1. Basics of Sentence Diagramming
English 9
Greenwood High School

2. You should know: How to identify a noun. What a noun phrase is.
How to identify a verb.
Be able to identify these primary phrases:
Preposition
Appositive
Gerund
Infinitive
Participle

3. Subject Predicate Primary Components
Every sentence will have a Subject and a Predicate
The subject is made up of your noun phrase and any additional modifiers
The predicate is the primary verb phrase of the sentence
When you start your diagram, it will look like this:
Subject
Predicate

4. Diagramming Basics You are now ready to break down your sentence!
Step 1: Draw a horizontal line.
This is the foundation of your diagram. Phrases, modifiers, and determiners will all branch off of this line.
Step 2: Draw a vertical line that crosses your foundation line.
This separates your subject from your predicate. All other lines drawn on your foundation line will not cross both sides.
You are now ready to break down your sentence!

5. Breaking Down a Sentence
Sentences can be broken down into 10 basic patterns
These 10 patterns also fall into 4 groups
“Be” verb patterns
Linking verb patterns
Intransitive verb patterns
Transitive verb patterns
We are starting with “Be” verb patterns

6. Breaking Down a Sentence
The first step in breaking down a sentence is to identify the predicate and the subject.
Example:
This is our predicate
Karen is outside.
This is our subject

7. Practice Identifying the Subject & Predicate
Jacob was inside.
Birds are above.
Concerts were yesterday.
I am within.
Now check your answers

8. Now that we know how to identify our subject and predicate, we can put them into the diagram.

9. Insert the subject & predicate into the diagram
Karen is
Karen is outside.
Jacob was inside.
Birds are above.
Concerts were yesterday.
I am within.
Jacob
was
Birds
are
Concerts
were I am

10. Subject Predicate Adverbial Not done yet…
Now that you have the subject and predicate diagrammed, you still have some words left over.
All of these are examples of Adverbials of Time or Place
This means that they modify the verb to tell you when or where the action takes place.
Whenever a word or phrase modifies the subject or predicate, we place it on a diagonal line underneath the word it modifies.
Subject
Predicate
Adverbial

11. Add in the Adverbials of Time or Place
Karen is outside.
Jacob was inside.
Birds are above.
Concerts were yesterday.
I am within.
Karen is
outside
Jacob
was
inside
Birds
are
above
Concerts
were
yesterday I am
within

12. Sentence Pattern 1
All of these sentences are examples of Sentence Pattern 1.
Sentence Pattern one is characterized by having a form of the verb “be” and an Adverbial of Time or Place, or ADV/TP.
Because the subject will not always be one word, we call it the Noun Phrase, or NP, when diagramming.
The only part of the NP that goes on your foundation line is the headword.
All other modifiers and determiners go underneath the foundation line.

13. Sentence Pattern 1: NP “be” ADV/TP

14. NP be
ADV/TP
adjective
determiner
Variation

15. Madonna is upstairs.
Madonna is
upstairs

16. The massive storm is tomorrow.

17. Practice The boy is outside. Fall Break is soon.
The music festival was yesterday.