PRACTICE VOYAGEOne Hundred Four-Level Analysis Practice Sentences
A Supplement to Grammar Voyage,Essay Voyage, and Caesar’s English II
Teacher Manual
Michael Clay Thompson
Royal Fireworks PressUnionville, New York
Royal Fireworks Language Arts by Michael Clay Thompson
4
GRAMMAR IS A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE.
8 Parts of Speechnoun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjection
5 Parts of Sentencesubject, predicate, direct object, indirect object,subject complement
Phrasesprepositional phrase, appositive phrase, verbal phrases
Clausesindependent clause, dependent clause
5
GRAMMAR IS A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE.
Notes to Teachers
For years, teachers asked me for more examples of four-level analysis sentences that they could work through with their students. Here they are—a collection of sentences for year-long practice and improvement in a sequence of graduated difficulty that will let students begin with the basics and work up through increasing complexity.
LEVEL: This book provides one hundred practice sentences that teachers can use to supplement the work begun in Grammar Voyage and Essay Voyage. Those two books provide the instruction for the four-level method of grammar analysis, which overcomes the perils of studying grammar elements in isolation by presenting all four levels of grammar in a simple, visual, easy-to-learn format. In four-level analysis, students quickly realize that all sentences are similar, arranging eight kinds of words into the subject and predicate sides of each clause. Students soon realize that they are seeing the exact same (simple) patterns over and over again; it is only when students examine entire sentences in this complete way that these constant patterns are visible.
6
GRAMMAR IS A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE.
CONCEPT: Practice Voyage adheres to the academic content of Grammar Voyage and Essay Voyage. Although there are brief notes accompanying these practice sentences, the full instruction for the concepts is located in Grammar Voyage and Essay Voyage. This book contains practice sentences for those books.
FLEXIBILITY and SIMPLICITY: Practice Voyage has been prepared with the goals of maximum simplicity and maximum flexibility in mind. It is organized in the most straightforward and uncomplicated form possible: one hundred sentences of four-level analysis, generally beginning with the least difficult sentences, and roughly grouped into four chapters of twenty-five sentences each for the four levels of grammar. The first twenty-five sentences (Chapter One) feature parts of speech, the second chapter features the parts of sentence, the third the phrases, and the fourth the clauses. All four chapters, however, do analyze all four levels. There is no expectation that every sentence in the book be done or that they be done in the precise order that they appear. Rather, this is a collection you can draw from freely and creatively to enhance and continue the learning initiated in Grammar Voyage and Essay Voyage.
7
GRAMMAR IS A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE.
The Practice Voyage teacher manual and student book are designed to be ultra low-cost so that the student books can be consumable. Each student can have a student book and work in the blank spaces. If you use Grammar Voyage alone, then Practice Voyage allows you to follow that instruction with several example sentences per week for the entire year. The sentences can be assigned as homework, as Socratic discussions, or as in-class written assignments. If you use both Grammar Voyage and Essay Voyage, work through Grammar Voyage first, then enrich the study of Essay Voyage with sentences from Practice Voyage, and continue with several practice sentences per week for the rest of the year.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: For written assignments done as in-class activities or as written homework, there are a few ideas that make the process clear and straightforward. There is a sentence at the top of each page with four lines beneath it. The first line is for the abbreviations of the parts of speech, the second for the parts of sentence, the third for phrases, and the fourth for clauses. Abbreviations need not be used if space permits.
8
GRAMMAR IS A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE.
For example, if the sentence were “We walked away, but two birds sang songs about us,” one could write the abbreviations of the parts of speech directly below each word in the first line, the parts of sentence in the second, phrases in the third, and clauses in the fourth. For phrases and clauses, you would make little lines to show where the phrase or clause begins and ends. Notice that every word is a part of speech, but only some words are a part of sentence.
The abbreviations used here are:Parts of Speech Parts of Sentencen. noun subj. subjectpron. pronoun AVP action verb predicateadj. adjective LVP linking verb predicatev. verb BVP being verb predicateadv. adverb D.O. direct objectprep. preposition I.O. indirect objectconj. conjunction S.C. subject complementinterj. interjection
Phrases Clausesprep. prepositional (phrase) indep. independent (clause)app. appositive (phrase) dep. dependent (clause)ger. gerund (phrase)par. participial (phrase)inf. infinitive (phrase)
9
GRAMMAR IS A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE.
Ex
am
ple
Sen
ten
ce
We
wal
ked
a
way
,
but
t
wo
b
irds
s
ang
s
ongs
a
bou
t
us.
p
ron
.
v.
adv.
c
onj.
adj.
n
.
v.
n
.
pr
ep.
pro
n.
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s
ubj
.
AV
P
subj
.
A
VP
D
.O.
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__
---
-pre
p. p
hras
e---
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-
----
----
---i
nd
ep. c
lau
se--
----
----
--
----
----
----
----
---i
nd
epen
den
t cl
ause
----
----
----
----
----
----
a c
ompo
un
d d
ecla
rati
ve s
ente
nce
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__
Com
men
t: T
his
is a
com
pou
nd
sen
ten
ce m
ade
of t
wo
ind
epen
den
t cl
ause
s. E
ach
clau
se h
as a
n a
ctio
n v
erb,
bu
t on
ly t
he s
econ
d a
ctio
n v
erb
pass
es t
he a
ctio
n t
o a
dir
ect
obje
ct.
31
GR
AM
MA
R IS
A W
AY O
F TH
INK
ING
AB
OU
T LA
NG
UA
GE.
Sen
ten
ce 2
0
Th
at
in
do
len
t
crew
w
as
rep
lace
d
wit
h
a
new
g
rou
p
of
sai
lors
.
a
dj.
a
dj.
n.
v.
v.
p
rep.
a
dj.
adj
.
n.
p
rep.
n.
___
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____
_
su
bj.
---
----
---A
VP
----
----
-- _
____
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
----
----
----
prep
. ph
rase
----
----
-
---p
rep.
ph
rase
-- _
____
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
-in
depe
nde
nt
clau
se--
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
---
a si
mpl
e de
clar
ativ
e se
nte
nce
___
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____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Com
men
t: I
n t
his
sen
ten
ce t
he
wor
d th
at i
s n
ot a
dem
onst
rati
ve p
ron
oun
; it
is
a de
mon
stra
tive
adj
ecti
ve
beca
use
it
mod
ifies
a n
oun
. T
he
mos
t im
port
ant
deta
il i
n t
his
sen
ten
ce i
s th
e pa
ssiv
e vo
ice
acti
on v
erb
was
re
plac
ed.
Th
e ad
ject
ive
ind
olen
t m
ean
s la
zy.
51
GR
AM
MA
R IS
A W
AY O
F TH
INK
ING
AB
OU
T LA
NG
UA
GE.
Sen
ten
ce 4
0
T
he
su
dden
ly
per
emp
tory
to
ne
of
his
vo
ice
sh
ocke
d b
oth
yo
u
and
me.
a
dj.
adv
.
adj
.
n.
pre
p. a
dj.
n
.
v.
adj.
pr
on.
con
j. p
ron
. _
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____
____
___
s
ubj
.
A
VP
---
----
---D
.O.-
----
----
- _
____
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
--
-pre
p. p
hra
se--
- _
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
inde
pen
den
t cl
ause
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
a
sim
ple
decl
arat
ive
sen
ten
ce _
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___
Com
men
t:
Her
e is
a
good
co
mpo
un
d di
rect
ob
ject
. P
ron
oun
usa
ge b
ecom
es e
asy
once
th
e pa
rts
of t
he
sen
ten
ce a
re p
erfe
ctly
vis
ible
. I
f w
hat
you
are
mak
ing
is c
alle
d an
obj
ect,
use
obj
ect
pron
oun
s, b
ut
if i
t is
ca
lled
a s
ubj
ect,
use
su
bjec
t pr
onou
ns.
Not
ice
that
bot
h i
s an
adj
ecti
ve.
If w
e sa
id “
both
tim
es,”
it
wou
ld b
e cl
ear
that
bot
h m
odifi
es t
he
nou
n, j
ust
as
her
e it
mod
ifies
a c
ompo
un
d pr
onou
n.
Th
e ad
ject
ive
pere
mpt
ory
mea
ns
impe
riou
s, b
ossy
, ove
rbea
rin
g.
81
GR
AM
MA
R IS
A W
AY O
F TH
INK
ING
AB
OU
T LA
NG
UA
GE.
Sen
ten
ce 7
0
A
clam
orou
s t
um
ult
of
co
ster
mon
gers
ca
use
s c
acop
hon
y i
n
the
wh
arve
s.
ad
j.
adj.
n
.
pre
p.
n
.
v.
n
.
prep
. ad
j.
n.
___
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____
____
____
_
su
bj.
AV
P
D
.O.
___
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
-
----
--pr
ep. p
hra
se--
----
-
-
----
--pr
ep. p
hra
se--
----
-- _
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
---i
nde
pen
den
t cl
ause
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
--
a si
mpl
e de
clar
ativ
e se
nte
nce
___
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Com
men
t: T
he
key
to t
he
sen
ten
ce i
s kn
owin
g th
at t
um
ult
, n
ot c
oste
rmon
gers
, is
th
e su
bjec
t. T
hat
is
wh
y th
e ve
rb i
s ca
use
s, n
ot c
ause
. T
he
mea
nin
g of
th
e se
nte
nce
is
enh
ance
d by
th
e al
lite
rati
on o
n t
he
k so
un
d in
cla
mor
ous,
cos
term
onge
rs,
cau
ses,
an
d ca
coph
ony.
A
cla
mor
is
an o
utc
ry,
tum
ult
is
dist
urb
ance
, co
ster
mon
gers
are
fru
it a
nd
vege
tabl
e ve
ndo
rs, a
nd
caco
phon
y is
lou
d ra
cket
.
101
GR
AM
MA
R IS
A W
AY O
F TH
INK
ING
AB
OU
T LA
NG
UA
GE.
Sen
ten
ce 9
0
T
he
li
vid
w
oun
d
bega
n
to
h
eal
slo
wly
; c
lean
ing
it
w
as
impo
rtan
t.
a
dj.
adj.
n.
v.
---
---n
.---
---
adv
.
n
.
p
ron
.
v.
a
dj.
___
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____
____
____
_
subj
.
A
VP
---
----
----
D.O
.---
----
----
-
---
----
-su
bj.-
----
----
L
VP
S.C
. _
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
---
-in
fin
itiv
e ph
rase
----
--
-ger
un
d ph
r.--
-- _
____
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____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
--in
depe
nde
nt
clau
se--
----
----
----
----
----
----
---
-
----
----
----
--in
depe
nde
nt
clau
se--
----
----
----
- an
I;I
com
pou
nd
decl
arat
ive
sen
ten
ce _
____
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____
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____
___
Com
men
t: T
his
com
pou
nd
sen
ten
ce c
onta
ins
two
inde
pen
den
t cl
ause
s. I
n t
he
firs
t cl
ause
an
infi
nit
ive
phra
se
acts
as
a n
oun
an
d di
rect
obj
ect.
In
th
e se
con
d cl
ause
a g
eru
nd
phra
se i
s u
sed
as t
he
subj
ect
of t
he
lin
kin
g ve
rb.
Not
ice
the
para
dox
that
in a
ver
bal p
hra
se a
n a
dver
b m
igh
t m
odif
y a
nou
n.
Th
e ad
ject
ive
livi
d m
ean
s br
uis
ed, i
nfl
amed
, or
even
an
gry;
her
e it
mea
ns
that
th
e w
oun
d h
ad b
ruis
ed c
olor
s.