Everyday Grammar - VOA Learning English Grammar and Trees - May 04, 2023
May 4, 2023
A playful comparison of sentences and trees visualizes subjects as roots and predicates as trunks. Modifiers are likened to branches, leaves, and flowers. The show analyzes a sample sentence and outlines common sentence patterns and tree-like diagrams. It also ties word origins to roots and rings, and highlights learning patterns and connections.
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Chapters
Transcript
Sentence Structure Mirrors Tree Anatomy
- English sentences have a core subject and predicate like a tree's roots and trunk that provide stability.
- John Russell uses the sentence The students consider the class a challenge to show subject (the students) and predicate (consider...).
Learn The Ten Common Sentence Patterns
- Learn to recognize common sentence patterns to understand many sentence types.
- John Russell says about ten very common sentence patterns form the base of all kinds of sentences, like identifying tree species.
Imperatives Drop The Subject Like A Cut Tree
- Imperative sentences often omit the subject, like the command Imagine an image of a tree.
- John Russell compares such sentences to a tree cut down and used for decoration, missing important parts like roots.