PARSING THE SENTENCE
You have to be dedicated, a little nuts and want to understand how language functions to do the following. But, give it a try.
The Example
"The little old lady planted some daisies in her garden."
The Method
You must refer to yesterday's posting to understand what is occurring below.
WHAT is the action? "Planted" (verb).
WHAT (who) does the action? "Lady" (noun, subject of the verb).
WHAT receives the action? "Daisies" (noun, object of the verb).
WHAT qualifies (modifies) the action? The phrase "in her garden" which answers "WHERE" the planting occurred. Therefore, "in her garden" is an adverb phrase modifying the verb "planted".
WHAT qualifies (modifies) the subject? The adjectives "little" and "old".
WHAT qualifies (modifies) the object? The adjective "some".
WHAT is "the"? A definite article designating the noun "lady".
ASSIGNMENT
What is a phrase and how does it function?
WORD OF THE DAY
The word for today is "xenophobia".
Define "xenophobia" and use it in a sentence.
CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS
Corrections and explanations will be posted on Sunday.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
LET US PARSE - II
SIMPLE GUIDE TO PARSING
Parsing a sentence is easy if you remember a few simple guidelines.
1. Identify the verb. (That's the word that expresses the action. We will expand on this later.)
2. Remember the following word: "What".
3. Ask "What" when looking at each word.
Example
1. What is the action? The verb.
1.a. What qualifies the action? Adverbs, that modify verbs. They answer the questions, "Where?" "When?", "Why?" and "How?"
2. What (who) does the action? The subject of the verb. (Usually a noun.)
2.a. What qualifies the subject? Adjectives, that modify nouns.
3. What receives the action? The object of the verb. (Usually a noun.)
3.a. What qualifies the object? Adjectives, that modify nouns.
CONCLUSION
To be able to parse you must remember one word, "WHAT?" and apply it logically.
Now, parse the sentence I posted yesterday.
MORE TOMORROW
WORD OF THE DAY
The word for today is "fallacious".
Define "fallacious" and identify its root.
Parsing a sentence is easy if you remember a few simple guidelines.
1. Identify the verb. (That's the word that expresses the action. We will expand on this later.)
2. Remember the following word: "What".
3. Ask "What" when looking at each word.
Example
1. What is the action? The verb.
1.a. What qualifies the action? Adverbs, that modify verbs. They answer the questions, "Where?" "When?", "Why?" and "How?"
2. What (who) does the action? The subject of the verb. (Usually a noun.)
2.a. What qualifies the subject? Adjectives, that modify nouns.
3. What receives the action? The object of the verb. (Usually a noun.)
3.a. What qualifies the object? Adjectives, that modify nouns.
CONCLUSION
To be able to parse you must remember one word, "WHAT?" and apply it logically.
Now, parse the sentence I posted yesterday.
MORE TOMORROW
WORD OF THE DAY
The word for today is "fallacious".
Define "fallacious" and identify its root.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
LET US PARSE
A SIMPLE CHALLENGE
Yesterday I asked you to define "parsing".
Today I challenge you to parse a very simple sentence.
In the sentence below, you must identify the part of speech of each word and explain the relationship and function of every word or group of words.
The sentence is purposely simple . More sophisticated sentences will be presented in the future.
"The little old lady planted some daisies in her garden."
WORD OF THE DAY
The word for today is "salient".
Define "salient" and use it in some fashion today.
Yesterday I asked you to define "parsing".
Today I challenge you to parse a very simple sentence.
In the sentence below, you must identify the part of speech of each word and explain the relationship and function of every word or group of words.
The sentence is purposely simple . More sophisticated sentences will be presented in the future.
"The little old lady planted some daisies in her garden."
WORD OF THE DAY
The word for today is "salient".
Define "salient" and use it in some fashion today.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
SOMETHING OLD - SOMETHING NEW
PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE
What is the difference between "principal" and "principle"?
SOMETHING FOR THE GRAMMAR NUT - PARSING
Tomorrow I will begin a series on parsing which is intended to help in the understanding of language and its construction.
The preparation is to answer the following questions.
Can you define the word "parsing" ?
Do you know how to parse a sentence?
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "iconoclast".
Define "iconoclast" and use it in a sentence.
What is the difference between "principal" and "principle"?
SOMETHING FOR THE GRAMMAR NUT - PARSING
Tomorrow I will begin a series on parsing which is intended to help in the understanding of language and its construction.
The preparation is to answer the following questions.
Can you define the word "parsing" ?
Do you know how to parse a sentence?
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "iconoclast".
Define "iconoclast" and use it in a sentence.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - October 14, 2007
Below are the corrections and explanations for the entries of last week.
Monday
WHAT IS INCORRECT BELOW?
EXAMPLE 1
"A frantic son has been searching for his troubled mother, who went missing earlier this week amid mounting personal problems."
The error is “went missing”. People DO NOT “GO MISSING”; they disappear; they wander away; but they DO NOT “GO MISSING”!
Correction:
"A frantic son has been searching for his troubled mother, who disappeared earlier this week amid mounting personal problems."
EXAMPLE 2
"Stannard said he knows the situation will likely tarnish the police service's image, but hoped people would understand this is one officer out of hundreds facing charges in this situation."
One officer is facing charges. But the context reads as if “hundreds” are facing charges because “facing” is immediately following “hundreds”. The sentence is poorly constructed and creates ambiguity.
Correction:
"Stannard said he knows the situation will likely tarnish the police service's image, but hoped people would understand that, out of hundreds, this is one officer facing charges in this situation."
Tuesday
CONTINUOUS/CONTINUAL
What is the difference between "continuous" and "continual"?
“Continuous” (adj.) means uninterrupted or going on in time without breaks.
“Continual” (adj.) means repeated or occurring frequently.
Wednesday
COMPLIMENT/COMPLEMENT
“Compliment” (v.) means to congratulate or say nice things about someone.
The adjective form is “complimentary”. The adverb form is “complimentarily”>
“Complement” (v.) means to complete, supplement or add to something.
“The adjective form is "complementary".
Thursday
CONTEXT DICTATES MEANING
IN/INTO
He came in the room.
To propose a meaning for this sentence might become obscene. Use your imagination.
He came into the room.
This sentence means that the person entered the room.
Friday
UPTO/UP TO
“Upto” does not exist.
ALOT/A LOT
“Alot” does not exist.
So, you should say, The boy was up to a lot of no good.”
THIS WEEK’S WORDS
“Disparate" (adj.) means fundamentally different or distinct.
“Bumptious" (adj.) means self-assertive and offensive, nervy or brash.
“Jejune" (adj.) means displaying a lack of maturity, an adolescent insecurity, vapid or insipid.
“Untoward" (adj.) means against accepted standards, improper or impolite.
(I am sorry that I repeated a word this week. I will do better next week.)
Monday
WHAT IS INCORRECT BELOW?
EXAMPLE 1
"A frantic son has been searching for his troubled mother, who went missing earlier this week amid mounting personal problems."
The error is “went missing”. People DO NOT “GO MISSING”; they disappear; they wander away; but they DO NOT “GO MISSING”!
Correction:
"A frantic son has been searching for his troubled mother, who disappeared earlier this week amid mounting personal problems."
EXAMPLE 2
"Stannard said he knows the situation will likely tarnish the police service's image, but hoped people would understand this is one officer out of hundreds facing charges in this situation."
One officer is facing charges. But the context reads as if “hundreds” are facing charges because “facing” is immediately following “hundreds”. The sentence is poorly constructed and creates ambiguity.
Correction:
"Stannard said he knows the situation will likely tarnish the police service's image, but hoped people would understand that, out of hundreds, this is one officer facing charges in this situation."
Tuesday
CONTINUOUS/CONTINUAL
What is the difference between "continuous" and "continual"?
“Continuous” (adj.) means uninterrupted or going on in time without breaks.
“Continual” (adj.) means repeated or occurring frequently.
Wednesday
COMPLIMENT/COMPLEMENT
“Compliment” (v.) means to congratulate or say nice things about someone.
The adjective form is “complimentary”. The adverb form is “complimentarily”>
“Complement” (v.) means to complete, supplement or add to something.
“The adjective form is "complementary".
Thursday
CONTEXT DICTATES MEANING
IN/INTO
He came in the room.
To propose a meaning for this sentence might become obscene. Use your imagination.
He came into the room.
This sentence means that the person entered the room.
Friday
UPTO/UP TO
“Upto” does not exist.
ALOT/A LOT
“Alot” does not exist.
So, you should say, The boy was up to a lot of no good.”
THIS WEEK’S WORDS
“Disparate" (adj.) means fundamentally different or distinct.
“Bumptious" (adj.) means self-assertive and offensive, nervy or brash.
“Jejune" (adj.) means displaying a lack of maturity, an adolescent insecurity, vapid or insipid.
“Untoward" (adj.) means against accepted standards, improper or impolite.
(I am sorry that I repeated a word this week. I will do better next week.)
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