Grammar Made Easy
—Part One—
Prepositional Phrases and Subject/Verb Pairs
Objectives:
1. Students will distinguish between parts of speech and sentence parts.
2. Students will identify the components of a prepositional phrase.
3. Students will simplify sentences by identifying and eliminating prepositional phrases.
4. Students will recognize and identify helping, action and linking verbs.
5. Students will recognize and identify subject/verb pairs.
6. Students will write sentences using prepositional phrases and subject/verb
pairs. (No exercises for this. Have them practice writing in-class and for HW)
Concept One
Introduce the following concepts:
Parts of Speech--A way of categorizing words in isolation. One can look up
every word in the dictionary and find its part of speech. The eight parts of speech are
noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, and interjection. Every
word has a part of speech, but this unit is only concerned about parts of speech as they
relate to sentence parts. Some parts of speech have the same names as their sentence
parts.
Sentence Parts--A way of identifying words in sentences based on their function
or relationship to other words in the same sentence. Every word is NOT a sentence part
(for example: introductory words such as interjections, nouns of address are technically
not sentence parts). This unit focuses primarily on sentence parts.
Prepositional Phrases: Preposition + Object of a Preposition (noun or pronoun)
A preposition is a position word. It shows the position (relationship) of one object
to another. A test to determine whether a word might be a preposition is the following
slot test. The bird flew ___________ the clouds. This concept can be effectively
introduced to the students by drawing a cloud on the board and having the students
identify words showing the position of the bird to the cloud. The slot test determines the
possibility of a word being a preposition. In order for it to be a preposition, it must be
followed by an object of a preposition, a noun or pronoun which answers the question
who or what following the prep.
I went by the store. By what? The store. By the store is a prepositional phrase.
I went by and bought some food. By what? No word answers, no OP, not a prep.
(It's an adverb. Students don't need to know this yet). Many words which might be
prepositions may also function as adverbs and conjunctions.
Things students need to know about prepositional phrases and prepositions:

Subject/Verb pairs are NEVER found in a prepositional phrase (or any
other phrase for that matter).

The words of and with are ALWAYS prepositions if used correctly.
 In order to find subject/verb pairs, simplify sentences by identifying and
eliminating all prepositional phrases (later this idea will be expanded to include all
types of phrases).
**Use the scramble exercise to allow students to generate a list of prepositions to use as a
guide. These should become sight words for the students. Used along with the slot test,
this list should enable students to identify prepositions as part of prepositional phrases in
sentences.
Use exercises to provide students with practice on finding prepositional phrases and
simplifying sentences. Follow with quiz when students are ready.
Follow this suggested pattern for teaching each of the following concepts.
Concept Two
Subject/Verb Pairs and Prepositional Phrases
Put the following sentence on the board and ask the students to identify the subject and
verb without reminding them about prepositional phrases (crossing them off).
From the dark of the night came the screams of the young girl.
Ask for volunteers to identify subject and verb, recording all possibilities
Introduce the first step (strategy) in identifying sentence parts.
1. Cross off all prepositional phrases.
From the above sentence have students identify PP... from the dark, of the night, of the
young girl. Tell students, again, they will never find a subject/verb pair in a prepositional
phrase. Just like simplifying equations in math before solving, simplify sentences by
eliminating prepositional phrases. Once above sentence is simplified, ask again for
subject verb pair from remaining words. Using the steps below, they should be able to
identify came as the verb and screams as the subject.
Introduce the second step.
2. Locate the verb.
Verbs are action, helping, or linking. Helping verbs help with creating tense. Provide lists
of linking verbs and helping verbs as necessary. These should become sight words.
Students should know what they are when they see them in a sentence. Verbs indicate
tense (past, present, future). If students are having trouble finding verbs, ask them to
locate the word they would change to change the tense of the sentence. In the above
example, came is an action verb showing past tense.
Introduce the third step.
3. Find the subject.
Ask the following question Who or What + the verb? If PP's have been eliminated, a
word from the sentence which answers that question will almost always be the subject
(the only exception is the understood YOU, discussed later). A subject must indicate
number (one or more than one). While most subjects are nouns and pronouns, that is not
always the case. Again, using the above example ask, “who or what came?” The answer
is screams (plural).
***Teacher’s Note: In Grammar Made Easy Part I, some exercises will contain
nonsense sentences; these sentences are used to demonstrate to students that they are
merely identifying forms, structures, and relationships, and not necessarily meaning.
They don’t have to understand the words to understand the structures.
LIST OF HELPING VERBS
is
being
does
may
am
been
did
might
are
has
shall
must
was
have
will
can
were
had
should
could
be
do
would
Concept Three
Understood (you) subject in imperative sentences.
Before teaching the next section, teach your students about imperative sentences
(commands).
Put the following sentence on the board.
Take the roast from the oven.
Have the students identify the verb and subject (after first eliminating any prepositional
phrases.) Many will choose roast. Explain that the subject and verb work together and the
subject must be able to perform the action of the verb(except in nonsense sentences). Ask
"Has anyone ever seen a roast take something out of an oven? Can roast be the subject
since it can't perform that action? Explain that roast is actually the DO which you'll get to
later, but that the subject is something called an understood you. Explain that this
sentence is a command, called an imperative sentence. Have them write the following
rule: In EVERY imperative sentence, the subject is understood you. It is understood to be
in the sentence, but it is not written. To identify an understood you subject, students write
(you) in the margin.
Put the following sentence on the board.
Mark, leave the room immediately.
Identify verb and subject. Repeat the rule that understood you is the subject of every
imperative sentence. Is this an imperative sentence? YES. Mark is called a noun of
address. It is not the subject, just a means of getting someone's attention (notice comma
following name). Emphasize this point constantly and consistently.
LINKING VERBS
LINKING VERBS DO NOT SHOW ACTION. They link the subject with a
noun or pronoun, or they link the subject with an adjective (describing
word).
Examples: His mother is an accountant.
LV
The winners of the game were they.
LV
Mary became sick after the high jump.
LV
Linking verbs have two important characteristics.
1. Linking verbs never show action.
2. Linking verbs usually link the subject with something (predicate
noun or predicate adjective).
The following is a list* of possible linking verbs:
to feel
to become
to remain
to taste
to seem
to appear
to look
to sound
to stay
to smell
to grow
to be (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been)
To check if a verb (other than "to be") is serving as a linking verb in a
sentence, replace the verb with a form of "to be." If the sentence makes
sense and the meaning is not changed, the verb serves as a linking verb.
Examples: Joe seemed angry today.
LV
Joe was angry today.
LV
*High-utility linking verbs are included in this list.
—Part Two—
Sentence Patterns and Remaining Sentence Parts
Objectives:
1. Students will recognize and identify six basic sentence patterns.
2. Students will write sentences following the six basic patterns.
3. Students will distinguish between action and linking verbs.
4. Students will recognize and identify direct objects, indirect objects, predicate nouns, and
predicate adjectives.
5. Students will recognize and identify adjectives.
6. Students will recognize and identify adverbs.
7. Students will recognize and identify conjunctions.
8. Using the strategies for identifying sentence parts, students will identify all sentence parts in a
series of sentences.
Concept Four
Introduce the following concepts:
Sentence Patterns--The English language has six basic sentence patterns (using the basic building blocks,
excluding modifiers and phrases). Again referring to the strategies used in math, tell the students that they
have to master only six "formulas" to master basic English sentence structure.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
S-V
S-(a)V-DO
S-(a)V-IO-DO
S-(l)V-PN
S-(l)V-PA
V-S (inverted sentence)
S=subject
V=verb
(a)V=action verb
(l)V=linking verb
DO=direct object
IO=indirect object
PN=predicate noun (or predicate nominative)
PA=predicate adjective
Using some of the earlier prepositional phrase exercises, review the previous three steps and determine
the sentence pattern for each sentence. Most should be S-V or possibly V-S.
Lead students through a logical discussion concerning what kind of sentence parts follow action verbs?
(DO&IO) Linking verbs? Can a DO ever come before an IO? Does every DO have to have an IO? Does
every IO have to have a DO? Can a DO and a PN or PA ever appear in the same sentence?
Concept Five
Introduce the following:
Direct Objects--Always follow an action verb and receive the action of the verb. Put the following
sentence on the board:
I throw the eraser. (easy to demonstrate)
Repeat the strategies(always):
1. Any prepositional phrases? (none)
2. Verb? throw
3. Subject? Who throws? I
4. (New step only if the verb is an action verb) Direct Object? Ask the question Verb + who or what?
Throws what? Direct Object (if one is present) will answer that question. eraser
Use DO Practice #1 to find direct objects. Identify sentence patterns for each sentence.
Concept Six
Introduce the following:
Indirect Objects--Always fall between an action verb and a direct object. An IO receives the DO. Put the
following sentence on the board:
I throw Ben the eraser. (easy to demonstrate)
5. (New step) Indirect Object? Look for a noun or pronoun in between the action verb and the DO and
make sure it receives the DO. Who receives the eraser? Ben=IO. Identify the sentence pattern. Now, put
the following on the board.
I throw the eraser to Ben.
Have students explain how this sentence is different and why Ben is no longer an IO. (In a prepositional
phrase, an OP). Identify the sentence pattern.
Use IO Practice #1 to find indirect objects. Identify sentence patterns as a way of checking for correctness.
All sentences with IO's should be S-V-IO-DO.
Use DO and IO Practice #1 to find direct objects and indirect objects. Identify sentence patterns as a way
of checking for correctness. Make sure the students understand that if they ever find an IO following a
DO, they've made a mistake (or if they have an IO without a DO). Some sentences will not have DO's.
Use the DO & IO Quiz #1 for evaluation.
Concept Seven
Introduce the following:
Predicate Noun--Always follows a linking verb and equal or rename the subject.
Put the following sentence on the board:
I am a teacher in this classroom.
Repeat the strategies(always).
1. Cross off prepositional phrases? in this classroom
2. Verb? am
3. Subject? Who is? I
4. (New step) At this point, explain that step four will change to the following question: Is the verb action
or linking? If it is action, continue with the steps for DO's and IO's. If it is linking, look for a noun or
pronoun following the verb which equals the subject. Is the sentence saying that I equals teacher? Yes, it
does. Teacher is called a predicate noun.
Concept Eight
Introduce the following:
Predicate Adjective--Always follows a linking verb and describes the subject. Put the following sentence
on the board:
I am unhappy about the loss of my favorite team.
Repeat the strategies(always).
1. Cross off prepositional phrases? about the loss, of my favorite team
2. Verb? am
3. Subject? Who is? I
4. Is the verb action or linking? Linking. Now look for a word following the linking verb which either
renames the subject (PN) or describes the subject (PA). Unhappy. It doesn't equal I, but it does describe
I. It is a predicate adjective (PA). This can be a difficult concept for students to grasp. Provide them with
lots of examples to clarify.
Explain to the students that some linking verbs deal with the senses. Review the list provided. If one of
those verbs can be replaced with is or are, it is being used as a linking verb.
Use the practice exercises to test students on applying all the steps to identify sentence patterns and noun
functions.
Concept Nine
Introduce the following:
Adjectives--modifies nouns and pronouns. Put the following sentence on the board:
The green bananas were hanging from the damaged apple tree.
Repeat the strategies (always).
1. Cross off prepositional phrases? from the damaged apple tree
2. Verb? were hanging
3. Subject? What was hanging? bananas
4. Action or linking verb? action
5. Any DO? Were hanging what? No answer. No DO.
6. New step. Identify all nouns and pronouns (OP, S, DO, IO, PN) and find words modifying them---the,
green, the damaged, apple--These are all adjectives. Students will need to examine prepositional phrases
for adjectives and adverbs
Explain to the students that the words a, an, the are always adjectives. Nouns must follow them, even
though other adjectives or adverbs may follow them also. All possessive pronouns and possessive words
function as adjectives as well.
Concept Ten
Introduce the following:
Adverbs--Modifies everything that is not a noun or pronoun (adjectives, adverbs and verbs). Make sure
students realize that while an -ly ending is a good clue that a word is an adverb, it is not always the case.
The only way to know for sure is to identify the word being modified. Adverbs tell where, when, how
much, and to what extent. Put the following sentence on the board:
I was very distraught about the loss of my friendly brother in the extremely violent storm.
Repeat the strategies(always).
1. Cross off prepositional phrases? about the loss, of my friendly brother, in the extremely violent storm
2. Verb? was
3. Subject? Who was? I
4. Is the verb action or linking? Linking. Now look for a word following the linking verb which either
renames the subject (PN) or describes the subject (PA). distraught. It doesn't equal I, but it does describe
I. It is a predicate adjective (PA).
5. Adjectives? Look for words modifying nouns and pronouns. the, my, friendly, the, violent.
6. Adverbs? Everything left should be an adverb (with the exception of conjunctions) but encourage
students to identify what the words modify to be sure. very, extremely
Concept Eleven
Introduce the following:
Conjunctions--Connects elements. Two primary kinds-coordinate and subordinate
Coordinate
(and, but, for, nor, yet, so, or) connect like elements, two phrases, two clauses, two sentences, two
sentence parts. Subordinate (before, after, because, if, when are a few) subordinate one element to
another.
If the strategies are used, conjunctions should be the only words left after adjectives and adverbs have
been found.
coordinate conjunctions--connect items of the same kind: and, or, not, for, so, yet, but
two verbs:
He ran and tripped.
two subjects: Mike and Billy-Bob had a party.
two direct:
He threw the hammer and the sickle.
two sentences: He went to the movie, and he fell asleep.
correlative conjunctions--connect items of the same kind, work in pairs
both...and
Both John and Mary are excellent students.
not only...but also
either...or
neither...nor
whether...or
subordinate conjunctions--make independent clauses into dependent clauses (not complete sentences)
after
although
as
as if
as long as
I saw my friend. (IC)
Before I saw my friend (DC), I was very sad.