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Grammar 362

Grammar 362 Ch. 11: The Passive – Prepositional Verbs

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Prepositional phrases are still a part of the passive construction. Adverbials and adverbial complements, however, do differ in how they are a part of a passive sentence.

Adverbial Complements

As a reminder, adverbial complements are a part of the PredPhr.  This means that the NP of the adverbial complement (or the PrepComp), can become the subject of a passive sentence.

Ex.: I listened to the lecture. ————> The lecture was listened to by me.

However, if the verb of the sentence has a DO, then the PrepComp cannot become the subject. The DO must be.

Ex.:

Incorrect: Olivia taught the pwips about diagrams. ———-> ***Diagrams were taught the pwips to by Olivia.

Correct: Olivia taught the pwips about diagrams. ————> The pwips were taught about diagrams by Olivia.

 

Adverbials

Adverbials are not a part of the sentence core. This means, unlike adverbial complements, they can never be the subject of a passive sentence.

Ex.:

Incorrect: I tried on Thursday. ———-> ***Thursday was tried on by me.

Correct: I tried on Thursday. ———–> (It) was tried by me on Thursday.

 

Diagramming, Grammar 362

English 362: Ch. 9 Nouns that Modify Nouns

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Heyo pwips! Since there seemed to be some confusion about this in class, here’s some more instruction on nouns that modify nouns.

We know that adjectives and prepositional phrases can modify nouns-but so can other nouns. Take, for example, the phrase “chicken soup bowl.” The entire phrase is clearly an NP, with the head noun being “bowl.” But what about “chicken soup?”

To break it down further, we know that “chicken soup” is a noun phrase on its own. This means that there must be at least two NPs branching off the original NP node, like in the figure below.

GSWE PWP example 1

Because it is a part of the original NP, we know that the function of “chicken soup” must be “Modif of ‘bowl.'”

However, we still have an NP made up of 2 nouns, which we can break down further.  Because there are two distinct nouns in the phrase, each noun must get another NP node, as shown in the figure below.

GSWE PWP example 2

Now that all of the forms are sorted, we just need to figure out the functions. One of the two nouns in “chicken soup” must be the head noun. Because the function of that NP is “Modif of ‘bowl,'” we know that the head noun’s function must also be to modify bowl.

The word “chicken” does not seem to modify bowl. “Chicken bowl” is not a common phrase. “Chicken,” however, can modify “soup.” “Chicken soup” is a phrase, as chicken describes the type of soup.

If chicken is not the head noun, that means it must be “soup.” This fits, as “soup bowl” is a common enough phrase. “Soup” describes what the bowl is used for. Its function must be “Modif of ‘bowl,'” as shown in the figure below.

GSWE PWP example 3

 

Congrats! We successfully diagrammed nouns modifying nouns. You can do this with other constructions. Just remember to break the nouns down by phrases with each phrase getting a new NP node until you are left with one word phrases.

Grammar 362

English 362: Ch. 8: Determiners

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Heyo pwips, let’s talk determiners!

 

Central Determiners

  • May be articles, demonstratives, or possessive pronouns
    • Articles: a, an, the
    • Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
    • Possessive pronouns: his, her, their, our, your, its
  • Forms: Art, Dem, Pron
  • Function: Det

 

Pre-Determiners

  • Come before Central Determiner
  • May be quantifiers or a link
    • Quantifiers:
      • Quantifiers: all, none, few, many, some, both
      • Multipliers: twice, double, three times
      • Fractions: half, one third
    • Links:
      • The word “of” in the determiner phrase has the function of a link
      • “Of” forms a Preposition by itself and does not have a PrepComp
  • Forms: Quantifier, Preposition
  • Functions: PreDet, Link

 

Post-Determiners

  • Come after Central Determiner
  • May be cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers,  or two quantifiers
    • Cardinal numbers: one, two, three
    • Ordinal numbers: first, second, third
    • Quantifiers: few, many
  • Forms: Numeral, Quantifier
  • Functions: PostDet
Diagramming, Grammar 362

English 362: Mid-Term Review

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Heyo pwips! Let’s review diagramming for your BIG SCARY MIDTERM.  With a little bit of review, it’ll be a piece of cake!

Here are the steps you should follow when diagramming.

  1. Determine the Subj.
    • The Subj will be an NP. Any phrases that modify the noun will be a part of the phrase. This includes determiners, adjective phrases, and prepositional phrases that modify the noun.
  2. Determine the PredPhr.
    • The PredPhr will always start with the VP and may have elements that follow.
  3. Determine any non-core elements.
    • Recall that non-core elements may be moved to either end of the sentence and will still make sense.
    • Non-core elements come in the forms of PrepPhr and AdvPhr.
    • Adjuncts introduce a topic or insert the writer’s view of the subject. Ex: In my opinion, Frankly
    • Adverbials set up a time, place, or manner. Ex: On Thursday
  4. Determine the VP in the PredPhr.
    • VPs will include auxiliary verbs, and the forms of all aux verbs is Aux.
    • Modals will be on the farthest left. They are words such as may, could, should. They do not carry tense and are followed by the bare form of the next verb. Their function is “Modal of____,” in which the blank is filled by the next verb that follows.
    • Perfect aspect will be the next auxiliary verb, and it does carry tense. This requires a form of has (had, have) and the -en form of the next verb that follows. Its function is “Perf of ____,” in which the blank is filled by the next verb that follows.
    • Progressive aspect will be the next verb. It may carry tense if it is the farthest verb to the left that can. It requires a form of be (is, am, are) and is followed by the -ing form of the next verb that follows. Its function is “Prog of ___,” in which the blank is filled by the next verb that follows.
    • The final possible verb is the lexical verb. It will have a form of V and a function of Pred.
  5. Determine any elements in the PredPhr.
    • Additional elements in the PredPhr may include DOs, IOs, OCs, SCs, and ACs. Refer to Olivia’s previous post about sentence patterns to determine when to use what.

That’s it pwips! Good luck!

Grammar 362

English 362 Ch. 7: Prepositional Phrases – Phrasal Verbs

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Hey pwips! Now that Olivia has gone over regular prepositional phrases, let’s talk about those pesky phrasal verbs.

Criteria for a Phrasal Verb

As we discussed in class, the best way to test if a verb is phrasal is to move it around the noun phrase.

We blew up the tree ——-> We blew the tree up

If the preposition can be moved around the noun phrase, it is phrasal. If the preposition cannot be moved, then it is an ordinary prepositional phrase with a Prep and an NP/PrepComp.

Why is it important to know if a preposition is phrasal or not?

A phrasal preposition is diagrammed differently from a regular prepositional phrase. A phrasal preposition does not have a PrepComp. This means that any NP after a phrasal preposition is not a part of the PrepPhr, and will most likely be a DO.

A PrepPhr with a phrasal preposition will only be composed of that preposition. The nodes will go as follows:

PredPhr-> PrepPhr -> Prep

The function of a phrasal preposition will often be AdvComp.

Diagramming, Grammar 362

English 362: Super Subject Complements

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Heyo pwips, let’s talk subject complements!

Subject Complements

  • Function label
  • Follow a linking verb
    • Forms of be: is, am, are, was, were
    • Other verbs: seems, become, turned
  • Are a part of the predicate, S-V-SC
  • Can be a noun phrase or an adjective phrase

Examples:

Wonder Woman is strong.

  • NP – Wonder Woman – Subject
  • Linking Verb – Is
  • Adjective Phrase – Strong – SC

Harley Quinn seems evil.

  • NP – Harley Quinn – Subject
  • Linking Verb – seems
  • Adjective Phrase – evil – SC

Starfire has become Queen of Tamaran.

  • NP – Starfire – Subject
  • Linking Verb – become
  • Noun Phrase – Queen of Tamaran – SC
Grammar 362

English 362: Types of Sentences

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Most of the sentences you will be dealing with in English 362 are declarative sentences (and why the function on your diagrams for the whole sentence is simply “Declaration”). However, it is important to distinguish the other types of sentences too!

Declarative Statements

  • Clear subject and predicate
  • Make assertions about everyday affairs
  • Do not:
    • Ask questions
    • Give commands
    • Express desires
  • Example: It is windy today.

 

Imperatives

  • Has “understood subject,” so subject is not clearly visible
    • Example: Stop running!
  • The word “you” may be to show emphasis, more of an addressee than a subject
    • Example: You stop running!
  • Often will have an exclamation point
  • Prohibitions:
    • Negative of imperative
    • Example: Don’t burn that!

 

Interrogatives

  • Asks a question
  • Two types
    • Closed Interrogatives: a question that can be answered with yes or no
      • Has inversion, where the subject swaps place with a part of the predicate, often an auxiliary verb
      • Example: Can you write that? vs. You can write that
    • Open Interrogatives: a question that cannot be answered with yes or no
      • Centers around words like who, what, where, when, why, and how at the beginning of the sentence
      • Example: Where are you going?

 

Sentence Fragments

  • Is missing a part of sentence structure
  • Is not an imperative or other type of sentence
  • Example: About eight.

 

Exclamative and Precative Sentences

  • Exclamative
    • Dramatic expression of surprise or desire
    • Example: What luck!
  • Precative
    • Similar to exclamative, but has ceremonial, proverbial, or ritual contexts
    • Example: Lord help me!

Hortatatives

  • Begin with “Let’s” or “Let us”
  • Example: Let’s go!
Diagramming, Grammar 362

English 362: Glorious Diagrams!

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Hello PWP students!

We’ve reached chapter 3 in Hopper’s textbook and been introduced to the basics of the great emblem of this grammar course, the Diagram. In addition to being a main focal point in the class, diagrams can be extremely confusing!

Here is a recap on important basics to understanding diagrams:

First of all, remember the definition of phrase. This is important since it’s phrases that we will be diagramming.

Phrase: this term refers to a set of words that belong together because they function as a grammatical unit (eg., “the hot rod” is the unit of a noun phrase)

In a diagram, a phrase has two aspects that are identified: Form and Function (hence, it is called a “form-function diagram”)

Forms: labels for categories like “verb”, “noun”, “adjective”; and labels for phrases like “Noun Phrase” and “Predicate Phrase”

-Forms are represented in the top “tree” part of the diagram

Functions: (what the phrase is doing in the sentence, or the purpose that it serves) labels such as “Subject”, “Predicate”, “Modifier”, “Determiner”, etc.

-Functions are represented in the underlined section of the diagram, underneath the sentence.

Every sentence that we will be working with is made up of two basic phrases: The Noun Phrase (NP) and the Predicate Phrase (PredPhr).  When you diagram a sentence, after you start the tree diagram by labeling the sentence with the overarching “S” form label,  the NP and PredPhr are the first two phrases that you will identify. Identify their forms (NP and PredPhr), and then identify their functions (Subject and Predicate). (See p. 48 of Hopper’s textbook)

Example Sentence:

The hot rod whizzed down the street.

   Two basic phrases of sentence:

“The hot rod” And “whizzed down the street”

   – Forms:

“the hot rod” = NP

“whizzed down the street” = PredPhr

– Functions:

     NP function (the hot rod) = Subject

PredPhr function (whizzed down the street) = Predicate

 

See chapter 3 for visuals of this diagramming process. Understanding the basic form-function categories of NP and PredPhr is just the beginning before we dissect each of those phrases down to every single word’s form and function. Keep up the good practice! If you have any questions or simply want someone to practice with, please stop by Laurentide and see either Cheyenne or Olivia (that’s me:)

About PWP Mentors

About PWP Mentors

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Welcome Professional Writing students! Both Olivia and Cheyenne (that’s us!) are here to help you with your courses and succeed in your chosen field. For those in:

  • English 230 Foundations of Writing and Editing
  • English 362 Grammar of Standard Written English
  • English 364 Style: Principles and Practices

We are available for tutoring and study groups. Just drop by Laurentide 3rd floor with any questions!

 

Times we are available:

Monday: 2:00-6:30 (230 & 362)

Tuesday: 11-Noon & 4:00-6:00 (230, 362, & 364)

Wednesday: 2:00-6:00 (230 & 362, 364 from 4:00-6:00)

Thursday: 11-Noon & 3:30-6:00 (230, 362, & 364)

Friday: 12:00-2:00 (230, 362, & 364)