Diagram of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution 5

[sleipnir214]

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/diagrams2/preamble.htm

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[SantaMufasa]

I liiiiiiiiiike it ! Thanks for posting. Hava

for providing my mental gymnastics for today.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[ESquared]

should the "and" of the "in order to" clause extend across all the parts of it? That is, not just connect "promote" with "secure" but starting with "form" go through all the way to "secure?"

I'm not remembering my sentence diagramming right now... it's been 23 years since I had any formal instruction in it.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

I'd like to give a negative star - perhaps a black hole - because this will probably give me nightmares of 5th grade (or whenever we covered diagramming).

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

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[chiph]

Oh yes, I have far too many negative emotions when presented with a diagrammed sentence.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
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[Bandenjamin]

Guess which one I am....

--Dan
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain

 

[sleipnir214]

Ah, ya wimps. Diagramming sentences can be very entertaining.

I was in one meeting where I was listening to the blatherings of two Micrsoft marketing droids. I got bored and began mentally diagramming their utterances -- and I call them utterances and not sentences because at least two of these strings of marketing catch-phrases had no verbs. I started laughing out loud.





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[strongm]

>at least two of these strings of marketing catch-phrases had no verbs

Really? How interesting.

;-)

 

[sleipnir214]

Yes, almost as interesting as how irritating a person could be if his end of a conversation consisted of nothing but conversational interjections.

Actually the most interesting thing those two marketdroids said during that presentation was, "You see, Microsoft is not a service company. Micrsoft is a marketing company." To date, I've never heard truer words spoken about Microsoft.






Want to ask the best questions? Read Eric S. Raymond's essay "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way". TANSTAAFL!

 

[gbaughma]

Wow.

I hated sentence diagramming in school.

In English, half the year was english, the other half was literature.

I always failed the english part, and made A's in literature... so I would come out with a C average.

lol



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[LizSara]

I've never heard of sentence diagramming before

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. ~ Nietzsche"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[philhege]

Then your education is lacking, I fear. If you want an exercise in lunacy, try diagramming the third-from-the-last paragraph-length sentence in "Barn Burning". It covered four eight-foot blackboards.

 

[Welshbird]

I think we just didn't do that in the UK at all.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[SantaMufasa]

...try diagramming the...paragraph-length sentence in "Barn Burning". It covered four eight-foot blackboards.

Then that sentence broke my grandmother's excellent rule for English sentences.

Sentences should contains 14 words or less. If a sentence contains more than 14 words, then re-organise it.

I don't know why "14" was a magic threshold. (Why not use 13 or 15 words as the threshold?) But, in any case, her rule has always worked well for me.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[sleipnir214]

You know, I remember some teacher somewhere in my past telling me that same rule.

The thing that jogged my memory was I remember asking that same question: Why not 13 or 15?




Want to ask the best questions? Read Eric S. Raymond's essay "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way". TANSTAAFL!

 

[philhege]

Far be it from me to put Faulkner in a 14-word box. The sentence structure and pacing communicated perfectly the urgency of the situation and the action in the story.

 

[2ffat]

Ohhhhhh...don't get me started on English teachers who apply rules like "the 14 word" rule, etc. to their students then laud writers like e e cummings and James Joyce.




James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
^{I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!}

 

[sleipnir214]

My high school creative writing teacher told us everyone should know the rules, but authors should also know when to break them. Her canonical example is the mixed metaphor in the fourth line of the "To or not to be" soliloquy in "Hamlet", which reads, "To to take arms against a sea of troubles". She pointed out one does not take arms against a sea of troubles, rather one takes arms against a host of troubles, but Shakespeare's incorrect usage indicated a greater depth of sorrow in the character.




Want to ask the best questions? Read Eric S. Raymond's essay "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way". TANSTAAFL!

 

[NorthNone]

Strongm, methinks your two-string reply hath no verbs on purpose. Elegant, quite elegant.

>strongm (MIS) 19 Jan 08 6:36
>>at least two of these strings of marketing catch-phrases
>>had no verbs

>>Really? How interesting.



"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." - Helen Keller

 

[ProfReynolds]

I HATED sentence diagramming when I was in school. Oddly enough, I was very good at it. Now I pride myself on well-constructed sentences. Most of the time .