Supporting Details and
Grammar
INSTRUCTOR: KYLE BRITT
Objectives

Analyze how supporting details contribute to our
understanding of a text.

Identify elements of grammar.
Warm Up

Take a copy of the reading packet and answer sheet from
the front.


You will need to read and answer the questions for Wolves
and Amy Tan by Friday.
Last class, you read about a measles outbreak at Disney.

Write a response indicating how the supporting details helped you
understand the text. Give examples from the text. Indicate what
the main idea of the text is and any questions you might have now
that you have finished the article.

Share with the class
Supporting Details

Analyze word choice for:
 Author’s
intended message
 Context
clues
 Biased
A
language
deeper message
Supporting details and text analysis
Group Work

Read the article regarding book burning in Venezuela.


Annotate the text for the main idea and supporting details

Answer the 7 questions from the sheet and use those answers to help you
complete the reading comprehension question at the end of the article.

What stance does the author take?

Is there a bias present?

How does the word choice affect your understanding of the text?
Discuss your findings with your group. Compare annotations and your
speculations.
Grammar

Prepositional Phrase Recap

The Infinitive

Infinitive Phrases

Adverbs

Make sure you study your grammar notes!
Prepositional Phrases

1. Shows direction, location, and extra information.

2. Links a noun to another word.

3. A PP (prepositional phrase) must contain a preposition and an object.

Tip: If you can remove the phrase from the sentence and it still makes sense,
it is a prepositional phrase.

Ex: Howard and Raj walk down the hallway.

“Down the hallway” can be removed and the sentence “Howard and Raj
walk.” It still makes sense.
The Infinitive

An infinitive is a verb form that can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an
adverb. Most infinitives begin with to.

Ex: To fly is glorious. To fly is being used as a noun.

Ex: The place to visit is Williamsburg. To visit acts as an adjective to modify
the place.

Ex: Sabina jumped to look. To look acts as an adverb to modify the verb
jumped.

If to links to a noun or pronoun it is a preposition, not an infinitive.

Ex: to school, to her, to the beach.
Infinitive Phrases

Consists of an infinitive and any modifiers or complements the infinitive has.
The entire phrase can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

Ex: To make tamales quickly was hard. (Used as a noun, the direct object of the
infinitive is tamales, quickly modifies to make)

Ex: Chris is the player to watch in the next game. (Used as an adjective modifying
player. The infinitive is modified by the adverb phrase in the next game)
Adverb

Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. DOES NOT HAVE AN
OBJECT.

Tells where, when, how, or to what extent.

It makes the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb more
definite.

Ex: We lived there. (There is an adverb as it modifies the verb lived)

Ex: Beth did an extraordinarily fine job. (extraordinarily is an adverb that
modifies the adjective fine)

Ex: We’ll meet shortly afterward. (shortly is an adverb that modifies the
adverb afterward)
Adverb Clause/Phrase


Adverb Clause: A subordinate clause/dependent clause that modifies a verb,
an adjective, or an adverb.

It will contain a subject and a verb. Does not indicate a complete thought.

Generally tells how, when, where, why, how much, to what extent, or under what
condition the action of the verb takes place

Ex: After I had proofread my paper, I input the corrections. (The AC tells when I
input my corrections)
Adverb Phrase: A prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or
an adverb.

Tells how, when, where, why, or to what extent.

Ex: Britney answered with a smile (with a smile tells how Britney answered)
Group Practice

Identify if the underlined word is an adverb or a preposition
1. Mother Kangaroo says to her child, “Go outside and get some fresh air. Don’t be a
pouch potato!”
2. A fight broke out outside the warden’s office when one prisoner called another a
dirty number.
3. He put a mirror on his television set so that he could see what his children looked
like.
4. The town bore called out my name several times, but I walked on, not wishing to
suffer any “earitation”.
5. The secretary failed to send the letter off because she didn’t understand what the
boss said between “Dear Sir” and “Yours faithfully”.
6. He dined off a special sandwich – one slice of bread between two slices of ham.
Group Practice

Identify if the underlined word is an adverb or a preposition
7. She got through the mystery novel even though someone had written the
name of the murderer on the first page.
8. The eccentric man at the bus stop did not want to open his present, an
umbrella, before Christmas, and he was soaked through.
9. A motorist who had stopped his car on a country road to ask for directions to
his cousin’s house got this reply from a farmer: “Well, the way you are going it’s
about fifty kilometres, but if you turn around it’s only two.”
10. “Get me a book about lions!” he roared.
11. A fish which is swimming just below the surface of the water says to his
buddy, “Stop making jokes, otherwise one of these days some angler is going to
say to himself, ‘This fish tastes funny’!”
Group Practice

If the “to...phrase” is a prepositional phrase, put it in parentheses. If it’s an
infinitive phrase, put it in a box.
1. Because the music was so loud, Patricia found it hard to study.
2. To win the entire tournament was our only desire.
3. Have you ever been to Seattle, Washington?
4. My sister likes to ski every winter.
5. When do we go back to school?
6. My grandparents are coming to visit.
7. Who phones in the message to headquarters about the lost children?
8. Have you shown her the pictures of your trip to Alaska?
Closing

Finish your annotations for the book burning article. Answer the questions.

Read Wolves and Amy Tan from your packet and annotate both by Friday.

Answer the questions on the sheet by Friday.

Take a Verb list sheet and study. Quiz on Thursday.