Download Brushstrokes

Brushstrokes
from Image Grammar by Harry Noden
Core sentence: The dog walked across the lawn.
1. painting with action verbs – use strong, vivid action verbs
 use active voice
Ex: The boy ate the sandwich.
 avoid passive voice
Ex: The sandwich was eaten by the boy.
The dog limped across the lawn.
The dog darted across the lawn.
The dog waddled across the lawn.
2. painting with prepositional phrases
Ex: across the lawn
with her puppies
with a squirrel in its mouth
The dog walked with her puppies across the lawn.
3. painting with appositives
definition: an appositive is a noun that renames the noun before it
Ex: My brother, Bill, is an astronaut.
Bill, my older brother by two years, is an astronaut.
The dog, a mixed Lab and Collie, limped across the lawn with her
puppies.
4. painting with participles
definition: a participle is the “ing” or “ed” form of a verb
 When used with a helping verb, the participle can be the main verb in
a sentence.
Ex: The lion is roaring loudly.
The lion has roared.

Participles can also work as adjectives in a sentence.
Ex: The roaring lion scared the children at the zoo.
As participles are verbals, they can have modifiers (adverbs,
prepositional phrases)
and complements (direct objects); it is then called a participial phrase.
Participial phrases work in sentences as adjectives.
Ex: Roaring loudly, the lion scared the children at the zoo.
Foaming at the mouth, the dog, a mixed Lab and collie, limped across
the lawn with her puppies.
5. painting with adjectives out of order
The dog, parched and hungry, limped with her puppies across the lawn.
The abandoned dog, parched and hungry, limped with her puppies across
the lawn.
6. painting with noun absolutes
Definition: a noun absolute is a phrase.
Basically it is a noun (or pronoun) + ________
Ex: Ears drooping, the dog walked across the lawn.
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.