Welcome to



Unit 9 – Verbals—Modification and Chunking

of

The Third “Ideal” KISS Grammar Book

|Writing lessons |[pic] |

|by | |

|Albert Anker | |

|1865 | |

|The Athenaeum | |

You already know that some verbals function as nouns. This unit will give you more practice with them. Then it will show you how the rest of the verbals function as (Guess what!)—adjectives and adverbs!

Unit 9 - More about the Functions of Verbals 2

More about Modification and Chunking 2

1. Verbals as Subjects and Complements 3

Ex. 1 – Verbals as Subjects and Complements from Pinocchio 3

Ex. 2 – Verbals as Subjects and Complements from The Fairy Reader 4

2. Verbals as Objects of Prepositions 5

Ex. 3 – Verbals as Objects of Prepositions from Pinocchio 6

Ex. 4 – Verbals as Objects of Prepositions from The Fairy Reader 7

3. Verbals as Adjectives or Adverbs 8

Ex. 5 – Verbals as Adjectives and Adverbs from Pinocchio 9

Ex. 6 – Verbals as Adjectives or Adverbs from The Fairy Reader 10

Ex. 7 - Verbal or Prepositional Phrase? 11

4. Ellipsis in Some Verbals 12

Ex. 8 – Ellipsed Verbals based on Pinocchio 13

Ex. 9 – Ellipsed Verbals as Complements 14

Ex. 10 – A Passage from Pinocchio 15

Ex. 11 – Two Just for Fun 16

Reading, Writing, Vocabulary & Style 17

Ex. 12- Adding Prepositional Phrases of Time and Space 17

Ex. 13 – The Suffix “-less” 18

Ex. 14 - Fill in the Blanks from “The Little House in the Woods” 19

Ex. 15 - De-combining Sentences from “The Little House in the Woods” 20

Ex. 16 - Combining Sentences adapted from “The Little House in the Woods” 21

Ex. 17 - Writing Model (Abstract and Concrete) from Pinocchio 22

Ex. 18 – Punctuation: The Opening of “The Little House in the Woods” 23

For more information about the KISS Grammar “Ideal” books, go to:



© Ed Vavra 12/16/2016

Unit 9 - More about the Functions of Verbals

More about Modification and Chunking

In Book Two, you learned about modification and chunking. Adjectives modify (and thus chunk to) nouns and pronouns. Adverbs modify (and thus chunk to) verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. The difference between modification and chunking gives us two important ways of looking at sentences. “Modification” means that the modifier changes the meaning of the word modified. In “a big house,” the noun “house” becomes more specific—it applies only to a house that is “big.”

When we talk about “chunking,” we are talking about how our brains connect (chunk) words into phrases and phrases into clauses. When we are reading or writing (or even listening or talking), our brains chunk words together until everything (except interjections) connects to the S/V/C pattern of a main clause. If we do not chunk the words together correctly, our readers (or listeners) will become confused.

To help you learned how to tell the difference between finite verbs and verbals, Unit Five was based on three tests. Now that you can identify most verbals, this unit explores how verbals fit into the chunking. There are four sections:

1. as nouns (subjects or complements)

2. as nouns that function as objects of prepositions

3. as adjectives or adverbs

4. ellipsed verbals that function as direct objects.

These are the most common ways in which verbals chunk to the S/V/C pattern in a main clause.

Don’t forget that verbals can have complements, and that the complements of verbals, like the complements of finite verbs (and the objects of prepositions), can not be the subject of another verb.

1. Verbals as Subjects and Complements

|[pic] |Ex. 1 – Verbals as Subjects and Complements from Pinocchio |

| |BY C. COLLODI |

| |ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY MARIA L. KIRK. |

| |Philadelphia; London: J. B. Lippincott Co. 1920 |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. a. If the verbal acts as a noun, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.”)

3. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

4. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

5. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. The mouth then ceased laughing.

2. Perhaps he never meant to hit him.

3. The wood is entirely to blame!

4. No, the quickest way of all is to cook it in a saucer.

5. Asking for a little bread isn’t a disgrace.

6. Just at that moment he saw a Firefly flitting over his head.

7. To give a spring and seize hold of the egg was the affair of a moment.

8. But I do not want to be digested!

9. To eat, drink, sleep, and amuse myself, and to lead a vagabond life from morning to night will be my trade.”

|Ex. 2 – Verbals as Subjects and Complements |[pic] |

|from The Fairy Reader | |

|by James Baldwin | |

|NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO | |

|AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905 | |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. Put brackets [ ] around subordinate clauses that function as direct objects. Above the opening bracket write “DO.”

4. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

5. a. If a verbal acts as a noun other than subject, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.”)

5. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

6. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. The Idle Girl thought she would like to have the gold.

2. “Hearing the birds again is pleasant!” said the tree.

3. The May Bug began to think that maybe they were right.

4. Let Susan bring my dinner to me in her little basket.

5. To see them would have made you glad.

6. Mother Frost told her to go home to her aunt.

7. Then you will see what is to be seen.

8. Then all ran and began to pet the great shaggy fellow.

9. The King could not bear to think that any harm should come to his child.

10. But the house and the road, the river and the pretty meadow, were no longer to be seen.

|Woman Reading |[pic] |2. Verbals as Objects of Prepositions |

|in a Garden | | |

|1880 | | |

|by | | |

|Mary Cassatt | | |

|(1844-1926) | | |

You have probably seen (or guessed) that verbals can also function as objects of prepositions. Most of the verbs that function as objects of prepositions end in “-ing.” For example:

{After eating [V, OP] supper (DO)}, they watched a ball game in the den.

“After” can be a preposition, and if we ask “after what?” the answer is “eating supper.” In this case, “supper” is the direct object of “eating,” and “eating” is the object of the preposition “After.”

Additional Examples:

They like all outdoor sports {from swimming [V, OP]} {to hunting [V, OP]}.

He dug the hole {by using [V, OP] his hands (DO)}.

And, just like finite verbs, verbals can be modified by adverbs, including adverbial prepositional phrases.

{After quickly eating [V, OP] supper (DO)} {in the kitchen}, they watched a ball game in the den.

This example includes a long prepositional phrase that functions as an adverb to “watched.” The phrase begins with “After.” Because “in the kitchen” is an adverb that tells where they were eating, the “in phrase is embedded in the “After” phrase.

[pic]

Occasionally you will find another type of verbal that functions as objects of prepositions. These usually appear after the prepositions “except” and “but” when it means “except”:

Mary will do nothing in her free time {but read [V, OP]}.

Tom will do everything and anything in the kitchen {except wash [V, OP] the dishes (DO)}.

These phrases usually function as adjectives to words like “nothing,” “anything,” and “everything.”

|[pic] |Ex. 3 – Verbals as Objects of Prepositions |

| |from Pinocchio |

| |BY C. COLLODI |

| |ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY MARIA L. KIRK. |

| |Philadelphia; London: J. B. Lippincott Co. 1920 |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. a. If the verbal acts as a noun, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.” )

3. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

4. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

5. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. Poor Geppetto tired himself out with cutting the nose off. |

2. After stumbling two or three times he fell his whole length on the floor. |

3. At last the coach arrived; and it arrived without making the slightest noise.

4. And in the meanwhile his hunger grew and grew; and poor Pinocchio had no other relief than yawning.

5. He was on the point of throwing himself on the ground.

6. And without delaying an instant, he recommenced running for his life through the wood.

7. But Pinocchio, instead of returning the wig, put it on his own head.

8. The fisherman was on the point of throwing Pinocchio into the frying-pan.

9. “A thousand thanks, Master Pinocchio, for saving me the trouble of breaking the shell.”

|Ex. 4 – Verbals as Objects of Prepositions |[pic] |

|from The Fairy Reader | |

|by James Baldwin | |

|NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO | |

|AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905 | |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. a. If the verbal acts as a noun, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.” )

3. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

4. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

5. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. They may kill me. But that will be better than to be pecked by old hens.

2. I did not tire myself out by shaking her old bed.

3. The cross Idle Girl did nothing but play from morning till night.

4. The briars opened to the right and the left and made a way for him to pass through.

5. Here is something for you to carry home with you.

6. What could I do but run away?

7. It is much better than being in the woods with only rabbits and little birds.

8. He sent also for all the Wise Women in the country to come and rejoice with the rest.

9. The little fir tree thought of the rabbit jumping over the snow.

|3. Verbals |[pic] |Dancers in Pink |

|as | |1880-85 |

|Adjectives or Adverbs | |Edgar Degas |

| | |(1834-1917) |

| | |Hill-Stead Museum |

| | |Farmington, CT. |

Verbals often function as adjectives or adverbs. The following are some examples.

But she heard only the birds singing [V Adj to “birds”] in the high tree tops.

“The birds singing in the high tree tops” fails the sentence test, and here “singing” describes the birds, so it functions as an adjective to “birds.”

The men were busy cutting [V Adv to “busy”] down trees.

“The men cutting down trees” fails the sentence test, and here “cutting” explains how the men were “busy,” so “cutting” functions as an adverb to the adjective “busy.”

They didn’t know what (DO) to do [V Adj to “what”].

“To do” fails the “To” test, and here it explains what the “what” means. Thus it functions as an adjective to the pronoun “what.”

The duckling was glad (PA) to leave [V Adv to “glad”] the old house (DO).

“To leave” fails the “To” test, and it explains why the duckling was “glad.” Because “glad” functions as a predicate adjective, “to leave” functions as an adverb to an adjective.

|[pic] |Ex. 5 – Verbals as Adjectives and Adverbs |

| |from Pinocchio |

| |BY C. COLLODI |

| |ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY MARIA L. KIRK. |

| |Philadelphia; London: J. B. Lippincott Co. 1920 |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. a. If the verbal acts as a noun, label it “V” plus (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.”) If it functions as an adjective or adverb, label it “V” plus “Adj” or “Adv” and draw an arrow to the word it modifies.

3. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

4. Put brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause that functions as a direct object, and write “DO” above the opening bracket.

5. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

6. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. A wonderful puppet should know how to dance, to fence, and to leap like an acrobat.

2. He tried to sing to give himself a little courage.

3. He returned home like a wet chicken quite exhausted with fatigue and hunger.

4. I shall then be able to give you some more money.

5. You have only a few minutes to live.

6. The legs and the feet remained to be done.

7. The Fox, halting suddenly, said to the puppet, “Would you like to double your money?”

8. “Who is there?” he asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

|Ex. 6 – Verbals as Adjectives or Adverbs |[pic] |

|from The Fairy Reader | |

|by James Baldwin | |

|NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO | |

|AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905 | |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. Put brackets [ ] around subordinate clauses that function as direct objects. Above the opening bracket write “DO.”

4. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

5. a. If a verbal acts as a noun other than subject, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.”)

5. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

6. If a verbal functions as an adjective or adverb, label it “V” and draw an arrow to the word it modifies.

7. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. The Kind Child was very tired, but she stopped to shake the tree.

2. “This is a pretty place to live in,” he said.

3. So she took her spindle and went out to the well to spin.

4. He had come to see what the boys were doing.

5. “Be sure to look for the peas,” said her mother.

6. She was never willing to do what she was told.

7. She did not know which way to go.

8. The Fox did not know what to do.

9. The children were busy playing.

10. “It is not much to do,” said the bread.

|Mother About to Wash Her |[pic] |Ex. 7 - Verbal or Prepositional Phrase? |

|Sleepy Child | | |

|1880 | | |

|by | | |

|Mary Cassatt | | |

|(1844-1926) | | |

Phrases like “to work” and “to sleep” can function as verbals or as prepositional phrases. As a result, they may confuse you. Sometimes it is easy to determine their function and sometimes it is not. In other cases, either explanation will do. Consider the following example:

Little Red Riding Hood set to work in good earnest.

In this case, “work” can mean what people do or the place where they do it—the noun. Or it can be a verb that names the act. Often the context will help you decide. This exercise will help prepare you when you are analyzing your own writing.

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

4. If a verbal acts as a noun other than subject, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.”)

Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

5. If a verbal functions as an adjective or adverb, label it “V” and draw an arrow to the word it modifies.

6. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

1. Now we must get to work.

2. Where shall I go to sleep at night?

3. You are idle and unkind, and you do not like to work.

4. Annie shut her eyes and went to sleep.

5. A horse was too old to work.

6. You come to work?

7. The good fairy condemned her to sleep for a hundred years.

8. Geppetto took his tools and set to work to cut out and model his puppet.

|Shepherd Piper |[pic] |4. Ellipsis in Some Verbals |

|1881 | | |

|by | | |

|Sophie Anderson | | |

|French, | | |

|1823-1903 | | |

After some finite verbs the verbal is left out (ellipsed). In these cases, the ellipsed verbal means “to be” or in some sense “equals.”

The Wilsons named their baby Christina.

This sentence does not mean “The Wilsons named their baby.” It means they named their “baby *to be* Christina.”

The Wilsons named their baby [S] *to be* [V DO] Christina (PN). |

In this example, “baby” is the subject of the ellipsed verbal *to be,* and the complement of the verbal is the predicate noun “Christina.” The whole verbal phrase is the direct object of “named.”

In the next example, the complement of the verbal is a predicate adjective:

The music made Bill sleepy.

This certainly does not mean that the music made Bill. It means the music made “Bill *to be* sleepy.”

The music made Bill [S] *to be* [V DO] sleepy (PA). |

Similarly,

She held her head very high.

This does not just mean she held her head. It means she held “her head *to be* very high.”

She held her head [S] *to be* [V DO] very high (PA). |

In analyzing these, write in the ellipsed “to be,” label it “V DO,” and label the subject of the verbal (S), and the complement either “PN” or “PA.”

Always pay attention to the meaning of the sentence:

Who will make me a new jacket?

Don’t get fooled by sentences like this one. The speaker is certainly not asking someone to make him into a new jacket. In this sentence, “me” is the indirect object and “jacket” is the direct object of “will make.”

|[pic] |Ex. 8 – Ellipsed Verbals based on Pinocchio |

| |By C. Collodi. With 14 color illustrations by Maria L. Kirk |

| |Philadelphia; London: J. B. Lippincott Co. 1920. |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, finite verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

4. Insert *to be* in ellipsed verbals. Label their subjects “S” and label their complements.

1. It made them happy.

2. They promise to make you rich in a day.

3. Pinocchio found himself free.

4. I will call you mamma.

5. But he found it all dark and deserted.

6. “Why should I make you new feet?”

7. He found a new suit of clothes ready for him.

8. I have laboured to make him a well-conducted puppet!

9. Two little words into his ears made him gentle and reasonable.

|Ex. 9 – Ellipsed Verbals |[pic] |The Artist’s Daughter, |

|as Complements | |Julie |

| | |by |

| | |Berthe Morisot |

| | |(1841-1895) |

| | |with her Nanny |

| | |c. 1884 |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, finite verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

4. Insert *to be* in ellipsed verbals. Label their subjects “S” and label their complements.

1. Annie will keep her eyes open.

2. So they named her Thumbling.

3. The little Rabbit found it rather dull.

4. The Boy’s Uncle made me Real.

5. You may keep my room neat and clean.

6. She called this “tidying up.”

7. Thumbling ran and brought more hay to make the Swallow’s bed warmer.

8. He always made the Rabbit a little nest somewhere among the bracken.

9. We will call you Maia.

10. The poor little Rabbit felt himself very insignificant and commonplace.

|[pic] |Ex. 10 – A Passage from Pinocchio |

| |BY C. COLLODI |

| |ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY MARIA L. KIRK. |

| |Philadelphia; London: J. B. Lippincott Co. 1920 |

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. a. Over every verbal, write “V.” If it acts as a noun label its function “S,” “DO,” “PN,” or “OP.” If it function as an adjective or adverb, label it “Adv” or “Adj,” and draw an arrow to the word it modifies.

3. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

4. Put brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause that functions as a direct object, and write “DO” above the opening bracket.

5. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

6. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

Now I must tell you that the Dog-fish, being very old, and suffering from asthma and palpitation of the heart, was obliged to sleep with his mouth open. Pinocchio, therefore, having approached the entrance to his throat and, looking up, could see beyond the enormous gaping mouth a large piece of starry sky and beautiful moonlight.

“This is the moment to escape,” he whispered, turning to his father. “The Dog-fish is sleeping like a dormouse, the sea is calm, and it is as light as day. Follow me, dear papa, and in a short time we shall be in safety.”

Ex. 11 – Two Just for Fun

Directions:

1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.

2. Underline subjects once, verbs twice, and label complements (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” or “DO”).

3. Put brackets [ ] around subordinate clauses that function as direct objects. Above the opening bracket write “DO.”

4. Put a vertical line after every main clause.

5. a. If a verbal acts as a noun other than subject, label it (“PN,” “PA,” “IO,” “DO” or “OP.”)

5. b. Label the complements of verbals as you would the complements of a finite verb.

6. If a verbal functions as an adjective or adverb, label it “V” and draw an arrow to the word it modifies.

7. Label each interjection (“Inj”), each noun used as an adverb (“NuA”), and each example of direct address (“DirA”).

A Pet Centipede

A man had a pet centipede. He said, “Centipede, get the paper and be quick about it!” Having waited a half hour, the man went outside and said, “I thought I told you to get the paper a half hour ago!”

“Well, I had to put on my shoes,” said the centipede.

[pic]

Frozen Turkeys

Picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, a lady couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, “Do these turkeys get any bigger?”

The stock boy replied, “No ma’am, they’re dead.”

Reading, Writing, Vocabulary & Style

|Ex. 12- Adding Prepositional Phrases |[pic] |Deaf Martha |

|of Time and Space | |by |

|Adapted from | |Kate Greenaway |

|Voyages in English | | |

|by Rev. Paul E. Campbell | | |

|and Sister Mary Donatus MacNickle | | |

Directions: Rewrite each of the following sentences by adding at least two prepositional phrases. One phrase should indicate time (when something happened), and the other should indicate place (where something happened).

1. I received a pleasant surprise.

2. The old clock began to strike.

3. My little brother went for a walk.

4. A rainbow appeared.

5. Everything seemed to go wrong.

6. The children left.

7. I dusted the furniture.

8. Mary swept the floor.

9. Mary won the game.

10. We took a drive.

|Shepherd Piper |[pic] |Ex. 13 – The Suffix “-less” |

|1881 | | |

|by | | |

|Sophie Anderson | | |

|French | | |

|(1823-1903) | | |

The suffix “-less” basically means “without.” For example, “The shirt has needless buttons” means that it would be fine without the buttons.

For the adverbial form simply add “-ly”). They needlessly cut down several trees.

|Root |Adjective |Adverb |

|need |needless |needlessly |

Write the adjectival and adverbial forms of each of the following.

|  |Root |Adjective |Adverb |

|1 |fear | | |

|2 |grace | | |

|3 |care | | |

|4 |help | | |

|5 |shame | | |

|6 |thank | | |

|7 |hope | | |

|8 |endless | | |

|9 |harmless | | |

|10 |noise | | |

Write ten sentences. For the odd numbered words, use the adjectival form, and for the even numbered, use the adverbial form.

|Ex. 14 - Fill in the Blanks |[pic] |

|from “The Little House in the Woods” | |

|by James Baldwin | |

|From The Fairy Reader | |

|NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO | |

|AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905 | |

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the indicated part of speech. Don’t try to remember the words in the story. Just choose interesting words that make sense.

1. A ______Adj_____ woodcutter lives ______Adv_____ in a ______Adj_____ _______Adj_____ house in the ______Adj_____ woods.

2. One ______NuA_____ the Woodcutter ______V_____, “I am going ______Adv_____ into the woods today. I shall be ______Adv_____ ______Adj_____, and I can ______Adv_____ come ______NuA_____ for dinner.

3. Then Annie went and ______V_____the Hen and the Rooster, and ______V_____ their feathers; and she ______V_____ the Cow between the ______N_____ and spoke ______Adj_____ ______N_____ to her.

4. The ______Adj_____ child ______V_____ that it was all a ______Adj_____ dream.

5. ______Adv_____ ago a ______Adj_____, ______Adj_____ witch ______V_____ that I should ______Adv_____ be myself again till a ______Adj_____ child should come who would be as ______Adj_____ to my animals as to me.

|[pic] |Ex. 15 - De-combining Sentences |

| |from “The Little House in the Woods” |

| |by James Baldwin |

| |From The Fairy Reader |

| |NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO |

| |AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905 |

Directions: The following is adapted from section (III) of “The Little House in the Woods.” Rewrite it by breaking the sentences into as many smaller ones as you can.

All at once, Susan saw a light shining far away among the trees.

“It is a house,” she said. “The people who live there will keep me till morning.” She went toward the light. In a short time she came to a very little house with a big chimney at one end. The windows were all lighted up. There seemed to be a bright fire inside. She knocked at the door, “Tap, tap, tap!”

“Come in!” said a voice. Susan opened the door.

An old, old Man was sitting at a table. His long hair was as white as snow. It covered the table and fell almost to the floor. On the ground before the fire were three animals, a Hen, a Rooster, and a speckled Cow. Susan opened the door. The Man did not look up. He sat quite still, with his hands over his face.

“Kind sir,” said Susan, “I am lost in the great woods. Will you let me stay in your house through the night?”

|[pic] |Ex. 16 - Combining Sentences adapted |

| |from “The Little House in the Woods” |

| |by James Baldwin |

| |From The Fairy Reader |

| |NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO |

| |AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905 |

Directions: The following is adapted from section (X) of “The Little House in the Woods.” Rewrite it by combining short sentences into longer sentences that sound better to you.

Little Annie went upstairs. She shook up the Old Man’s bed. She spread sheets upon it. The sheets were clean. And they were white. She put the pillows in their places.

“Kind sir,” she called. She was at the head of the stairs. “Your bed is ready. I wish you good night.” Then she went into her own room. She shut the door. Soon she was in her little bed. She was fast asleep.

At about midnight, little Annie awoke with a start. There was a noise in the house The noise was loud. The windows shook. The doors slammed. The stairs fell down. The roof fell in. Little Annie heard it all. But she was not afraid.

By and by everything was quiet again. The house was very still. Little Annie shut her eyes. She went to sleep. She slept quite late the next morning. Then she woke up. The sun was shining in. It came in at the window. And what did she see? She was lying in a room. It was large. It was more beautiful than she had ever dreamed of.

|Ex. 17 - Writing Model |[pic] |

|(Abstract and Concrete) from Pinocchio | |

Directions: Study the following paragraph from Pinocchio and note the four prepositional phrases that give details about where Pinocchio looked.

Pinocchio then set out, and went everywhere in search of Candlewick. He looked for him in the streets, in the squares, in the little theatres, in every possible place; but he could not find him. He inquired for him of everybody he met, but no one had seen him.

Write a similar paragraph about where someone “looked for,” “found,” “put,” “left,” or “hid” things, or where they went. Make the first sentence a general statement with an abstract word (or words):

Mary collected coupons and went shopping on a weekly schedule.

Then add a sentence that includes four or more prepositional phrases with more concrete words that tell exactly where she went. You can include additional details:

On Monday she went to Giant for groceries, on Tuesday to Weis for more groceries, on Thursday to the drugstore, and on Friday to a department store.

End with a sentence that states the results—or lack of them:

Mary always had what she needed, and she saved a lot of money.

You do not have to use the same preposition for each prepositional phrase. You can use any preposition that suggests space, such as “in,” “over,” “under,” “below,” and “outside,”

Try to make your paragraph about a place or places that you know. Think of a single room, a house, store or school, a park, a store, or a part of town. (For example, name specific streets.)

Ex. 18 – Punctuation: The Opening of “The Little House in the Woods”

by James Baldwin

From The Fairy Reader

NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 1905

Directions: The punctuation in this passage has

been lost. Please fix it, right on this page.

This is a Woodcutter He lives in a little log house in the woods Every day he goes out with his ax to cut wood He

chops down the large trees and cuts them into logs for the sawmill At the sawmill the logs are sawed into boards The boards are used for building houses

There was once a Woodcutter who had three little girls I do not know the names of these girls but we will call them Susan Jane and Annie

Susan and Jane were proud and selfish and sometimes they were very rude and unkind to those around them

But Annie who was the youngest was a sweet child She was gentle and kind to everybody and everything Her father loved her

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