Sentence diagramming amuses man
Sentence diagramming amuses man

Comments Comment on this article24

By Ann DeFrange
Published: May 18, 2008
Modified: May 19, 2008 at 10:29 am

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion ... or the right of the people to assemble peaceably and to petition the government for redress of grievances.”

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Drop the adverb and adjective phrases to diagonal lines below the main line. Break the compound clauses into a bracket joined by a dotted line. Consider the elliptical thoughts.

And suddenly, just maybe, when you get every word in the right place, says John Barritt, 78, the thought processes of the framers of the Constitution becomes clearer.

For many people, diagramming a sentence provides a mental challenge akin to crossword puzzles.

Barritt, a retired mail carrier who lives in Oklahoma City, indulges in infinitives, gerunds and predicate nominatives for amusement. Diagramming "gives me the ability to absorb what's there, to logically put things together.”


 

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You guys are missing the point. This was supposed to forwarded to The Onion.
stinkerpants, Oklahoma City - May 22, 2008 at 1:49 pm
You guys are missing the point. This was supposed to forwarded to The Onion.
stinkerpants, Oklahoma City - May 22, 2008 at 1:47 pm
First, a lot of you are right: I had hoped there would be more to this article. Secondly, diagramming sentences is a lost art and a valuable exercise for learning good grammar. I remember doing it in 6th and 7th grade English. It does help the student think logically, and seeing how the parts of a sentence fit together helps the student compose gramatically correct sentences. Diagramming needs to be revived for today's kids.
Joe, Yukon - May 22, 2008 at 10:56 am
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Jason disappeared..must be he never thought anyone would take him up on his offer..or call him son..I was thinking more like "boy"....
paul, yukon - May 19, 2008 at 4:02 pm
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Jason, please, give us your address and # so I can give it to the rest of anonymous. You need to just sit down and shut up, son.
Anonymous, The Internet - May 19, 2008 at 2:09 pm
That was one of the most unsatisfying articles I've ever read. I scrolled up and down the page wondering that was seriously ALL there was to it.
We diagrammed sentences in 9th grade. It wasn't a joyous occasion for most. If he gets pleasure from it, great. I fail to see the point here.
Kareline, Oklahoma City - May 19, 2008 at 11:23 am
EXACTLY!!
Floyd R, Purtle - May 19, 2008 at 9:49 am
Thanks for your witty and urbane post here, Floyd....
paul, yukon - May 19, 2008 at 9:36 am
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Or maybe, Paul, clowns who take the time to try to appear witty and urbane on The Daily OK Your Thoughts section about said story. Though, honestly, I'm reminded of a classic Wizard of Id cartoon. One of the characters sits watching a snail progress as the sun rises, sinks...the character says, "What a waste of time...all day just to go from here to there."
Floyd R, Purtle - May 19, 2008 at 8:36 am
Careful Michael, Jason will post his phone number for you if you keep being sarcastic....
paul, yukon - May 18, 2008 at 3:55 pm
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sorry..albeit, not albiet...
paul, yukon - May 18, 2008 at 3:54 pm
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I'm not quite sure whats more pathetic, somebody wasting their time "diagramming" a sentence, or somebody actually writing a story (albiet a very abbreviated and incomplete one) thinking we might be interested..........Maybe, just maybe, we should just quit trying to convolute what the founding fathers wrote, quit looking for "hidden" meanings and just take the words at face value??
paul, yukon - May 18, 2008 at 3:53 pm
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Hey Ann DeFrange, diagram this sentence. This article sucks.
Nathen, Eskimo Falls - May 18, 2008 at 3:38 pm
>>They would certainly never say it to me.
jason, Oklahoma City - May 18, 2008 10:51 AM>>Why would we never say it to you, Jason?
paul, yukon - May 18, 2008 at 3:27 pm
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Jason..I'ma fixin' to start shakin'.....
paul, yukon - May 18, 2008 at 2:22 pm
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I thought there would be a link at the bottom of this to a 2nd page. It seems like the article just dropped off. I thought that maybe there was a diagramming contest, or maybe the story had some sort of tie as to how diagramming sentences is actually useful knowlege.
David, Oklahoma City - May 18, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Chris: I agree, this is it? To those people bullying; do you have any idea how to diagram a sentence, or do you even know what sentence diagraming is?
James, oklahoma city - May 18, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Is that all there is to this article?
Chris, Jones - May 18, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Alex,
Online bullying is what cowards do. They say things on message boards that they would never say to that person if he or she were standing in front of them. They would certainly never say it to me. In fact, I'll be happy to drop my phone number and address to any of you punks who posted here so you can stop on by and give it a shot. Any takers?
jason, Oklahoma City - May 18, 2008 at 10:51 am
Don't pick on this poor guy. What is up with the bullying that goes on here?
alex, oklahoma City - May 18, 2008 at 10:15 am
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My head is going to explode. Good god (no pun intended), somebody needs to get this fella a dog or something.
Ron, Oklahoma City - May 18, 2008 at 9:45 am
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Schizophrenia is such a tragic disease.
Anonymous, The Internet - May 18, 2008 at 8:26 am
This guy must have been an Oklahoma state legislator before he retired.....
paul, yukon - May 18, 2008 at 6:21 am
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I want the last 10 seconds of my life back from reading this stupid article.
Nathen, Eskimo Falls - May 18, 2008 at 12:56 am

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