Diagramming Sentences

A noun clause can serve as a predicate nominative, as in this sentence:

The fact is you are not ready.

Note that the phrase you are not ready renames the fact.

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Rambling Sentences

Rambling or run-on sentences are sentences that contain several clauses connected by coordinating conjunctions such as: and, or, but, yet, for, nor, and so.

A rambling sentence may appear to follow the technical rules of grammar in places, but the sentence as a whole is wrong because it rambles.

I was happy to walk down the aisle as a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding, but I was very embarrassed when I stumbled in the middle of the ceremony, for when I recovered, I looked up and saw my sister and I thought she was going to faint, because I could see her standing in the doorway waiting to begin her own walk down the aisle, and her face was all white, she looked like she was going to throw up.

Much of this looks correct, because the various clauses are connected correctly (except one comma splice). Don’t hesitate to break up sentences that ramble:

I was happy to walk down the aisle as a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding. However, I was very embarrassed when I stumbled in the middle of the ceremony--especially when I recovered. I looked up and saw my sister and I thought she was going to faint. I could see her standing in the doorway, waiting to begin her own walk down the aisle. Her face was all white and she looked like she was going to throw up!

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Diagramming Sentences

Eve, my cat, ate her food. The term apposition means "next to." In a sentence, an appositive is a word or phrase that follows and renames another word. In the sentence above, my cat is the appositive for Eve.

In a sentence diagram, the appositive sits next to the word it re-names in parentheses.

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