use your NOUN as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object
complement, object of a preposition, appositive, or predicate noun
Your noun may be called a nominal when we consider it together with its modifiers.
Handout, 6)
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Language Tree: Nouns
Places:
THE…
People, Animals:
Common nouns:
Proper nouns:
Ideas, Feelings,
Thoughts, Qualities:
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Noun-making suffixes:
--tion, --sion,--ity,--ment,
--ness, --hood,--tude
Write your original sentence here:
Write your original
sentence here:
Write your revised sentence
(with appositive) here:
An appositive is a noun or
pronoun, along with its modifiers,
that renames the noun or pronoun
that precedes (or, sometimes,
follows) it. Appositives are set off
by commas.
Handout, 8
Write your revised
sentence (with appositive)
here:
M
Pronoun Case Teams:
Subjective Case:
Singular
Plural
I
We
You
You
He, She
They
It
Who
Objective Case: Possessive Case:
Singular
Plural
Me
Us
You
You
Him, Her
Them
It
Whom
1. Direct Object
1. Subject
2. Predicate Noun
(After to be)
Handout, 7
Singular
Plural
My, Mine
Our, Ours
Your, Yours Your,Yours
His, Her,Hers Their, Theirs
Its
Whose
1. Preceding a noun*
to show ownership
2. Indirect Object
3. Object of a
Preposition
*including a gerund
Adjective: Owner’s Manual
Congratulations on your wise purchase of an ADJECTIVE. Your ADJECTIVE may be
used to fit into the following frame:
The______________truck. Or The truck was very_________.
Your ADJECTIVE likes to answer the question What kind?
If your ADJECTIVE doesn’t fit into either of these frames, maybe it is the kind of
ADJECTIVE that answers the questions Which one? or How many?
Your ADJECTIVE may be capable of using the suffixes –er in the comparative form and –
est in the superlative form. (If your ADJECTIVE doesn’t like these suffixes, just use
more and most to accomplish comparison or superiority.)
Your ADJECTIVE reports to your NOUN, and your NOUN can easily become an
ADJECTIVE to another NOUN.
Often, groups of words decide to get together and do ADJECTIVE-like work. We call such
groups of words ADJECTIVALS, and they may be phrases or clauses that operate
just like ADJECTIVES, answering those questions that ADJECTIVES answer.
M
(Handout, 9)
The Language Tree:
Adjectives
What kind?
Comparative form: -er; more….
Superlative form: -est; most…
The_______truck
Very…
How many?
Which one? (Noun determiners)
a, an, the;
this, that, these, those…
first, secondl…
last
M
Verb: Owner’s Manual
Congratulations on your wise purchase of a VERB. Your VERB may be used to fit into the
following frame:
To______________.
Your VERB is the part of the sentence that is capable of turning the sentence into a
negative. It is also the part of the sentence that changes when you add yesterday or
right now. (If your sentence does not change when you add yesterday to it, then your
sentence is in the past tense. If your sentence does not change when you add right
now to it, then it is in the present tense.)
Your VERB may be an action verb or a linking verb. Action verbs may take direct objects
and are modified by adverbs. Linking verbs take predicate nouns and predicate
adjectives. You can easily find a list of linking verbs.
Your VERB may take auxiliaries (forms of have, be) and modal auxiliaries (could, should,
would, can, will, shall, may, might, must).
Your VERB sometimes uses a form of the word do to create a sentence, to emphasize, to
negate, or to stand in for itself, as in: Do you think so? Yes, I do.
Handout, 10
Harry extinguished the flickering light.
The Language Tree:
Verbs
Linking Verbs:
Action verbs:
BE: is, am, are, was,
were, be, being, been
Sense Verbs: look,
sound, feel, taste
Seem Verbs: appear,
grow, seem
I _______(base form)
He______s (S form)
I am _____ing (ing form)
I_______ed (yesterday)
Verbals (off-duty verbs)
Infinitives
Gerund
Participles
Active voice:
Passive voice:
Auxiliaries: Have; Be
Modal Auxiliaries: will, shall, would, could, should, can
may, might, must
Base form: walk, sing
Progressive form: walking, singing
Past form: walked, sang
Participial form: (have) walked, (have sung)
Hanout, 11
Verb Land, USA
Active Voice: I stole the cookie
from the cookie jar.
Passive Voice: The cookie was
stolen from the cookie jar by me.
(BE + Participial form= passive voice)
“Where We Find Out
the Action of Things”
ACTION TOWN
Verbals:
1. Participle: (acts as adjective)
ACTION verbs are modified by
adverbs:She sings happily.
the dancing bear;
the stolen cookie
2. Infinitive: (acts as noun)
Let us never fear to negotiate.
3. Gerund: (Acts as noun)
Teaching makes me happy.
ACTION verbs take objective case pronouns as objects:
We saw him steal the cookie from the cookie jar.
Auxiliaries:
Modal Auxiliaries:
Would Will
Have: creates
the perfect tenses Should Shall
Could
May
(has sung, etc.)
Can
Might
Be: creates the
Must
progressive tenses
(am singing, etc.)
Auxiliaries and
modal auxiliaries
combine with action
verbs to create various
tenses.
TO BE:
I am,was We are,were
You are
;were
He, she, it is They are,were
Sense Verbs:
feel, look, sound
smell, taste
Also: seem,
become, appear
grow
BE TOWN
“Where We Find Out the
Nature of Things”
BE verbs are completed by
adjectives: He is happy.
BE verbs take subjective case
pronouns as complements:
It was I who stole the cookie from
the cookie jar.
Why Teach Verbs?
Strong verbs energize writing.
Writers must decide on a consistent
verb tense.
3. Writers must decide whether to use
active or passive voice.
4. Errors in verb usage are highly
stigmatized: Incorrect form of irregular verbs
(*I seen,
*brung, *lay on the couch, *have went, *have sang, etc.)
5. Whether we have an action verb or a BE verb
determines pronoun case use and adjective/adverb use.
The Language Tree
Adjective Branches:
very___________
Noun Branches:
Verb Branches:
very___________
very___________
can___________
can___________
the______________ very___________
the______________
the______________
very___________
can___________
can___________
can___________
the______________
can___________
the______________
the______________
Prepositional Phrase Branches:
in________________
on________________
at_______________
for________________
with________________
Topic: ______________________________
Situation:
You have always wanted to be a (sports writer, music critic,
restaurant reviewer, movie critic). You have finally decided to
act on your dream. Write a (sports article, review of a concert
or CD, restaurant review, movie review) that you intend to
send to Newsday.
Adverb: Owner’s Manual
Congratulations on your wise purchase of an ADVERB. Your ADVERB is very
useful for answering one of the following questions:
When?
Where?
Why?
How often?
To what extent?
In what manner?
Often, groups of words decide to get together to do ADVERB-like work, and
when they do, we call these groups of words ADVERBIALS. ADVERBIALS
may be phrases or clauses that answer the questions that ADVERBS
answer..
Handout, 12
Morphology Chart
Noun:
The…
Verb:
They…
Adjective
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what
extent? In what
manner?
Handout, 13
Morphology Chart
Noun:
The…
Verb:
They…
observation Observe
Observer
Observatory (He observes; he
observed; he is
Observant
observing)
Adjective
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what
extent? In what
manner?
Observant Observantly
Observable
Morphology Chart
Noun:
The…
Verb:
approximation
approximate
They…
(he approximates
he approximated
he is approximating)
Adjective
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what
extent? In what
manner?
approximate
approximately
Morphology Chart
Noun:
The…
Verb:
They…
Democracy Democratize
democracies
Democrat
democratization
(he democratizes;
he democratized;
he is democratizing)
Adjective
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what
extent? In what
manner?
Democratic
Undemocratic
Democratically
Morphology Charts
Noun:
The…
Verb:
They…
Adjective
Which one? What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Handout 14
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what extent? In
what manner?
M
Noun:
The…
Verb:
They…
Adjective
Which one? What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what extent? In
what manner?
Tier II Words
Tier I Words:
Everyday Language:
Ask
Dead
Name
Find out; figure out
Answer
Rain
Use
Sharp
Get
Take apart and put
together
balance
Language of academics,
business, government
“Vocab List” words
Interrogate
Deceased
Designate; designation;
identify, identification
Ascertain; determine
Precipitate, precipitation
Utilize; employ
Acute
Acquire
Analyze; synthesize
equilibrium
Code-switching
Tier III Words ph
x
__y__
chr___
___sis
___ic
Domain-specific
terminology;
“Glossary” words
On-the-job words
Photosynthesis
Cytoplasm
Metamorphosis
Asymmetrical
Bathysphere
Rhetoric
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Artifact
Habeas corpus
Diaspora
Polysyndeton
Adjective
Handout, 15
Morphology Kit
Noun-Making
Suffixes
Verb-Making
Suffixes
Adjective-making
suffixes
-ment
-ness
-ation, sion
-ity
-ism
-hood
-itude
-ence
-ance
-ide
-ate
-ify
-ize
-acious,icious
-y
-ous, ious
-ant
-able, ible
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Why learn to identify prepositional
phrases?
Vary sentence structure
Develop time and place dimension
Punctuate introductory elements
Eliminate redundancy
Achieve subject-verb agreement
Create parallel structure
End at key points with a prepositional phrase (noun)
Handout, 17
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Useful Prepositions for Essays
•
•
•
•
•
In
On
At
For
With
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Sports
Music
Movies
Restaurants
Common Hitching Devices
Handout, 23
Coordinating
Conjunctions
Subordinating
Conjunctions
Conjunctive
Adverbs
Relative
Pronouns
And
But
So
Or/Nor
As, Although,
After
While, When
Until
Because,
Before
If
Since
However
Therefore
Moreover
Furthermore
That
Which
Who, whom
What
Where
Why
How
Whichever,
AAAWWUBBIS
Can join two
independent
clauses to
make a
compound
sentence.
Warning: You
must use a
comma with
these.
Can hitch up to an
independent
clause, creating a
subordinate
(dependent)
clause, which
creates a complex
sentence.
Can appear after
main clause (no
comma) or before
main clause (needs
a comma)
whatever, etc.
Can move within
its own clause;
Requires
commas on both
sides
Warning: If you
wish to use
these to join
clauses, you
must use a
semicolon.
Can join
clauses.
Warning: Many
sentence fragments
begin with these
words. Usually, you
must hitch these
words and the
clauses that they
introduce to your
previous sentence.
Conjunctive Adverb: movable within
its own clause
however; nevertheless; therefore
You may have forgotten your notebook,
however you still have to take notes today.
John loves Mary. However, Mary does not
know this.
Therefore, I have them.
Handout, 24
Lacking sentence integrity:
(Unintentional) fragments, run-ons,
comma splices
No complex sentences; few sophisticated
or compound structures
Lacking sense of subject-verb agreement
Lacking sense of patterns in
English language spelling:
…ght
…ea
…ie/ei
suffixes
Writing is not speech
Lacking detail at the sentence level:
Lacking care in presentation:
Few modifiers:
No margins;
few pre and post noun adjective structures Illegible handwriting;
few adverbial structures
No difference between a period
few prepositional phrases
and a comma;
no use of verbals
Capitalization rules not observed,
no use of appositives
inc.no obvious difference
few introductory structures in sentences; between lower case and capitals
lacking lead-in from one sentence to
the next (lacking awareness of reader needs)
Sentence Patterns
S-V*
S-V-O*
S-V-SC
Rocks explode.
Lizards like rocks.
Rocks are expensive.
A diamond is a rock.
*SV: Subject-Verb: This pattern uses an intransitive verb. Intransitive verbs take
no direct object.
*S-V-O: Subject-Verb-Object: This pattern uses a transitive verb. Transitive verbs
take direct objects. (Direct objects answer Who? Or What? They are used with
action verbs only.
*S-V-SC: Subject-Verb-Subject Complement: This pattern uses a linking verb.
Linking verbs take subject complements, which can be either nouns (and when
pronouns, are in the subjective case) or adjectives.
Possessives
his books
Michael
Michael ‘s books
Possessives
his books
James
James ‘s books
OR: James’ books
Possessives
The boys
Their troubles
Their school
Their mother
Their mothers
The boys’ troubles; the boys’ school; the boys’ mother; the boys’ mothers
Possessives
The men
Their troubles
Their school
Their mother
Their mothers
The men’s troubles; the men’s school; the men’s mother; the men’s mothers
What is owned is in the backpack.
We use an apostrophe to put it in the backpack!
The “my” or “his” test:
My friend
borrowed his IPod.
Ichabod’s friend
borrowed Mortimer’s IPod.
Use the ‘s form any time you could substitute
the word “my” or “his” in the phrase.
Why Teach Verbs?
Strong verbs energize writing.
Writers must decide on a consistent
verb tense.
3. Writers must decide whether to use
active or passive voice.
4. Errors in verb usage are highly
stigmatized: Incorrect form of irregular verbs
(*I seen,
*brung, *lay on the couch, *have went, *have sang, etc.)
5. Whether we have an action verb or a BE verb
determines pronoun case use and adjective/adverb use.
Base form: walk, sing
Progressive form: walking, singing
Past form: walked, sang
Participial form: (have) walked, (have sung)
Verb Land, USA
Active Voice: I stole the cookie
from the cookie jar.
Passive Voice: The cookie was
stolen from the cookie jar by me.
(BE + Participial form= passive voice)
“Where We Find Out
the Action of Things”
ACTION TOWN
Verbals:
1. Participle: (acts as adjective)
ACTION verbs are modified by
adverbs:She sings happily.
the dancing bear;
the stolen cookie
2. Infinitive: (acts as noun)
Let us never fear to negotiate.
3. Gerund: (Acts as noun)
Teaching makes me happy.
ACTION verbs take objective case pronouns as objects:
We saw him steal the cookie from the cookie jar.
Auxiliaries:
Modal Auxiliaries:
Would Will
Have: creates
the perfect tenses Should Shall
Could
May
(has sung, etc.)
Can
Might
Be: creates the
Must
progressive tenses
(am singing, etc.)
Auxiliaries and
modal auxiliaries
combine with action
verbs to create various
tenses.
TO BE:
I am,was We are,were
You are
;were
He, she, it is They are,were
Sense Verbs:
feel, look, sound
smell, taste
Also: seem,
become, appear
grow
BE TOWN
“Where We Find Out the
Nature of Things”
BE verbs are completed by
adjectives: He is happy.
BE verbs take subjective case
pronouns as complements:
It was I who stole the cookie from
the cookie jar.
How To Find A Verb:
The verb is the part of the sentence
that can be negated.
The verb is the part of the sentence that
changes when you change the tense from
present to past (or from past to present)
English Regular Verb Patterns
Base form
I walk.
to walk (infinitive)
I walk on the
treadmill every
day.
To walk on the
treadmill is
my hobby.
S form
He walks.
ING form
She is walking.
Past and
Participial form
(have…)
She walked yesterday.
(past)
(present progressive) We have walked
four miles already.
She was walking.
(present perfect)
(past progressive)
(Can be used as an
adjective*)
(Can be used as an
adjective)
The walking child… The walked dog is
a happy dog.
*An adjective that is
(Can create the
formed from a verb
passive voice)
is called a participial The dog was walked
adjective.
an hour ago.
Walking (gerund: ING
form used as a noun)
on the treadmill is my
hobby.
English Regular Verb Patterns
Verbals: A verb form that is used as
another part of speech:
1. Participle: (acts as adjective)
the dancing bear;
the stolen cookie
2. Infinitive: (acts as noun)
Let us never fear to negotiate.
3. Gerund: (Acts as noun)
Teaching makes me happy.
English Regular Verb Patterns
Base form
I walk.
to walk (infinitive)
I walk on the
treadmill every
day.
To walk on the
treadmill is
my hobby.
S form
He walks.
ING form
She is walking.
Past and
Participial form
(have…)
She walked yesterday.
(past)
(present progressive) We have walked
four miles already.
She was walking.
(present perfect)
(past progressive)
(Can be used as an
adjective*)
(Can be used as an
adjective)
The walking child… The walked dog is
a happy dog.
*An adjective that is
(Can create the
formed from a verb
passive voice)
is called a participial The dog was walked
adjective.
an hour ago.
Walking (gerund: ING
form used as a noun)
on the treadmill is my
hobby.
English Regular Verb Patterns
Verbals: A verb form that is used as
another part of speech:
1. Participle: (acts as adjective)
the dancing bear;
the stolen cookie
2. Infinitive: (acts as noun)
Let us never fear to negotiate.
3. Gerund: (Acts as noun)
Teaching makes me happy.
I bring; I brought; I have brought
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I sing; I sang; I have sung
I see; I saw; I have seen
I hit; I hit; I have hit
I fly; I flew; I have flown
I steal, I stole, I have stolen
I pay, I paid, I have paid
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I bring; I brought; I have brought
Other irregular verbs with this pattern:
teach, taught, have taught
buy, bought, bought
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I sing; I sang; I have sung
Other irregular verbs with this pattern:
ring, rang, have rung
drink, drank, have drunk
shrink, shrank, have shrunk
Sound-alikes, but NOT IRREG:
blink, blinked, have blinked
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I hit; I hit; I have hit
Sound-alikes, but IRREGULAR
in a different way:
sit, sat, have sat
Put, put, have put
Set, set, have set
Bet, bet, have bet
Cut, cut, have cut
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I fly; I flew; I have flown
Sound-alikes, but
NOT IRREG:
Try, tried, have tried
Cry, cried, have cried
Flow, flowed, have flowed
Glow, glowed, have glowed
Know, knew, have known
Blow, blew, have blown
Grow, grew, have grown
Sound alikes, but IRREGULAR
in a different way:
show, showed, have shown
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I see; I saw; I have seen
Other verbs that have no matching pattern:
Go, went, have gone
BE: Is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I steal, I stole, I have stolen
speak, spoke, have spoken
take, took, have taken
Sound-alikes that are
NOT IRREG:
reveal, revealed, have revealed
seal, sealed, have sealed
creak, creaked, have creaked
IRREGULAR VERB PATTERNS:
I pay, I paid, I have paid
Sound-alikes that are
NOT IRREG:
say, said, have said
lay, laid, have laid
relay, relayed, have relayed
convey, conveyed, have conveyed
stay, stayed, stayed
pray, prayed, have prayed
spray, sprayed, have sprayed
Sound-alikes that are IRREGULAR in
a different way:
slay, slew, have slain
lie, lay, have lain
Action verbs are modified by adverbs.
bouncy
shy
friendly
shyly
vivaciously
protectiveprotectively
Pepper is… recklessly
hungry
silly
Pepper behaves…
cautiously
jovially
Pepper looks..
Pepper seems…
Pepper became…
playfully playful
adventurously
curiously
Linking verbs are completed
by adjectives.
adventurous
curious
Linking verbs
tell the nature of
things.
Linking verbs: BE, + sense verbs: look, sound, smell, feel; seem verbs: seem appear,
become, grow
The expandable, shrinkable
nominal (noun + its modifiers)
The expandable, shrinkable nominal
standing over the fish bowl
the
curious
IT
little
pink
on the bookshelf,
looking hungrily at the
rainbow fish
Order of adjectives:
these
cute
two
little
well-trained Himalayan
Why is this long and complicated sentence not a run-on?
The squat, bandy-legged man with long,
straggly, ginger hair jumped and dropped
an ancient suitcase which burst open,
releasing what looked like the entire contents
of a junk shop window.
Informal and formal English
got, gotta
hafta
gonna
have, have to
going to
want to
wanna
let me
lemme
would have, should have,
could have
woulda, shoulda,
coulda
because
cuz
Informal and formal English
backpack
briefcase
flip-flops
dress shoes
McDonald’s
sit-down restaurant
frisbee on the
lawn
football on the team
snack
zapping/nuking
lunch
cooking, baking, roasting
Informal and formal English
got, gotta
hafta
gonna
have, have to
going to
want to
wanna
let me
lemme
would have, should have,
could have
woulda, shoulda,
coulda
cuz
because
Situation:
sports
music
movies
restaurants
It has always been your dream to be
a (sports writer, music/movie/restaurant
critic). Now, you’ve decided to act on your
dream by writing a column that you intend
to send to Newsday. Begin writing your
draft.
Identifying Adverbials
Without the adverbials, the passage would be
hard to understand and much less detailed.
The men slept, breathing. The fire died, and the
gleaming eyes drew the circle they had flung. The
dogs clustered.
The passage is hard to understand because no
adverbials indicate where, when, how, and to
what extent the action happened.
The next day was foggy everything on the farm was dripping wet
the grass looked like a magic carpet the asparagus patch looked like a
silver forest
on foggy mornings, Charlotte’s web was truly a thing of beauty this
morning each thin strand was decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water
the web glistened in the light and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery
like a delicate veil.
Two days later a new kid was assigned to Group D his name was
Brian, but X-Ray called him Twitch because he was always fidgeting
Twitch was assigned Zero’s bed, and Zero’s crate
Vacancies don’t last long at Camp Green Lake
Twitch had been arrested for stealing a car he claimed he could
break into a car, disconnect the alarm, and hot-wire the engine, all
in less than a minute
Simple Sentence:
One Subject, One Verb
He thought about home.
Simple Sentence:
Two Subjects, One Verb
He and Zero thought about home.
Simple Sentence:
Two Subjects, Two Verbs
He and Zero thought and dreamed about
home.
Simple Sentence:
Two Subjects, Two Verbs,
Prepositional Phrases
He and Zero thought about home and
planned their escape back to Stanley’s
apartment.
Simple Sentence:
Two Subjects, Two Verbs,
More Prepositional Phrases
In the morning, he and Zero thought about
home and planned their escape from
Camp Green Lake back to
Stanley’s apartment.
Simple Sentence:
One Subject, One Verb
He thought about home.