This document provides instruction on sentence diagramming, including identifying the key parts of a sentence, establishing relationships between parts, showing relationships with diagram lines, assigning modifiers to parts, and practicing diagramming sample sentences. The goal of diagramming is to represent the grammatical structure and meaning of sentences visually. Key parts to identify are subjects, predicates, direct objects, and sometimes indirect objects. Modifiers like adjectives and adverbs are also added to the diagrams.

1. Sentence Diagramming
Review and new ideas: modifiers

2. 5 key skills
1. Identify central parts of the sentence
2. Identify relationships between those parts
3. Show relationships with correct lines in the
diagram
4. Assign modifiers to each central sentence part
5. Add modifiers to each part on the diagram
You’re expected to write with slides that start with a
*

3. Identify parts
• There are four central parts of a sentence
– Subject
– Predicate
– Direct object
– and sometimes, an indirect object
• Practice finding each part in the following
sentences

4. * Identify parts
We eat.
You draw?
Sit down.
Grab the broom.
She sings the National Anthem.
Did you bring me the books?
The Gorillaz gave the audience a great show.

5. Identify parts
Subject
We eat. Predicate
Direct object
You draw? Indirect object
(you) Sit down.
(you) Grab the broom.
She sings the National Anthem.
Did you bring me the books?
The Gorillaz gave the audience a great show.

6. Identify parts
Subject
• The system still works for Predicate
sentences with more than Direct object
one of the same part, like Indirect object
these:
- I have been drawing comics and dancing.
- Claire and Pierre are bringing us food.
- My sister cooked them macaroni and cheese
and beans, and cleaned up the kitchen.
- I have finished Scenes 1, 2 and 3 of Act 2!

7. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
* Identify parts
Indirect object
• My Dominican father and I always cooked
while we listened to Spanish music.
• Every Saturday night, I played sous-chef and
made rice.
• Expose yourself to different flavors.
• Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio recipe.
• That blog offers vegetarians creative options
and delicious snacks.

8. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Identify parts
Indirect object
• My Dominican father and I always cooked
while we listened to Spanish music.
• Every Saturday night, I played sous-chef and
made rice.
• (you) Expose yourself to different flavors.
• Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio recipe.
• That blog offers new vegetarians creative
options and delicious snacks.

9. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Establish relationships
Indirect object
• Some sentences have more than one part with
the same job (like two subjects or three direct
objects).
- My sister cooked them macaroni and cheese
and beans, and cleaned up the kitchen.
- I have finished Scenes 1, 2 and 3 of Act 2!
• Try circling subject and predicate, underlining
the direct object and boxing any indirect
objects. You could also color-code, like above

10. Show relationships
• Each part of the diagram has its own place for
a reason – it shows the job of the word (or
words) in the sentence.
subject predicate direct object
indirect object
• Incorrect diagrams ‘lie’ about the job of the
word in the sentence – or make the word’s job
very unclear. Try to draw diagram lines
correctly.

11. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Show relationships
Indirect object
macaroni and cheese
cooked
sister
them beans
cleaned
Scene 1
I have finished
Scene 2
Scene 3
• These two direct objects, macaroni and cheese, and beans, are
only related to the action ‘cooked,’ but not cleaned. The
diagram shows this with only certain lines touching.
• All three scenes are related to ‘have finished,’ so the
diagram shows all three direct objects connected to one
predicate.

12. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Show relationships
Indirect object
• My Dominican father and I always cooked
while we listened to Spanish music.
father
cooked
I
while
Both father and I are
related to cooked.
The diagram comes
together to show we listened to music
that both are
connected to the one
predicate.

13. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
* Show relationships
Indirect object
Try to diagram these:
• Every Saturday night, I played sous-chef and
made rice.
• (you) Expose yourself to different flavors.
• Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio recipe.
• That blog offers new vegetarians creative
options and delicious snacks.

14. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Indirect object
I played sous-chef and made rice. (you) Expose yourself to different
flavors.
.
Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio That blog offers vegetarians creative
recipe. options and delicious snacks.

15. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Indirect object
Assign modifiers
Conjunction
Adjective or adjective or adjective
• Most sentences contain parts that are not central –
not shown on the basic diagram. Instead, they
describe or ‘add to’ (modify) the central parts.
These are adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions or
phrases.
• You will learn to add modifiers to the diagram.
We’ll start with adjectives, which always modify
nouns. Show relationships on the diagram with
diagonal lines under the appropriate connection.
• First, find the adjectives in these sentences

16. Subject
Predicate
Direct object Identify parts
Indirect object
Conjunction
Adjective or adjective or adjective
• My Dominican father and I always cooked
while we listened to Spanish music.
• Every Saturday night, I played sous-chef and
made rice.
• (you) Expose yourself to different flavors.
• Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio recipe.
• That blog offers new vegetarians creative
options and delicious snacks.

17. Subject
Predicate
Direct object Identify parts
Indirect object
Conjunction
Adjective or adjective or adjective
• My Dominican father and I always cooked
while we listened to Spanish music.
• Every Saturday night, I played sous-chef and
made rice.
• (you) Expose yourself to different flavors.
• Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio recipe.
• That blog offers new vegetarians creative
options and delicious snacks.

18. Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Indirect object
Assign modifiers
Conjunction
Adjective or adjective or adjective
• My Dominican father and I always cooked
while we listened to Spanish music.
• Every Saturday night, I played sous-chef and
made rice.
• (you) Expose yourself to different flavors.
• Sosa left us an exclusive beet carpaccio recipe.
• That blog offers new vegetarians creative
options and delicious snacks.

19. * Assign modifiers
• Be clear about relationships between
adjectives and nouns (or adverbs and verbs,
adjectives or adverbs). Add diagonal lines
below the baseline to show relationships.
• That blog offers new vegetarians creative
options and delicious snacks.

20. * Practice | diagram each sentence
• My nose was runny because I had a nasty
cold.
• Buy me some more DayQuil!
• I napped and watched some daytime tv.
• I slurped tomato soup and some chai tea, and
munched a cheese melt.
• My friends visited and brought me a great
movie.