Core Diagram Questions

[hiddenjewel]

I have questions on the Homer Core diagram examples.

Page 226 Why is "back" not an adverb since it is telling where he came?

Page 230 Would "around which" be considered a prepositional phrase that answers where the islands lie and that is why it is diagrammed under "lie"?

Page 235 Why is "upturned" on a curved line?


Older Beginner Workbook Answer Key questions

Page 46 "his brother's death" - wouldn't "his" be an adverb that modifies brother instead of death?


Page 58 "Nine years the Greeks laid siege to Troy" - wouldn't "nine" modify years instead of laid?

Page 69 Why are "standing" and "flickering" on curved lines?



Thanks for your help.

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Homer core:

Page 226 Why is "back" not an adverb since it is telling where he came?


This one I would agree with you, but ultimately it is a matter of convention. All the Homer core diagrams were done by one of our students (read: off spring of authors) who at that time was 14. This particular student had behind this diagram the thinking that 'came back' is as a whole a verb phrase and therefore 'back' stays on the line with 'came' the same way that 'returned' would have been on one line.

It could go either way. I think with the most common CW convention, 'back' as you indicated, should go down on a slanted line as an adverb. I will make a note of it.

Page 230 Would "around which" be considered a prepositional phrase that answers where the islands lie and that is why it is diagrammed under "lie"?

Yes.

Page 235 Why is "upturned" on a curved line?

'upturned' is a participle. That is, it is a word that acts like an adjective, but it comes from the verb phrase "to turn up". All participles are diagrammed on curved lines to distinguish them from mere adjectives which are on straight lines that are slanted.

Older Beginner Workbook Answer Key questions

Page 46 "his brother's death" - wouldn't "his" be an adverb that modifies brother instead of death?

Simplified sentence that deals with the issue: Artaxerxes sent word of his brother's death.

I understand your objection here. It is a toughie to unravel, but I really think it could go either way. If the sentence said "Artaxerxes sent word of his death", then you would keep the 'his' and make it modify 'death', but when you have brother's in there, the 'his' belongs to the brother, not to the death, you are arguing, because in context while you can say 'his death' and it stands alone, you cannot omit 'his' and merely say 'brother's death', which seems to indicate that 'brother's' is the proper recipient of the modification from 'his', not death. I will flag Carolyn and she can comment here too.

Page 58 "Nine years the Greeks laid siege to Troy" - wouldn't "nine" modify years instead of laid?

Actually in that case, what was intended (though I think the diagram should be clearer) is that indications of time have an understood preposition. So it should be "For nine years..." and yes, I would agree that 'nine' modifies 'years', not 'laid'. The entire prepositional phrase (or as it is called without the preposition, the adverbial phrase) does modify laid.

I will make a note of that and also flag Carolyn so she can answer you here too. Usually if I say on the board that she was wrong, she will email me back and explain why she did what she did and I usually eat my words at that point as she brings up a different angle.

Diagramming most often has a precise answer, but there are places where the language does waffle and can be taken in two senses. Usually when Carolyn and I differ, it's because of an ambiguity built into the sentence where one of us saw it one way and the other the other way.

Page 69 Why are "standing" and "flickering" on curved lines?

'standing' and 'flickering' are participles (participles are either present tense: standing and flickering, or past tense, stood and flickered) and participles (see my answer above) are diagrammed on curved lines to indicate that they act as adjectival modifiers.

Good questions, good observations. It's clear that you are getting this!

Thanks, Lene

[Carolyn]

'his brother's death'

Yes, 'his' does refer to the brother, and not the death. Technically, 'his' is a personal pronoun in the possessive case, acting as an adjective.

'Nine years' is an adverbial phrase, just as Lene says, and 'nine' should be modifying 'years.'

Thanks for bringing these up!