Diagramming SentencesSentence Diagrams by Eugene R. Moutoux ~ One Way of Learning English Grammar ~ The Anatomy of a Sentence
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Can you diagram this 100-word sentence? Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing you give him and that you will capitulate to necessity and buy Grandpa a fifth of Seagram’s, you concentrate on Mom, as you move into the aisle that you hope to be able to call the final stop of this holiday season. If you take it step by step, it's not so hard. When you're ready to see the diagrams, click below. |
| Part 1: you walk, but you concentrate |
| Part 2: you walk from store to store, but you concentrate on Mom |
| Part 3: you, a Christmas procrastinator, walk from store to store, but you concentrate on Mom |
| Part 4: you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, but you concentrate on Mom |
| Part 5: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, but you concentrate on Mom . |
| Part 6: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, but you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 7: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks, but you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 8: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 9: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts, you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 10: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing, you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 11: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing you give him, you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 12: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing you give him and that you will capitulate to necessity, you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 13: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing you give him and that you will capitulate to necessity and buy Grandpa a fifth of Seagram's, you concentrate on Mom. |
| Part 14: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing you give him and that you will capitulate to necessity and buy Grandpa a fifth of Seagram's, you concentrate on Mom, as you move into the aisle. |
| Part 15: Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, down endless aisles, your eyes scanning windows and racks to find the perfect presents for Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe, but since you know in your heart of hearts that Uncle Joe will appreciate nothing you give him and that you will capitulate to necessity and buy Grandpa a fifth of Seagram's, you concentrate on Mom, as you move into the aisle that you hope to be able to call the final stop of this holiday season. |
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Please send sentences as well as comments and questions to For links to many more diagrams: Return to Sentence Diagrams, page 1. |
| Recommendations
For information about grammar and composition: For information about the early history of sentence diagramming: Kitty Burns Florey's delightful book about sentence diagramming, Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog, won't teach you how to diagram; but if you like diagramming, you'll love this book with its happy combination of scholarship and reminiscence. Visit Florey's website at http://www.kittyburnsflorey.com/. To get a taste of her style, read her essay entitled "Boring Things," which is anything but boring. It's on the third page of her website. http://www.polysyllabic.com/?q=olddiagrams. For thoughts about the importance of learning grammar and about the ancillary role of diagramming: |