DIAGRAMMING SENTENCES

Diagramming sentences ppt

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THE INFINITIVE

 

Structure:  The infinitive is usually made up of to plus the simple form of the verb. The simple form sometimes can appear without the to.  When combined with auxiliaries, the infinitive has several forms.

To write (simple)

To have written  (perfect)

To be writing  (progressive)

To have been writing  (perfect progressive)

To be written  (passive)

To have been written  (perfect passive)

The infinitive may have a subject or an object or both. Notice that if the subject of an infinitive is a pronoun, it must be an object pronoun. Examples:

We asked John to study more.

We asked him to study more.

John likes to play basketball.

We prefer to read mystery stories.

She invited us to visit her farm.

The infinitive is sometimes used without to when it follows the prepositions but, except, and besides.

 She does nothing    but/except/besides    sing all day long.

The infinitive without to is used following verbs of causing, such as let, help, make, see and verbs of sense such as watch, hear, feel.  Notice that the infinitive has a subject—a noun or an object pronoun.

 Please let me study here.

I helped him pass the examination.

I made John answer the letter.

I saw you take the money.

I watched the bird make its nest.

I felt the weather become warm.

I felt her anger increase.

They heard the bird make a strange noise.

GERUNDS

A gerund is a verbal that ends in "ing" and functions as a noun. The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would, for example: subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition.
Gerund as subject:
• Traveling might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (Traveling is the gerund.)
• The study abroad program might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (The gerund has been removed.)
 
Gerund as direct object:
• They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is singing.)
• They do not appreciate my assistance. (The gerund has been removed)

Gerund as subject complement:
• My cat's favorite activity is sleeping. (The gerund is sleeping.)
• My cat's favorite food is salmon. (The gerund has been removed.)

Gerund as object of preposition:
• The police arrested him for speeding. (The gerund is speeding.)
• The police arrested him for criminal activity. (The gerund has been removed.)

A Gerund Phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund, such as:
The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do.
Finding (gerund)a needle (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
in a haystack (prepositional phrase as adverb).

The gerund phrase functions as the direct object of the verb appreciate.
I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.
my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying the gerund)
offering (gerund).
you (indirect object of action expressed in gerund)
this opportunity (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject complement.
Tom's favorite tactic has been jabbering away to his constituents.
jabbering away to (gerund)
his constituents (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition for.
You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.
faking (gerund)
an illness (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
to avoid work (infinitive phrase as adverb)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.
Being (gerund)
the boss (subject complement for Jeff, via state of being expressed in gerund)

Punctuation: A gerund virtually never requires any punctuation with it.

Points to remember:
1. A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is used as a noun.
2. A gerund phrase consists of a gerund plus modifier(s), object(s), and/or complement(s).
3. Gerunds and gerund phrases virtually never require punctuation.

Pronouns

Pronouns

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A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form .
For example:

• A book, two books, three books .....

• An apple, two apples, three apples ....

Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they are not seperate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of them.
For example:

• Water
• Work
• Information
• Coffee
• Sand

Countable (use a/an or a number in front of countable nouns)	Uncountable (there is no a/an or number with uncountable nouns)
An Apple / 1 Apple	Rice
I eat an apple every day.	I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice every day.)
Add (s) to make a countable noun plural	There is no plural form for an uncountable noun
apples	rice
I eat an apple every day. Apples are good for you.	I eat rice every day. Rice is good for you.
A computer= Computers are fun.	To make uncountable nouns countable add a counting word, such as a unit of measurement, or the general word piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......."
An elephant=Elephants are large.	Rice=a grain of rice
	Water=a glass of water
	Rain=a drop of rain
	Music=a piece of music
You can use some and any with countable nouns. Some dogs can be dangerous. I don't use any computers at work.	You can use some and any with uncountable nouns. I usually drink some wine with my meal. I don't usually drink any water with my wine.
You only use many and few with plural countable nouns. So many elephants have been hunted that they are an endangered species. There are few elephants in England.	You only use much and little with uncountable nouns. I don't usually drink much coffee. Little wine is undrinkable though.
You can use a lot of and no with plural countable nouns. No computers were bought last week. A lot of computers were reported broken the week before.	You can use a lot of and no with uncountable nouns. A lot of wine is drunk in France. No wine is drunk in Iran.

Making uncountable nouns countable

You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front of the noun.
For example:-

• A piece of information.
• 2 glasses of water.
• 10 litres of coffee.
• Three grains of sand.
• A pane of glass.

Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a separate object).
For example:-
glass - A glass of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable)
Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types.

This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-

Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day.
(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee)
You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."

The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian.
(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)
You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."

IDIOMS

Idioms and idiomatic expressions in English
An idiom is a group of words in current usage having a meaning that is not deducible from those of the individual words. For example, "to rain cats and dogs" - which means "to rain very heavily" - is an idiom; and "over the moon" - which means "extremely happy" - is another idiom. In both cases, you would have a hard time understanding the real meaning if you did not already know these idioms!

Nouns