3
The Teachers’ Guide
to The Fifth KISS Grammar Book
The study of grammar is a science.
The teaching of grammar is an art.
Welcome 3
Unit 1 – Review 3
Ex. 1 - Infrequent Helping Verbs 3
Ex. 2 - Palimpest Patterns 3
Ex. 3 - Phrasal Verbs 3
Ex. 4 - The Meanings of “Too” - Based on The Velveteen Rabbit [AK] 4
Ex. 5 - Finite Verb or Verbal? 4
Ex. 6 -The Logic of Prep Phrases from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales (#2) [AK] 4
Ex. 7 - Quotations as Direct Objects from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK] 5
Ex. 8 - Embedded Subordinate Clauses 6
Punctuation 6
Ex. 9 - Apostrophes for Possession 6
Unit 2 - Studies in Ellipsis 7
Ex. 1 - “As” and Ellipsis from “How Flax Was Given to Men” 7
Ex. 2 – “Than” and Ellipsis from “How Flax Was Given to Men” 8
Unit 4 - Intro to Post-Positioned Adjectives 9
Ex. 1 – 9
Ex. 2 – 9
From Main Clause to Subordinate to PPA 9
Ex. 3 – From “The White Cat” [AK] 9
Unit 5 - “So” and “For” as Conjunctions 11
Need--Discussion 11
Ex. 1 - “So” and “For” as Conjunctions from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK] 11
Ex. 2 - From “Little Thumbkins’ Good Deed” (#1) [AK] 12
Unit 6 - Vocabulary (1) 14
Abstract and Concrete Words and Phrases 14
Ex. 1 - Adapted from Child-Story Reader (5) [AK] 14
Synonyms and Antonyms 15
Ex. 2 - Synonyms - from Child-Story Readers (#3) [NA] 15
Ex. 3 - Antonyms from Voyages in English (#4) [AK] 15
Fix the Missing Punctuation 17
Ex. 7 – From “How Johnny Cricket Saw Santa Claus” [AK] 17
Unit 7 - Statistical Stylistics (1) 19
Unit 8 - Studies in Punctuation and Logic 19
Ex. 1 - Colons and Dashes 19
Ex. 2 – Semicolons 19
Ex. 3. - 19
Restrictive and Non-Restrictive—Notes for Teachers 19
Ex. 4 - Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Adjectival Clauses from “Little Snow-White” (1) [AK] 20
Bending and Breaking the Rules 21
Ex. 5 - Bending and Breaking the Rules from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK] 21
Ex. 6 - Bending and Breaking the Rules from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK] 22
Unit 10 - Sentence Combining and Style 25
Ex. 1 – 25
Ex. 2 - A Decombining Exercise from “Tufty Riquet” [AK] 25
Unit 11 - Vocabulary (2) 27
Abstract and Concrete Words and Phrases 27
Ex. 1 - Adapted from Child-Story Readers (6) [AK] 27
Synonyms and Antonyms 28
Ex. 2 - Synonyms - Adapted from Child-Story Readers (#5) 28
Ex. 3 - Antonyms 28
Ex. 4 - Synonyms and Antonyms from Child-Story Readers (1) 28
Unit 14 - Passages for Analysis 29
Ex. 1 - The Opening of “Snow-White and Rose-Red” [AK] 29
Ex. 2 - Embedded Subordinate Clauses from “Snow-White and Rose-Red” [AK] 29
Ex. 3 – 30
Ex. 4 – 30
Ex. 5 - A Passage from “Sally Migrundy” (1) [AK] 31
Welcome
Unit 1 – Review
Ex. 1 - Infrequent Helping Verbs
Ex. 2 - Palimpest Patterns
Ex. 3 - Phrasal Verbs
Ex. 4 - The Meanings of “Too” - Based on The Velveteen Rabbit [AK]
1. [Adv. to “went” Wherever the Boy went] the Rabbit went too. | also
2. Nana was {in a hurry}, | and it was too much trouble (PN) to hunt {for china dogs} {at bedtime}. | how much
“To hunt” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as a delayed subject—“to hunt . . . was too much trouble.” See Delayed Subjects.
3. And he missed, too, those long moonlight hours (DO) {in the nursery}. | also
4. That night [NuA] he was almost too happy (PA) to sleep. | how much
“To sleep” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as an adverb to “too” and/or “happy.”
5. The Boy was too ill (PA) to play. | how much
“To play” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as an adverb to “too” and/or “ill.”
6. The gardener was too busy (PA) just then to attend {to it}. | how much
“To attend” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as an adverb to “too” and/or “busy.”
7. The Boy was too excited (PA) to care very much {about it}. | how much
“To care” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as an adverb to “too” and/or “excited.”
Ex. 5 - Finite Verb or Verbal?
Ex. 6 -The Logic of Prep Phrases from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales (#2) [AK]
1. The Fairies endowed the little Princess (DO) {with beauty, and virtue, and health} [Adv. (how?) to “endowed”]. | [”The White Fawn”]
2. Then he fetched a sack (DO) {of pearls} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “sack”] [Adj, to “sack” that lay {among the rushes} [Adv. (where?) to “lay”]], and hobbled off and disappeared {behind a large stone} [Adv. (where?) to “disappeared”]. | [”Snow-White and Rose-Red”]
3. So {in a carriage} [Adv. (How?) to “departed”] {like a large dark box} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “carriage”], shut up [#1] {with her Lady} [Adv. (under what condition?) to “shut up”] {in Waiting} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “Lady”] and {*with* her two Maids} [Adv. (under what condition?) to “shut up”] {of Honour} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “Maids”], Giroflée and Longue Epine [#2], Princess Desirée departed {for Prince Guerrier’s Court} [Adv. (to where?) to “departed”]. | [”The White Fawn”]
4. The Queen’s attendants were {in a serious state} [Adv. (under what condition?) to “were”] {of anxiety} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “state”] {at the prolonged absence} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “anxiety”] [#3] {of Her Majesty} [Adj. (whose?) to “absence”]. | [”The White Fawn”]
5. The beard was fixed (P) {in a gash} [Adv. (where?) to “was fixed”] {in the tree trunk} [Adj. (which?) to “gash”], | and the tiny fellow was hopping to and fro, {like a dog} [Adv. (how?) to “was hopping”] {at the end} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “dog”] {of a string} [Adj. (what kind of?) to “end”]. | [”Snow-White and Rose-Red”]
Notes
1. “Shut up” (enclosed) is a gerundive that modifies “Princess Desirée.”
2. “Giroflée” and “Longue Epine” are appositives to “Maids.” Consider how confusing this passage is to students who have trouble understanding appositives. And note how far one has to go into the sentence before hitting the subject.
3. Some people may prefer to see “at the prolonged absence” as adverbial to “were” in that it also answers the questions “When were they in that state?” and “Why were they in that state?”
Ex. 7 - Quotations as Direct Objects from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK]
1. Then the young prince said, [DO "All this shall not frighten me (DO)]; | I will go and see Briar Rose (DO)." | [“Sleeping Beauty”]
2. A little fish lifted its head (DO) {out of the water}, and said, [DO "Your wish shall be fulfilled (P)], | and you shall soon have a daughter (DO)." | [“Sleeping Beauty”]
3. Sister Anne replied, [DO "I see a cloud (DO) {of dust}], | but it is only a flock (PN) {of sheep} {on the road}." | [“Bluebeard”]
4. The King heaved a deep sigh (DO), and turning [#1] {to his children} said, [DO "Nothing pleases me (DO), {in my old age}, so much {as your deference} {to my desires} [#2]], | and I wish to prove (DO) you (DO) [#3] once more. | *You* Travel {for a year}, | and he [Adj. to "he" who {at the end} {of the year} brings home [NuA] the most beautiful girl (DO)] shall marry her (DO), and be crowned (P) king [#4] {on his marriage}. | I promise you (IO) [DO that I will not defer this reward (DO) any longer]." | [“The White Cat”]
1. “Turning” is a gerundive that modifies “King.”
2. Alternatively, “as your deference to my desires” can be explained as an ellipsed adverbial clause—“as your deference to my desires pleases me.”
3. “You” is the direct object of the infinitive “to prove.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “wish.”
4. “King” is a retained predicate noun after the passive “be crowned.” The active voice version would be “I will crown him to be king....” See KISS Level 5.7 - Passive Voice and Retained Complements.
Ex. 8 - Embedded Subordinate Clauses
Punctuation
Ex. 9 - Apostrophes for Possession
Unit 2 - Studies in Ellipsis
Ex. 1 - “As” and Ellipsis from “How Flax Was Given to Men”
1. The hall was as bright (PA) {with their beauty} [Adv. to "as" as it was {with the stones}]. |
[as it was *bright* (PA) {with the stones}]
2. One was playing {on a harp}, | one was singing, | and others were dancing as lightly and merrily {as a sunbeam} {on a blossom}]. |
[as a sunbeam *dances* {on a blossom}]
3. *You* Choose [DO what you will] to carry {to your wife} (IO) {as a gift} {from Holda}. |
Grammarians would probably offer a variety of explanations of the “what” clause, but the above explanation is based on analogy to “Choose something to carry...” Thus, in this case, the infinitive “to carry” functions as an adjective to the entire noun clause (just as it would to “something”).
“As you would carry a gift from Holda” does not mean the same thing because the gift is from Holda. Thus analyzing this on as an ellipsed clause does not really make sense.
4. O [Inj] goddess [DirA] Holda, there is no gift (PN) {in all your magic hall} [Adj. to "gift" that I would so gladly bear away {to my home} {as the little blue flower} {in your_lily-white hand}]. |
[Adv. to “so” as *I would bear away {to my home}* the little blue flower (DO) {in your lily-white hand}]
“Holda” is an appositive to “goddess.”
5. Soon the green leaves came up; | then many little blue flowers, as blue {as the sky}, lifted up their heads (DO) {in the warm sunshine} {of summer}. |
KISS allows explaining the second “blue” as an appositive to the preceding blue - that is probably the way in which we mentally process it. That explanation results in an adverb (“as”) modifying an adjective (“blue”) that functions as an appositive to the preceding “blue.”
Alternatively, we can consider these to be ellipsed adjectival clauses -- "flowers, [*which were* as blue (PA) [as the sky *is blue (PA)*,]] lifted . . . .
Ex. 2 – “Than” and Ellipsis from “How Flax Was Given to Men”
1. [Adv. to "could think" When I looked {at her}], I could not think {of precious stones}, [Adv. to "not" for her eyes were more sparkling {than diamonds}]. |
[than diamonds *are sparkling*”]. The “than” phrase (or clause) functions as an adverb to “more.”
2. There were diamonds (PN) and pearls (PN) and emeralds (PN), more [Adv. to "more" than we could put {into our little house}], | and {among all the beautiful colors} sat a woman [Adj. to "woman" who was fairer (PA) [Adv. to "fairer" than they *were fair (PA).]]" |
“More” can be explained in a number of ways. Perhaps the best is to consider it to be a post-positioned adjective to “diamonds,” etc. The “than” clause can then be explained as adverbial to “more.”
Because “they” is nominative case, this has to be explained as an ellipsed subordinate clause.
3. The woman was even more beautiful (PA) {than the maidens}. |
[than the maidens *were beautiful*."] Either as a phrase or as clause, the construction chunks as an adverb to "more."
4. Indeed [Inj], my hunter [DirA], the linen is fairer (PA) {than the pearls}, | and I should rather have the beautiful white thing (DO) [Adj. to "thing" that is {on the grass} {in the sunshine}] {than all the diamonds} {in the hall} {of the goddess}. |
Alternatively, “indeed” can be explained as an adverb
[than the pearls *were fair (PA)*,]
[than *I would want to have (DO)* all the diamonds (DO) {in the hall} {of the goddess}]. As a prepositional phrase or as a subordinate clause, this construction functions as an adverb to “rather.”
Unit 4 - Intro to Post-Positioned Adjectives
Ex. 1 –
Ex. 2 –
From Main Clause to Subordinate to PPA
Ex. 3 – From “The White Cat” [AK]
1. There was once a King who had three sons. | They were all handsome and brave. |
SC: There was once a King (PN) [Adj. to "King" who had three sons (DO), [Adj. to "sons" who were all handsome (PA) and brave (PA)]]. |
PPA: There was once a King who had three sons, all handsome [PPA] and brave [PPA]]. |
2. The two elder sons had brought little dogs. | The dogs were so delicate and small that one hardly dared to touch them. |
SC: The two elder sons had brought little dogs (DO) [Adj. to "dogs" that were so delicate (PA) and small (PA) [Adv. to "so" that one hardly dared to touch (DO) them (DO)]].|
PPA: The two elder sons had brought little dogs so delicate [PPA] and small [PPA] that one hardly dared to touch them. |
3. Then entered a little figure. | It was not two feet high. |
SC: Then entered a little figure, [Adj. to "figure" who was not two feet [NuA] high (PA)]. |
PPA: Then entered a little figure, not two feet high [PPA]. |
4. Where shall I find the dog, and a horse? | They must be swift enough for such a journey. |
SC: Where shall I find the dog (DO), and a horse (DO) [Adj. to "dog" and "horse" that are swift (PA) enough {for such a journey}]? |
PPA. Where shall I find the dog, and a horse swift [PPA] enough for such a journey? |
5. Now he should like them to search, by land and sea, for a piece of linen. | It must be so fine that it would pass through the eye of a very small needle. |
SC: Now he should like them to search (DO), {by land and sea}, {for a piece} {of linen} [Adj. to "piece" and/or "linen" that is so fine (PA) [Adv. to "so" that it would pass {through the eye} {of a very small needle}]]. |
“Them” is the subject of the infinitive “to search.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “should like.”