In order to expose those with an aptitude and/or interest in English to English. To allow most of the rest of us to get a glimpse of what goes into the making of a language.
“It’s a lot of exasperating, time-consuming work that, even if you do get it just right, no body will ever see in that form anyway.” One day, I hope Caulfield’s mother will say this about parenting him to his future bride.
To examine the grammatical construction of the sentence, and learn the parts of speech. Not a good example, Caulfield.
And if you ever try to learn a foreign language, already knowing the difference between a direct object, an indirect object, and a predicate nominative makes it a LOT easier.
What I’m wondering, and pardon my grammar and sentence structure here, it’s been awhile since I’ve subjugated predicates and what not, and I have a problem with run on sentences and such, but what I’m wondering is if an English teacher would request an explanation with the words “what for”? It seems to me saying, “Please explain” would be better coming from an English teacher.
To me it is as if one is substituting the words “Pardon me, can you please repeat that”, with the word, (I must admit this is a pet peeve of mine) “Huh?”.
Because people will see your sentences. And understanding the elements allows you to create more effective sentences, and (as someone already pointed out) helps when learning a foreign language.
The problem is that (1) to communicate any but the simplest ideas effectively in any language requires an understanding of the structure of that language, and (2) it takes time, practice, and some analytical skill to learn that structure, and (3) developing all that out of nothing involves processes that are often tedious—just as learning addition and multiplication tables, and learning to analyze story problems in order to abstract the mathematical relationships that represent them, are tedious but often necessary steps toward understanding the mathematics that govern our world.
Some of us have a natural aptitude for language, or math, and it all comes easily and intuitively; others ultimately find these tools are a help, tedious though they may have been to learn.
Diagramming sentences is tedious, but it replaced an even more tedious method of analyzing the structure of a sentence: parsing it out loud.
People have developed other methods of analyzing sentence structure, and they’re tedious too. When someone finds a way that’s effective as a teaching tool and not tedious, the pedagogical world will rejoice.
There was once a story about why it was good to know how to diagram a sentence structure. The story goes that there was a law that none of the lawyers in court could figure out what the heck it meant. They called in an English teacher and she diagramed the sentence structure. When she got it down to the basics, they found in effect that the law was contradicting itself and threw the whole suit out.
Why diagram sentences? To learn the proper use of the English language. And since when do they teach that, anymore? I haven’t spoken to anyone, other than a few successful authors, who were taught this, in years.
I learned sentence diagrams for one advisory in seventh grade. Today I can’t diagram complex sentences. But I think it helped me with the concept of parallel structure, which in turn helps me proofread.
Wow, interesting discussion! So what I’m getting out of all of this is, when you fold fitted sheets correctly, all the corners have to fit inside each other? Thanks.
You don’t have to even look under the hood of a car to be a decent driver. But you will also never unlock your vehicle’s full potential without an inherent grasp of its inner workings. The ability to analyze how the words that you use work together to compose thoughts and arguments provides a strong instinctive foundation for critical thinking, which WILL be extremely useful in everyday life. As a Math teacher, I observe a similar dynamic in the lessons I teach. I’m not shy about admitting to my students that they will never use 99% of the formulas and algorithms that I teach them. However, there is no better class for manipulating symbolic concepts, interpreting implicit or explicit information, and consistently applying even more critical thinking.
El-Kabong about 6 years ago
In order to expose those with an aptitude and/or interest in English to English. To allow most of the rest of us to get a glimpse of what goes into the making of a language.
GreasyOldTam about 6 years ago
Do student still diagram sentences?
Bilan about 6 years ago
You learn sentence structures so that nobody complains about your postings on GoComics.
mddshubby2005 about 6 years ago
“It’s a lot of exasperating, time-consuming work that, even if you do get it just right, no body will ever see in that form anyway.” One day, I hope Caulfield’s mother will say this about parenting him to his future bride.
jpayne4040 about 6 years ago
Because I said so—-End of discussion!
Ignatz Premium Member about 6 years ago
To examine the grammatical construction of the sentence, and learn the parts of speech. Not a good example, Caulfield.
And if you ever try to learn a foreign language, already knowing the difference between a direct object, an indirect object, and a predicate nominative makes it a LOT easier.
Jeff0811 about 6 years ago
What I’m wondering, and pardon my grammar and sentence structure here, it’s been awhile since I’ve subjugated predicates and what not, and I have a problem with run on sentences and such, but what I’m wondering is if an English teacher would request an explanation with the words “what for”? It seems to me saying, “Please explain” would be better coming from an English teacher.
To me it is as if one is substituting the words “Pardon me, can you please repeat that”, with the word, (I must admit this is a pet peeve of mine) “Huh?”.
archipelago Premium Member about 6 years ago
Because people will see your sentences. And understanding the elements allows you to create more effective sentences, and (as someone already pointed out) helps when learning a foreign language.
sandpiper about 6 years ago
Caulfield’s nickname could be circlelocutious as he finally got back to the point he was plotting to make from the beginning
The Brooklyn Accent about 6 years ago
The problem is that (1) to communicate any but the simplest ideas effectively in any language requires an understanding of the structure of that language, and (2) it takes time, practice, and some analytical skill to learn that structure, and (3) developing all that out of nothing involves processes that are often tedious—just as learning addition and multiplication tables, and learning to analyze story problems in order to abstract the mathematical relationships that represent them, are tedious but often necessary steps toward understanding the mathematics that govern our world.
Some of us have a natural aptitude for language, or math, and it all comes easily and intuitively; others ultimately find these tools are a help, tedious though they may have been to learn.
Diagramming sentences is tedious, but it replaced an even more tedious method of analyzing the structure of a sentence: parsing it out loud.
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/a-picture-of-language
People have developed other methods of analyzing sentence structure, and they’re tedious too. When someone finds a way that’s effective as a teaching tool and not tedious, the pedagogical world will rejoice.
oldwolf1951 about 6 years ago
There was once a story about why it was good to know how to diagram a sentence structure. The story goes that there was a law that none of the lawyers in court could figure out what the heck it meant. They called in an English teacher and she diagramed the sentence structure. When she got it down to the basics, they found in effect that the law was contradicting itself and threw the whole suit out.
danketaz Premium Member about 6 years ago
Any chance of just wadding the sentence up and shoving it in a drawer with the rest of the paragraph?
scaeva Premium Member about 6 years ago
Why diagram sentences? To learn the proper use of the English language. And since when do they teach that, anymore? I haven’t spoken to anyone, other than a few successful authors, who were taught this, in years.
Stephen Gilberg about 6 years ago
I learned sentence diagrams for one advisory in seventh grade. Today I can’t diagram complex sentences. But I think it helped me with the concept of parallel structure, which in turn helps me proofread.
Uncle Bob about 6 years ago
Ok Caulie, diagram your last question and I’ll let you off the hook…
ken in tx about 6 years ago
Thought is sub-motal speech. Diagramming sentences helps you clarify your thoughts.
HappyDog/ᵀʳʸ ᴮᵒᶻᵒ ⁴ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵘⁿ ᵒᶠ ᶦᵗ Premium Member about 6 years ago
Wow, interesting discussion! So what I’m getting out of all of this is, when you fold fitted sheets correctly, all the corners have to fit inside each other? Thanks.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] about 6 years ago
So does anyone have the data on how it is taught now?
pchemcat about 6 years ago
So you can learn how the English language works thus enabling you to write and speak coherently.
Seeker149 Premium Member about 6 years ago
You don’t have to even look under the hood of a car to be a decent driver. But you will also never unlock your vehicle’s full potential without an inherent grasp of its inner workings. The ability to analyze how the words that you use work together to compose thoughts and arguments provides a strong instinctive foundation for critical thinking, which WILL be extremely useful in everyday life. As a Math teacher, I observe a similar dynamic in the lessons I teach. I’m not shy about admitting to my students that they will never use 99% of the formulas and algorithms that I teach them. However, there is no better class for manipulating symbolic concepts, interpreting implicit or explicit information, and consistently applying even more critical thinking.