Excerpts, sentences, clauses, subject-verb combinations, verb forms What do you notice?

Excerpt #1 This slideshow is a series of six excerpts, which are passages from books. Each excerpt has a citation and the full references appear on the last slide.

Excerpt #1 Read this excerpt closely. Questions follow. Judge devoured his bowl of spaghetti, but Theo hardly touched his. He put the dishes in the dishwasher, locked the house, and went to his room, where he changed into his pajamas, grabbed his laptop, and crawled into bed. He found April online and they chatted for a few minutes. She, too, was in bed, but her door was locked, as always. (Grisham, 2010, p. 167)

Clauses? Where are the independent clauses and the dependent clauses in this excerpt? Judge devoured his bowl of spaghetti, but Theo hardly touched his. He put the dishes in the dishwasher, locked the house, and went to his room, where he changed into his pajamas, grabbed his laptop, and crawled into bed. He found April online and they chatted for a few minutes. She, too, was in bed, but her door was locked, as always. (Grisham, 2010, p. 167)

Clauses… Judge devoured his bowl of spaghetti, but Theo hardly touched his. He put the dishes in the dishwasher, locked the house, and went to his room, where he changed into his pajamas, grabbed his laptop, and crawled into bed. He found April online and they chatted for a few minutes. She, too, was in bed, but her door was locked, as always. (Grisham, 2010, p. 167)

Subject-verb combinations? Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Judge devoured his bowl of spaghetti, but Theo hardly touched his. He put the dishes in the dishwasher, locked the house, and went to his room, where he changed into his pajamas, grabbed his laptop, and crawled into bed. He found April online and they chatted for a few minutes. She, too, was in bed, but her door was locked, as always. (Grisham, 2010, p. 167)

Subject-verb combinations? Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Judge devoured his bowl of spaghetti, but Theo hardly touched his. He put the dishes in the dishwasher, locked the house, and went to his room, where he changed into his pajamas, grabbed his laptop, and crawled into bed. He found April online and they chatted for a few minutes. She, too, was in bed, but her door was locked, as always. (Grisham, 2010, p. 167)

Subject-verb combinations clause verb form Judge devoured IND one-word Theo touched He put locked went he changed DEP grabbed crawled found they chatted She was door

Do you notice…? …that every verb form in this excerpt is a one-word verb form? …that two subjects in this excerpt have multiple verbs? …that every sentence in this excerpt has precisely two clauses? …that only one dependent clause appears in this excerpt? …that only two sentence types appear in this excerpt?

Excerpt #2

Excerpt #2 Read this excerpt closely. Questions follow. Ike was still doing tax work, but of a lesser variety. He was not a lawyer and not an accountant. But since he had to do something for a living, he prepared tax returns for working people and small businesses. His office was on the second floor of an old building downtown. A Greek couple ran a deli on the first floor. He did their tax work and was paid in part with a free lunch five days a week. (Grisham, 2010, p. 50)

Clauses? Where are the independent clauses and the dependent clauses in this excerpt? Ike was still doing tax work, but of a lesser variety. He was not a lawyer and not an accountant. But since he had to do something for a living, he prepared tax returns for working people and small businesses. His office was on the second floor of an old building downtown. A Greek couple ran a deli on the first floor. He did their tax work and was paid in part with a free lunch five days a week. (Grisham, 2010, p. 50)

Clauses… Ike was still doing tax work, but of a lesser variety. He was not a lawyer and not an accountant. But since he had to do something for a living, he prepared tax returns for working people and small businesses. His office was on the second floor of an old building downtown. A Greek couple ran a deli on the first floor. He did their tax work and was paid in part with a free lunch five days a week. (Grisham, 2010, p. 50)

Subject-verb combinations? Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Ike was still doing tax work, but of a lesser variety. He was not a lawyer and not an accountant. But since he had to do something for a living, he prepared tax returns for working people and small businesses. His office was on the second floor of an old building downtown. A Greek couple ran a deli on the first floor. He did their tax work and was paid in part with a free lunch five days a week. (Grisham, 2010, p. 50)

Subject-verb combinations… Where are the subject-verb combinations in this paragraph? Ike was still doing tax work, but of a lesser variety. He was not a lawyer and not an accountant. But since he had to do something for a living, he prepared tax returns for working people and small businesses. His office was on the second floor of an old building downtown. A Greek couple ran a deli on the first floor. He did their tax work and was paid in part with a free lunch five days a week. (Grisham, 2010, p. 50)

Subject-verb combinations clause verb form Ike was doing IND two-word He was one-word he had DEP prepared office couple ran did was paid

Do you notice…? …that six of the verb forms in this excerpt are one-word verb forms? …that two of the verb forms in this excerpt are two-word verb forms? …the primary differences between the two two-word verb forms in this excerpt? …the time reference of each verb form in this excerpt? …that only one sentence in this excerpt has more than one clause? …that only one dependent clause appears in this excerpt?

Excerpt #3

Excerpt #3 Read this excerpt closely. Questions follow. Theo’s task was to help with the homework. The shelter had several families that were allowed to stay there for up to twelve months—that was the limit at Highland Street. After a year, they had to move on. While they were in the shelter, they were treated like other residents of Strattenburg. They were fed and clothed and treated for medical problems. They were either employed or looking for work. They were invited to churches for worship. (Grisham, 2010, pp. 88-89)

Clauses? Where are the independent clauses and the dependent clauses in this excerpt? Theo’s task was to help with the homework. The shelter had several families that were allowed to stay there for up to twelve months—that was the limit at Highland Street. After a year, they had to move on. While they were in the shelter, they were treated like other residents of Strattenburg. They were fed and clothed and treated for medical problems. They were either employed or looking for work. They were invited to churches for worship. (Grisham, 2010, pp. 88-89)

Clauses… Theo’s task was to help with the homework. The shelter had several families that were allowed to stay there for up to twelve months—that was the limit at Highland Street. After a year, they had to move on. While they were in the shelter, they were treated like other residents of Strattenburg. They were fed and clothed and treated for medical problems. They were either employed or looking for work. They were invited to churches for worship. (Grisham, 2010, pp. 88-89)

Subject-verb combinations? Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Theo’s task was to help with the homework. The shelter had several families that were allowed to stay there for up to twelve months—that was the limit at Highland Street. After a year, they had to move on. While they were in the shelter, they were treated like other residents of Strattenburg. They were fed and clothed and treated for medical problems. They were either employed or looking for work. They were invited to churches for worship. (Grisham, 2010, pp. 88-89)

Subject-verb combinations… Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Theo’s task was to help with the homework. The shelter had several families that were allowed to stay there for up to twelve months—that was the limit at Highland Street. After a year, they had to move on. While they were in the shelter, they were treated like other residents of Strattenburg. They were fed and clothed and treated for medical problems. They were either employed or looking for work. They were invited to churches for worship. (Grisham, 2010, pp. 88-89)

Subject-verb combinations clause verb form task was IND one-word shelter had that were allowed DEP two-word they were were treated

Subject-verb combinations (2) clause verb form They were fed IND two-word [were] clothed [were] treated were employed one-word [were] looking were invited

Do you notice…? …that fewer than half of the verb forms in this excerpt are one-word verb forms? …that more than half of the verb forms in this excerpt are two-word verb forms? …how one two-word verb form differs from the other two-word verb forms? …how many sentence types are represented in this excerpt? …how many sentences are not represented in this excerpt?

Excerpt #4

Excerpt #4 Read this excerpt closely. Questions follow. Throughout the day at school, the boys had argued and bickered about how a proper manhunt should be conducted. None had ever taken part in such a search, but this lack of experience was not mentioned or acknowledged. Instead, several of them, including Theo, spoke as if they knew precisely what to do. Another strong voice belonged to Woody, who, because he owned the iPad, felt as though more weight should be given to his ideas. (Grisham, 2011, pp. 30-31)

Clauses? Where are the independent clauses and the dependent clauses in this excerpt? Throughout the day at school, the boys had argued and bickered about how a proper manhunt should be conducted. None had ever taken part in such a search, but this lack of experience was not mentioned or acknowledged. Instead, several of them, including Theo, spoke as if they knew precisely what to do. Another strong voice belonged to Woody, who, because he owned the iPad, felt as though more weight should be given to his ideas. (Grisham, 2011, pp. 30-31)

Clauses… Throughout the day at school, the boys had argued and bickered about how a proper manhunt should be conducted. None had ever taken part in such a search, but this lack of experience was not mentioned or acknowledged. Instead, several of them, including Theo, spoke as if they knew precisely what to do. Another strong voice belonged to Woody, who, because he owned the iPad, felt as though more weight should be given to his ideas. (Grisham, 2011, pp. 30-31)

Subject-verb combinations? Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Throughout the day at school, the boys had argued and bickered about how a proper manhunt should be conducted. None had ever taken part in such a search, but this lack of experience was not mentioned or acknowledged. Instead, several of them, including Theo, spoke as if they knew precisely what to do. Another strong voice belonged to Woody, who, because he owned the iPad, felt as though more weight should be given to his ideas. (Grisham, 2011, pp. 30-31)

Subject-verb combinations? Where are the subject-verb combinations in this excerpt? Throughout the day at school, the boys had argued and bickered about how a proper manhunt should be conducted. None had ever taken part in such a search, but this lack of experience was not mentioned or acknowledged. Instead, several of them, including Theo, spoke as if they knew precisely what to do. Another strong voice belonged to Woody, who, because he owned the iPad, felt as though more weight should be given to his ideas. (Grisham, 2011, pp. 30-31)

Subject-verb combinations clause verb form boys had argued IND two-word [had] bickered manhunt should be conducted DEP three-word None had…taken part two-word* lack was…mentioned [was] acknowledged several spoke one-word they knew

Subject-verb combinations clause verb form voice belonged IND one-word who felt DEP he owned weight should be given three-word

Do you notice…? …that five of the verb forms in this excerpt are one-word verb forms? …that five of the verb forms in this excerpt are two-word verb forms? …that two of the verb forms in this excerpt are three-word verb forms? …which sentence types are represented in the sentences in this excerpt? …which sentence types are not represented in the sentences in this excerpt?

References Grisham, J. (2010) Theodore Boone: Kid lawyer. New York: Puffin Books. Grisham, J. (2011) Theodore Boone: The abduction. New York: Puffin Books. Snyder, T.D., and Dillow, S.A. (2015). Digest of Education Statistics 2013 (NCES 2015-011). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.