Sentence Diagramming Exercises: An Introduction to Sentence Diagramming

Fabulous book and resource! This is a great way to learn and teach grammar. It's a shame there aren't more such resources available. Sentence diagramming seems to be a dying art, and it's refreshing to see someone, in this digital age, recognize the importance and power of sentence diagramming. I'm using the book as I home school my seventh-grade granddaughter.

If you can diagram sentences, then you can write grammatically correct sentences because you can answer the question why. Why use a particular word in a particular place? Such as, why use good or well? I did a good job, or I did my job well are both correct. Can you answer the question why use good or well? The parts of speech are roles that words take. The same word can be used for several parts of speech. Once you study the material in this book, you will know how to select the correct word to accurately correctly say what you mean to say. You will be better able to write and punctuate sentences after you understand the various job descriptions that words have. Diagramming should never have been dropped from education. People were better writers when they could diagram. Contrary to popular belief, diagramming is fun and easy. Elizabeth O'Brien does an excellent job making grammar fun and easy to learn with this book and with her website English-Grammar-Revolution.[...]

If, like many people, you have struggled to learn the finer points of written English then this is a book which will be of great use to you. O'Brien manages to teach the basics of sentence diagramming in a quick and easy to understand way. The book is exercise based, using a combination of a brief description of what part of the diagram is being taught followed by a sentences to diagram. It has a good, easy to use, active contents page and is written in a clear and concise manner.Personally I would have preferred more exercises to do, but those in the book are enough to teach you what you need to learn.

This book heels me 'see' the parts of speech. I've taken online courses for grammar. They've been good classes with good teachers. But there's something about diagramming the parts of speech that helps you see how sentences are structured. I like how this book has helped me understand sentence structure better.

I couldn't figure out whether to write "I will give a prize to whoever gets this right" or "I will give a prize to whomever gets this right." I decided to teach myself sentence diagramming because I kept getting confused by the objective case. (By the way, the first version is correct because "whoever" is the subject of the prepositional phrase even though the whole prepositional phrase is the direct object of the sentence--I think I'm saying that right. Whatever the proper descriptions, sentence diagramming makes the who-whom answer pretty clear.)One thing to note: Reed and Kellogg, the folks who invented the predominant method of sentence diagramming, wrote their books before 1923. That means the books are no longer in copyright. So you can download the "Graded Exercises...," "Higher Lessons...," and "A Key Containing Diagrams..." all from Google Books. (The first two have exercises, the third has answers.) You need to try to match up the publications dates because there are several versions of each book. But this is a free way to get more detailed instruction than the rather short O'Brien book offers.Still, I think the O'Brien book is a good starting point. You can use her book to get the knack for diagramming, then use the old books to fill in detail and supply extra exercises. (The older books are also fun because of the bizarre sentences you sometimes find: for example, "Since the breath contains poisonous carbonic acid, wise people ventilate their sleeping rooms.")

The book was in excellent condition, just like it was advertised. It is also a very helpful book for someone new to diagramming.

As a middle school language arts teacher, this was perfect for step-by-step lessons. It has helped my kids understand parts of speech, and they are having a blast. I gave a diagramming test and 90% of my 7th graders received A+.

This workbook is fantastic - great explanations and lots of exercises.

Great book for learning and practicing grammar with a fun and so so addictive method.The book is very user friendly. Elizabeth introduces the 8 or 9 parts of speech (can't quite remember), and then begins simple sentence diagramming, slowly building up to using complex sentences with a whole range of grammar terms i.e. gerunds and predicate nouns etc.Be warned, the book / lessons are so addictive. Within a few weeks I had worked through 2 thirds of the book before it started getting more difficult. Although I have slowed down, the lessons are still as addictive and I find myself mentally dissecting sentences I read elsewhere.This book has given me a whole new outlook to English language and grammar. I have since bought a couple of grammar books to help consolidate my learning. I am 38 years old and my daughter is 10. We both enjoy using the book.

I brought this book with the Reference Manual and it explains how sentence diagramming is done. I found this very interesting and informative. I strongly recommend this book. The condition of both books, was like new and the delivery very quick. I am really pleased.