English 1 Sentence of the Day 13

Today's sentence of the day comes from the story "There Will Come Soft Rains":

There, down tubes which fed into

the cellar, it was dropped into the sighing vent of

an incinerator which sat like evil Baal in a dark

corner.

For an audio recording of today's lesson, click here.

Here's a picture of the labeled sentence:

English I Sentence of the Day 11

Now that you've completed Sentence Basics Lessons 1 to 6, let's put your skills to work on a sentence from "My Landlady's Yard":

There was no hurry, except for

the thirst, like clotted salt, in the

back of the throat, and Durante rode on slowly,

rather enjoying the last moments of dryness before

he reached the cold water in Tony’s house.

For an audio recording of a lesson explaining the grammar of this sentence, click here.

This photo shows exactly how we labeled the sentence in class. Don't mind the glare!

SoD 11: Compound-Complex Sentence

Now that you've completed Sentence Basics Lessons 1 to 6, let's put your skills to work on a sentence from "My Landlady's Yard":

So I go ahead and drag around a

green hose despite my perception

that gold, colorless liquid, is pouring out onto this

desert, an offering as unquenchable and ruthless as

to any Aztec deity (don’t water a couple of days

and watch how fast it dries away).

Let's pick out main parts!

First bracket off prepositional phrases: So I go ahead and drag around a green hose despite my perception that gold, colorless liquid, is pouring out [onto this desert], an offering as unquenchable and ruthless as [to any Aztec deity] (don’t water a couple [of days] and watch how fast it dries away).

Note, "ahead," "around,"and "out" are sometimes prepositions, but in this sentence, they are helping the verbs express their actions, therefore they are phrasal verbs.

Next underline verbs: So I go ahead and drag around a green hose despite my perception that gold, colorless liquid, is pouring out [onto this desert], an offering as unquenchable and ruthless as [to any Aztec deity] (don’t water a couple [of days] and watch how fast it dries away).

We don't have to underline "offering" here because we know that -ing verbs need helping verbs to take a subject. "Offering" is a participle and is acting as a modifier.

Who or what goes ahead? I. "I" is the subject. 
I go ahead who or what? The question makes no sense, so there's no complement.

Who or what drags around? I. "I" is the subject. 

Both verbs share the same subject, therefore these verbs are part of a single clause. This is an example of compound-predicate.

I drag around who or what? A hose. "Hose" is the direct object.

Who or what is pouring out? Gold. "Gold" is the subject.

Note, "liquid" cannot be the subject because it is separated from the verb with a single comma. The two commas surrounded "colorless liquid" act like a bridge, allowing us to move from the verb "is pouring out" to the subject "gold."

Who or what don't water? This verb is an imperative verb. It is giving a command, therefore the subject is understood to be the reader, or "you." 

You don't water who or what? This question makes no sense so there's no complement.

Who or what watch? This verb is an imperative verb. It is giving a command, therefore the subject is understood to be the reader, or "you." 

You watch who or what? "How fast it dries away." This is a noun clause acting as direct object.

Who or what dries? It. "It" is the subject.
It dries who or what? There is no answer, so no complement.

This sentence contains a whooping five clauses:

So I go ahead and drag around a green hosedespite my perception that gold, colorless liquid, is pouring out [onto this desert]don’t water a couple [of days]watch how fast it dries away

Two of the clauses are dependent:

despite my perception that gold, colorless liquid, is pouring out [onto this desert]how fast it dries away 

The rest are independent. Thus this is a compound-complex sentence.

The portion of the sentence that is set off with parenthesis is a sort of aside, as if the author is leaning over and whispering a comment to the audience. 

English IV - SoD 2

Now that you've completed Sentence Basics Lessons 1 to 5, let's put your skills to work on a sentence from our reading:

Beaufort had taken effectual measures to conceal himself, and it was ten months before my father discovered his abode.

Click here for today's video lesson.

Pick out main parts!

• First bracket off prep phrases
• Then find all the verbs
• Test verbs to see which are predicates.
• Pick out all main parts for the predicates you find.