Diagramming Sentences
In what ways are sentences and puzzles alike?
Though the two may seem quite different, they do have some things in common. Most notably, both are made of multiple components—puzzles are made up of individual pieces, and sentences are made up of individual words.
A diagrammed sentence provides a visual representation of sentence components, the roles they each play, and how they work collectively to create meaning. As such, diagramming can be combined with teaching grammar in context while students read and write texts as part of language arts instruction.
In this video, we’re going to look at some benefits of diagramming sentences and learn how to diagram simple sentences containing some common parts of speech. Let’s get started!
Benefits of Diagramming Sentences
Sentence diagramming can assist students in multiple ways.
First, grammar knowledge, including syntax, plays an important role in reading comprehension. Syntax refers to the ways words and phrases are combined to form sentences. Understanding these predictable ways that words are ordered and the functions of different parts of speech can help readers make sense of what they read, particularly when reading complex sentences.
Knowledge of syntax can also help readers recognize when something doesn’t sound right, alerting them to potential errors. When students recognize that something doesn’t sound right according to the structure of the English language, they are prompted to go back and reread to correct the error.
Diagramming can also assist with writing skills. As students assess their own writing, they can consider where more modifiers may be included to add detail, or they can revise their writing for sentence variety. They may also notice missing subjects or predicates, alerting them to the use of fragments.
Diagramming a Simple Sentence
Now, let’s explore how to diagram a sentence. To begin, let’s think about what puzzle pieces make up a sentence in the first place.
The most basic sentences include just a subject and predicate. The simple subject is the noun or pronoun indicating who or what the sentence is about. The simple predicate, or verb, indicates what the subject is doing.
To begin the diagram, draw a horizontal line separated by a vertical line down the middle.
The subject of the sentence will always go on the left side of the vertical line, and the verb will go on the right side.
Now, if we were diagramming a very simple sentence, like “Caleb walked,” then this would be all we need.
But what if our sentence has modifiers, like adjectives and adverbs?
Modifiers will always appear on a diagonal line underneath the word they modify. So, any adjectives that modify the subject will appear on a diagonal line here, and any adverb or phrase that modifies the verb will appear here.
Ok, now let’s try diagramming a simple sentence together.
Let’s start with the subject and verb. In this case, frog is the simple subject and hopped is the verb, so let’s place those on our diagram accordingly.
The only word we’re left with is the article the. The is modifying our subject, so it goes on a diagonal line under frog.
That was pretty simple, so let’s add some words to our sentence and then add them to our diagram.
Now we have a few more modifiers to place on our diagram. Green is an adjective modifying frog, so it goes on a diagonal line right next to the.
If a word has more than one modifier attached to it, always place them in the order they appear in the sentence, and make sure the modifiers are attached to the word they describe, not to each other.
The word quickly is an adverb modifying our verb, so it goes on a diagonal line here.
Next, let’s add the prepositional phrase into the bushes. This phrase describes where the frog hopped, so it goes under the verb hopped. Now, you might think that we can just put the entire phrase on one big diagonal line under hopped, but take a closer look. Inside the prepositional phrase, there are three parts of speech: a preposition, a noun, and an adjective. We need to diagram this phrase as we attach it to our existing diagram.
The preposition into is the word that directly modifies hopped, so that gets its own diagonal line here.
The object of the preposition, or the word that answers “Into what?” goes on a connecting horizontal line.
The article the modifies bushes, so it goes on a diagonal line here.
This sentence diagram is now complete! Before we tackle a more complex sentence, take a look at which words are on horizontal lines and which words are on diagonal lines. Nouns and verbs will always be on a horizontal line, and modifiers will always be on a diagonal line.
Diagramming More Complicated Sentences
Now, let’s look at a more complicated example that includes both a direct and indirect object:
Again, we start by adding the simple subject and the simple predicate, divided by a vertical line.
In this case, Jack is the noun that is the simple subject, and gave is the verb that is the simple predicate.
Next, let’s determine if there is a direct object. A direct object is the noun that receives the action of the verb. In this case, what did Jack give? He gave cookies.
Draw another vertical line after the verb and place the direct object on the right side of that line.
Next, determine if there is an indirect object. An indirect object is a person or thing who is affected by the action but is not the direct object. Typically, it is the recipient.
In this case, Ana is the recipient of the giving, so we’ll add the indirect object below the verb, here.
Next, let’s add the prepositional phrase, as we did in the previous example. The prepositional phrase, at the party, describes where the giving occurred, so it goes under the verb gave.
The preposition, at, goes on a diagonal line under gave; the object of the preposition, party, goes on the connecting horizontal line; and the article the goes on a diagonal line under the word party.
Finally, add any remaining modifiers on diagonal lines beneath the words they describe. The word delicious is an adjective that describes the cookies, and thoughtfully is an adverb that describes how Jack did the giving.
Now this sentence diagram is complete!
You are now ready to begin diagramming some sentences of your own! Keep in mind, however, that the English language contains numerous parts of speech, types of phrases and clauses, and ways words can be joined together to form sentences, so sentence diagrams can become quite complex.
Review
Let’s review what we learned in this video.
- A diagram is a visual representation of sentence components, the functions that they serve, and the ways they combine to form meaning.
- Along with instruction in context, diagramming can help students develop grammar and syntax knowledge, assisting with reading comprehension and writing skills.
- A sentence diagram starts with the simple subject and simple predicate divided by a vertical line. The remaining words are then added to this diagram based on their functions within the sentence.
Questions
Got it? Let’s go over a couple of review questions:
1. Diagram the following sentence.
Bird is the simple subject, and sings is the simple predicate. The article a and the adjective small modify bird. The prepositional phrase outside my window describes where the bird sings.
2. The following sentence has a compound subject. Given what you’ve learned, consider how it might be diagrammed. Give it a try, and then check your answer.
Create two horizontal lines for the two simple subjects, children and parents. Use diagonal lines to connect them to the line where the simple predicate, or verb, begins. Draw a dotted line connecting the two simple subject lines, and write the conjunction, and, on this line. Add the remaining parts of speech as you would in a sentence with a single subject.
That’s all for this review. Thanks for watching, and happy studying!
