Teachers’ Guide and Analysis Keys for Introduction and Unit 1 - Review of The Third “Ideal” KISS Grammar Book

The study of grammar is a science. The teaching of grammar is an art.

People who are not familiar with the KISS Approach will look at this book and say that it is impossible for students to learn the material. Their view is understandable because all they are familiar with are the grammar books that teach simplistic, isolated constructions. If your students have passed the Assessment tests for Books One and Two, they should be fairly good at recognizing subjects, verbs, the five types of complements, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and compound sentences. In other words, much of what students have to do in this book is already automatic for them. They can do it quickly and (usually) correctly. This book enables students to build on what they have already learned. To my knowledge, no other approach to grammar builds in this meaningful way.

Units Seven and Twelve (“Statistical Stylistics”) are not complete and may take some time to make. They will be based on samples of the writing of third graders.

Note: Many of the links in these Teachers’ Guides lead to pages on the KISS internet site. These links are intended to give you more explanation and examples about something in an Analysis Key. If you are not connected to the web, the links will not work.

For more information about the KISS Grammar “Ideal” books, go to: http://kissgrammar.org/Ideal_Sequence/index.html

© Ed Vavra 12/16/2016 2 3

Introduction...... 3 Major Objectives...... 3 The Texts on Which This Book Is Built...... 6 An Overview of the Exercises...... 7 The Focus on the Grammatical Concepts...... 7 Reading, Writing, Vocabulary & Style...... 10 The Importance of Listening and Reading...... 10 Vocabulary...... 11 The Focus on Writing...... 11 Important Reminders...... 13 Unit 1 – Review...... 14 Constructions...... 14 Nouns Used as Adverbs, Interjections, and Direct Address...... 14 Ex. 1 - From The Tale of Samuel Whiskers [AK]...... 14 Verbs...... 15 Ex. 2 - Helping Verbs Adapted from The Velveteen Rabbit (AK)...... 15 Ex. 3 - Phrasal Verbs from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales (AK)...... 16 Ex. 4 - Palimpsest Patterns from The Fairy Reader [AK]...... 17 Ex. 5 - Varied Positions in S/V/C Patterns from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK]...... 17 Prepositions...... 18 Ex. 6 - Is It a Preposition? from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK]...... 18 Ex. 7 – The “To” Problem - The Velveteen Rabbit [AK]...... 19 Ex. 8 - The Meanings of “Too” from Pinocchio [AK]...... 20 Ex. 9 - Writing Sentences with “To” and “Too” [NA]...... 21 Ex. 10 - Embedded Prepositional Phrases from The Velveteen Rabbit [AK]...... 21 Mixed Complements...... 22 Ex. 11 – Mixed Complements - From Pinocchio [AK]...... 22 Ex. 12 – Mixed Complements based on “The Cat and the Fox” [AK]...... 22 Clauses...... 23 Ex. 13 - Compound Main Clauses from The Velveteen Rabbit (#1) [AK]...... 23 Ex. 14 –Just for Fun: Q & A Puns [AK]...... 24 Punctuation & Writing...... 25 Ex. 15 - Apostrophes for Possession from The Fairy Reader [AK]...... 25 Ex. 16 - Apostrophes in Contractions from Pinocchio [AK]...... 26 Ex. 17 – Punctuation: The Opening of “The Cat and the Fox”...... 26 Ex. 18 – Writing Topics (“The Cat and the Fox”)...... 27 4

Introduction

It’s time to take stock of where we are and where we are going. When I taught KISS grammar to college students, the things they found most difficult were identifying subjects, verbs, and complements, and identifying prepositional phrases. That means that students who passed the assessment quizzes for KISS Books One and Two have fairly well mastered what gave my college students the most trouble. (And the students will continue to identify all of these constructions in every analysis exercise.) The question, therefore, is what do we add next?

Major Objectives

There are two directions that instruction can take at this point in the students’ work. We could focus on subordinate clauses (adjectival, adverbial, and noun), or we could focus on verbals—verbs that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. I have opted to focus on verbals in this book and on subordinate clauses in Book Four. The exception is subordinate clauses that function as direct objects. In Book Two, students learn to distinguish compound main clauses, and Unit Three of this book introduces subordinate clauses that function as direct objects. The reason for this is that these clauses function as complements in many sentences that the students read or write: He said [DO he didn’t want to play (DO)]. | Note that the direct object of “didn’t want” is a verbal, in this case a verb that functions as a noun, but students have already been introduced to verbs that function as subjects or as complements in Unit Six of Book Two. Subordinate clauses as direct objects are very common, so introducing them here shows students that one clause can be part of another clause, and this prepares students for the focus on subordinate clauses in Book Four. There are three reasons for delaying most subordinate clauses until fourth grade. First, students using KISS Grammar are already far ahead of those students who are not. Second, fourth grade teachers have told me that they “have to” teach subordinate clauses to their students—and half of their students “just don’t get it.” In other words, delaying most instruction in subordinate clauses until fourth grade will not keep KISS users 5

“behind.” Third, and most important, in order to understand subordinate clauses in real texts, including their own writing, students have to be able to distinguish “finite” verbs from “verbals”. Any verb in any sentence functions either as a “finite” verb or as a “verbal.” There are no exceptions. “Finite verbs” are the essence of the S/V/C sentence pattern, and thus the essence of clauses. They are, however, extremely difficult to define. Some texts try to do so by discussing person, number, and tense—three concepts that are not easy for most students to grasp, especially “tense,” and especially in the limited attention that is given to them in the textbooks. By now, however, KISS students have been underlining finite verbs twice for two years. They have, in other words, a sense of what verbs can make a sentence. Those are the finite verbs. A “verbal” is a verb that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb within a clause. Students who do not know this will have serious problems even with very simple clauses. There are three, and only three types of verbals—gerunds, gerundives, and infinitives. Gerunds always function as nouns—subjects, direct objects, predicate nouns, or objects of prepositions. Because gerunds have these functions—which students are already familiar with—students have little trouble in identifying their functions. But they will have problems with the complements of gerunds. For example, in the sentence Playing baseball is fun. many students will consider “baseball” to be the subject of “is,” and they will be confused about “Playing.” The real subject of “is” is the gerund “Playing,” and “baseball” is the direct object of “Playing.” Gerundives function as verbal adjectives. For example: We saw Billy swimming in the park. The problem here is that students are usually taught that verbs express action, and, told to underline verbs twice, they would logically underline “swimming” twice. Then they would be told that they are wrong. This is the primary reason that current instruction never attempts to teach students how to analyze the subjects and verbs in their own writing. KISS statistical studies (which take a long time to make) have small sample numbers, but the Statistical Studies of Natural Syntactic Development include twenty samples of the writing of third graders. Only one of those samples includes a gerundive, 6 but that suggests that five percent of third graders would run into this problem. I also suggest that the texts that these students read include far more gerundives. In other words, if we want students to analyze samples from their reading, they will need to be able to distinguish gerundives from finite verbs. Infinitives can cause even more of a problem. Infinitives can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. As is the case with gerunds, the infinitives that function as nouns don’t cause a major problem. But infinitives that function as adjectives or adverbs do. Fourteen of the twenty (70%) of the KISS statistical samples include infinitives. For example: Martha went to the store to buy bread.

Students who are just taught to underline subjects once and verbs twice will underline both “went” and “buy” twice—they are both verbs. “To buy,” however, is a verbal (that functions as an adverb of purpose to “went”) and should not be underlined twice. In other words, what the textbooks really mean is to underline subjects once and finite verbs twice. They do not say so, and they get away with it simply by including only sentences that do not include verbals. (Hence, students cannot transfer what they learn in grammar textbooks to their own writing and reading.) For the preceding reasons, I decided to delay most subordinate clauses until the fourth book and made the distinction between finite verbs and verbals a major focus of (this) Book Three. The primary units in this book are therefore units three, five, and nine. Unit Three introduces subordinate clauses that function as direct objects. Unit Five adds three relatively simple tests for distinguishing a finite verb from a verbal. (Students are not introduced to the three types in this book, simply because they do not yet need to know them.) Unit Nine expands on Five and explores how verbals function in sentences as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. The latter is important because it helps students see how every word (except Interjections and Direct Address) in any sentence chunk to the main S/V/C pattern. This is very important for reading comprehension. (Don’t forget that once a construction is introduced, it appears in many, if not all, of the later exercises.) 7

The Texts on Which This Book Is Built Originally, many of the exercises were developed based on C. Collodi’s Pinocchio and on The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. [The links are to free versions at the InternetArchive.] Some of these are still in the book, and others have been removed. I strongly suggest that students read these two books, but I had trouble coordinating those exercises with the writing exercises. Therefore, most of the exercises in this book have been newly done based on The Fairy Reader by James Baldwin. The text used is available at the InternetArchive. In preparing the exercises, I made an MSWord version that you can also use. Many of the grammar exercises and most of the writing assignments are based on one of the ten stories in this book. I strongly suggest that you have the students read (and reread) each story. My MSWord version does not include Baldwin’s introduction and end notes that are written for teachers, but I’d like to quote from “An After Word: For the Teacher”: The stories of both Andersen and the Grimms were translated into English and have given pleasure to thousands of people, both young and old, in America as well as in England. But these translations, when given literally, are hard reading for most children — much too hard for beginners. And then, not all of them are suitable for use in well-conducted American schools; some fairy tales have outlived the times and the conditions for which they were written, and there is nothing to be gained by reading them. There are certain stories, however, that teach valuable lessons of contentment, obedience, patience, gentleness, respect for authority, and kindness to all living things. These should be known and read by all children, for there is no pleasanter method of learning great truths. Most of the tales in this volume are of this class. Each one teaches its lesson, although in some the moral is less obvious than in others. Five are written anew from Andersen's collection, five from that of the Grimms, There are changes in the language and in the thought, to suit the needs of those who are to read them; but the main thread of the narrative is left unaltered. The forms of expression are such as are easily understood by the youngest pupils. The words, too, are easy—most of them being the same as those used in Baldwin’s First Reader. Such as are new or are likely to prove difficult are put in lists at the heads of the chapters or sections where they occur. [I left these out. EV] Children who have completed half of the regular work of the first-year grade, and who have learned to read with some fluency in any standard First Reader, will read these stories without difficulty. The book is designed to be used both as a supplement to the First Reader and as an easy introduction to the Second Reader. (189-190, my emphasis) 8

As more books in the KISS sequence are developed, you’ll find that literature is very important for extending students’ social and moral perspectives.

An Overview of the Exercises Unlike the first two books, in this one most units have two parts—first come the grammatical concepts; second, “Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, and Style.” The second parts include punctuation exercises; revising exercises—adding adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases; vocabulary exercises—fill-in-the-blanks vocabulary exercise, and finally suggestions for writing assignment. Beginning in Unit Six, they also include an exercise on prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

The Focus on the Grammatical Concepts

Unit 1 – Review provides exercises, some or all of which may be skipped. (The teaching of grammar is an art.) Most of these focus on concepts that were studied in the previous book, or aspects of usage or punctuation that give students some problems. (For example, many of my college students have trouble with apostrophes.) Unit 2 – Studies in Branching, Ellipsis, and Style adds two stylistic concepts. “Left, Right, and Mid-Branching” focuses students’ attention on the fact that adverbial constructions (in this case prepositional phrases) can be moved in a sentence to change the focus: Left-branching: On Monday, they went to the store. Right-branching: They went to the store on Monday. Mid-branching: They, on Monday, went to the store. Many teachers have noted that once students get something on paper, it is set in concrete. The objective here is to show students that sentences can be revised after they are written. The second concept, technically called prozeugma, simply means that in a series of clauses, the verb in the later ones can be ellipsed: At the zoo, Marsha likes to visit the elephants, Bob the tigers, and Mary the monkeys. There are numerous examples of prozeugma in Pinocchio, and students using this book can try to write some of their own. 9

Unit 3 – Subordinate Clauses as Direct Objects clarifies the multi-word complements that confused students if they try to analyze their own writing and they introduce the idea of subordinate clauses. Unit 4 - Person, Number, Case and Tense introduces these four concepts, mainly to address some usage problems. “Person” refers to pronouns. First person pronouns are those that include the speaker/writer—“I,” “me,” “we,” “our,” etc. College students have told me that some of their instructors told them not to use first person in their papers, but the students didn’t know what first person is. (And, of course, they didn’t ask.) Second person pronouns refer to the person/people addressed—“you,” “your,” etc. Third person refers to everything else—people, places, things. Later books will review these distinctions, mainly as vocabulary, but also to explore why they should or should not be used. “Number” is the grammatical cover-term for “singular” and “plural.” Mistakes with these usually involve subject-verb agreement, as in “One of the boys are here.” “Case” is the general term for “nominative,” “objective,” and “possessive.” This becomes important because the subjects of infinitives (one of the verbals) are in objective case—“Bill wanted them to leave.” The subjects of gerunds (another verbal) are in possessive case—“Sue’s helping us saved us a lot of time.” “Tense” gets a lot of attention in some traditional grammar books, but students probably need only a formal knowledge of the distinctions among “past,” “present,” and “future.” In writing narratives, some students randomly shift tenses, and some teachers will mark the problem “tense shift.” If the students don’t know what “tense” is, they will not understand the comment. Unit 5 – Finite Verb or Verbal? gives students three tests that enable them to decide whether or not they should underline a verb twice. The third (“sentence”) test works for all cases, but the first (“noun”) test is very simple—if a verb functions as a noun—subject, complement, or object of a preposition, it a verbal. Don’t underline it twice. The “to test” explains that a finite verb phrase cannot begin with “to.” This test quickly covers many sentences in young students’ writing—“I went to the park to play baseball.” Note that this test also helps students distinguish “to” the preposition from “to” 10 as a sign of a verbal. Next to the unit on subordinate clauses as direct objects, this is probably the most important unit in the book. Units 6 and 10 – Vocabulary (1 and 2) are identical in structure. They address the differences between abstract and concrete words, synonyms and antonyms, and prefixes and suffixes. There are two units because modern educational research has now proven the obvious—being taught a concept once a year is not very helpful. Short periods of instruction spread over time are much more efficient. KISS is not a week-by-week schedule, but if someone would develop a school-year once a week schedule for each of these concepts, KISS Units 6 and 10 could be dropped altogether. Units 7 and 12 – Statistical Stylistics (1 and 2) will also be identical in structure and mainly concern students’ writing. They are based on graded samples of students’ writing taken from various state Department of Education sites. The first exercise asks students to edit such a sample. The second involves a statistical analysis of a sample. In this book, students calculate the average number of words and of prepositional phrases per main clause. They can compare the results to averages from the samples—and later, to the average from their own class’s writing. In the third, students are asked to write their own response to the prompt. In the fourth, they do a statistical analysis of their own response. The fifth, sixth, and seventh are exercises on sentence-building, sentence- combining, and on sentence de-combining. The eighth is a fix-the-lost-punctuation. Students are given another sample, the punctuation of which has been lost. Their task is to punctuate it effectively This book then includes some “mid-term assessment tests” that teachers can use as a more formal evaluation of what their students can do—and thus of what they might want to have them do more work on. Unit 8 – The Logic of Modifiers explores the type of information that adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases add to a text. The objective is to get more descriptive modifiers into their writing. The weak writing of some students contain very few of these, especially of modifiers of time and space. They tell what happened, but they include few details of where and when they happened. Unit 9 - Verbals (Modification and Chunking) reinforces Unit 5, but it extends it by building on Unit 8 (Phrases: Modification and Chunking) in Book 2. Whereas Unit 5 11 focused on how not to underline verbals twice, Unit 9 explores how verbals always function in the same way as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs do. It gives a version of the KISS Psycholinguistic Model to show how all the words in any sentence (except Interjections and Direct Address) chunk to another word or construction until every word is chunked to the S/V/C pattern of a main clause. As they add additional constructions, students will learn how they fit the psychological model. In essence, the model is the justification for all the punctuation rules and stylistic suggestions in KISS grammar. Unit 11 – Passages for Analysis provides some additional passages from real texts that teachers can use or skip. Unit 13 – Play “Hare & Tortoise” was originally developed for the first book, but I decided it was too difficult for that book, so I moved it here. It is, of course, optional. The children’s versions of plays by Augusta Stevenson reminded me that oral performance is important, and I was also thinking of the plays as good material for work in the later books on the differences between oral and written language. The Mid-Term and Final Assessment Tests and suggestions for grading them are in this book.

Reading, Writing, Vocabulary & Style

The Importance of Listening and Reading Reading is extremely important for an understanding of both grammar and vocabulary. Hearing things read is also very helpful, especially for young students. English spelling often does not easily reflect how words are pronounced. Hearing the words (especially if students can see them at the same time) makes their pronunciation a lot easier for young readers. Librivox has versions of Pinocchio and of The Velveteen Rabbit. Unfortunately, there are several editions of these works, and Librivox does not indicate which editions are being read. Young students can benefit by following (reading) the text as they listen to the story. Among other things, they learn how the words are pronounced. There is not a Librivox version of Baldwin’s The Fairy Reader. Perhaps a user of KISS will contribute one? 12

Vocabulary Units Six and Ten are devoted to vocabulary. Among other things, these units introduce students to the important concepts of Abstract and Concrete Words, Synonyms and Antonyms, and Word Families (prefixes, roots, and suffixes). These concepts will be further developed in all the following books. In the “Fill-in-the-Blank” exercises, words from sentences (often a short section of text) are replaced by blanks, usually with an indication of which “part of speech” should be used— “In N , Adj N went on a N .” The primary focus here is vocabulary, but it also reinforces the “parts.” Encourage students to try to think of interesting, different words. Doing so often makes sharing more fun—and educational.

The Focus on Writing Most of the “Fixing the Punctuation” exercises in this book give students opening passages of the stories in James Baldwin’s The Fairy Reader, from which the punctuation has been stripped. Their job is to “fix” and then discuss it. Exercises on “Adding Modifiers” present bland sentences or short passages and ask students to add modifiers—adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. In part, these can be exercises in revising their own writing. “Sentence Combining and De-Combining” exercises at this level primary focus on compounds or on taking a modifier from one sentence and embedding it in another: The fishes looked up and saw Thumbling. The fishes looked up. They saw Thunbling. She did not want to live with the Frogs. The Frogs were ugly. She did not want to live with the ugly Frogs. These exercises are particularly important for weaker writers, but they also begin to make students realize that sentences are not set in cement. “Style Models” give students interesting models and ask them to write sentences that use the same structural format: Thumbling sailed many, many miles. She sailed past gardens and farms and towns and green woods. 13

In this model students are prompted to write a general statement and then follow it with a sentence that uses compound objects of a preposition that adds details. Teachers have the option of letting the students replace the prepositional phrase with a series of short sentences that give details of the first sentence. In most units, the final “Writing Topics” are related to the story that was used to make some of the analytical exercises in that unit. The first exercise is usually to take notes on the names of the characters and the events in the story. In the second exercise the students can use these notes to write their own version of the story. These are, I suggest, very important exercises, especially for weak writers. In teaching remedial writing at the college level, I was very impressed their performance in taking notes, and then writing (in class) their own versions of various Tales of Shakespeare. Thinking about it, I realized that such exercises relieve students of what writing teachers often call “invention”—inventing (thinking of) what to write. For weak writers, the head is often behind the hand. They have to pause to think of what to write next. In this exercise, they do not have to do that—they already know the basic story. As a result, they get a very different writing experience, one that is, I would suggest, much closer to that of good writers, who often find their heads waiting for the hand to get it down on paper. Thus I strongly suggest using these exercises. Each unit also includes more difficult writing assignments. As Baldwin noted, most of the stories have a moral, so one exercise is to state the moral of the story and then explain what makes them say so. Finding the moral will be difficult for many young writers, so each of these assignments includes five suggestions, only one of which really makes sense. If the students do the “moral” exercise, at the end of their work they can combine three or more of their previous papers into one larger paper.

A General Note on the Writing Process When students are asked to develop their own ideas for a paper, it is usually best to have them spend at least five separate sessions. The first should be brainstorming—listing specific detailed examples that they could use to develop their idea. If the assignment is not for a narrative (organized by time), the second session should be organizing— planning what they will say first, second, etc.—in essence a simple outline and thesis. The third session should be for drafting—using the outline to put the brainstorming into 14 sentences. A fourth session should be devoted to revising—adding content to and/or reorganizing the draft. The last session should be devoted to editing—primarily checking for grammatical errors, spelling and punctuation.

Important Reminders

1. Remind student to work systematically, basically following the numbered sequence in the directions for each assignment. In my own teaching with this approach I found that some students would mark a subject in one sentence, a verb in another, etc. As a result, they never developed a sense of sentence patterns. Patterns are important, as is working systematically. Teaching them to work that way will not only improve their understanding of sentence structure, but also to do better in many other subjects (such as math) that use systematic approaches to problem solving. 2. Regularly remind students that they are expected to make some mistakes, especially on constructions that they are just learning. On the other hand, they should be able to identify 100% of simple S/V/C patterns, simple prepositional phrases, and simple compound main clauses. 3. The objective is not to do all the exercises; the objective is to understand the constructions. Teaching is an art—too much repetition becomes boring; too little and the students will not master the concepts. Teachers should not regularly collect and grade homework. It can quickly be reviewed in class, and a simple one-sentence quiz will indicate whether or not students have mastered a concept. 4. Review the Mid-Term and Final Assessment Quizzes before you begin. The best way to get someplace is to know where you are going. 5. Read the notes for teachers (the green items in the ToC for this book). They often explain the reasoning behind KISS explanations. 6. Have students create exercises for their peers comparable to those in this book. In essence this makes them the teachers, and teaching is a good way of learning. You can then replace exercises in this book with some of theirs. 15

Unit 1 – Review

Constructions

Nouns Used as Adverbs, Interjections, and Direct Address

Ex. 1 - From The Tale of Samuel Whiskers [AK]

1. Oh [Inj], dear me [Inj], Cousin Ribby [DirA] -- now Moppet and Mittens are

gone! |

This is another of those unusual cases that traditional grammar books rarely, if ever, discuss. Most grammarians would probably consider “are gone” as the finite verb, but I would also accept “gone” as a predicate adjective.

2. We had them (DO) {for dinner} last Saturday [NuA]. |

In the context of the story, the pun in this relies on the principle of ellipsis. “We had them” can mean “We had them as guests,” but in the story, of course, it means “We ate them.”

3. Which way [NuA] did she go, Moppet [DirA] ? |

4. Some {of the walls} were four feet [NuA] thick (PA). |

5. He had lived all his life [NuA] {in the house}. |

This option views “all” as a pronoun that functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb. Some people may prefer to explain expressions such as “all his life” by assuming an ellipsed preposition—“all of is life.” Still others may see “life” as answering the question “Lived what?” That view makes “life” the direct object of “had lived.”

6. The rolling-pin went roly-poly [NuA] , roly [NuA] ; roly [NuA] , poly [NuA] , roly

[NuA] . |

My thinking is based on comparisons to “It went thump.” and “It went bang.” in which “thump” and “bang:” are nouns used as adverbs. Many people, however, may see “roly” and “poly” as adverbs, even though Merriam-Webster defines it as either a noun or an adjective.

7. You did not fetch enough dough (DO), Anna Maria [DirA]. | 16

8. All {at once} he fell head [NuA] {over heels} {in the dark}, {down a hole}, and landed

{on a heap} {of very dirty rags}. |

Verbs Ex. 2 - Helping Verbs Adapted from The Velveteen Rabbit (AK)

The purpose of this exercise is simply to remind students of some infrequent helping verbs.

1. The Boy couldn't go {to sleep} {without him}. | “Sleep” can be either a noun or verb, so at this point in their work, I would also accept “couldn’t go to sleep” as the verb phrase. As a verb, perhaps the best way to view it is as a verbal (infinitive) of purpose. [Note that grammar textbooks do not deal with questions like this.]

2. You must be very kind (PA) {to him}. |

3. Nana had to come and look {for him} {with the candle}. |

4. The Boy was going {to the seaside} to-morrow. |

5. He is going to live {with you} {for ever and ever}! |

6. Timothy should have had broader views (DO). |

7. Tomorrow we shall go {to the seaside}! |

8. And he might have sat there a long time [NuA]. |

9. Now you shall be Real (PA) {to every one}. |

10. He had always been used to sleeping {in a proper bed}. | Alternatively, “to sleeping” can be explained as a prepositional phrase that functions as an adverb to “had been used.”

11. The Boy ought to have been more careful (PA). |

12. The Boy used to talk {to him}, and made nice tunnels (DO) {for him} {under the

bedclothes}. | 17

Ex. 3 - Phrasal Verbs from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales (AK)

The primary objective of these assignments is to stop students from marking things such as “off Curdken’s hat” (in the first sentence) as a prepositional phrase. These analysis keys do not include all the possible options for the phrasal verbs. For example, “put on” could be considered a finite verb phrase, or the “on” could be described as an adverb.

1. The wind blew off Curdken's hat (DO). |

2. Then she drove on the geese (DO) and sat down again {in the meadow}. |

“On the geese” as a prepositional phrase presents an interesting image.

3. And Curdken went on telling (DO) the king (IO) his story (DO). |

The easy part here is that “story” is the direct, and “king” the indirect object of “telling.” “Telling” itself can be explained in several ways within KISS. If we look at “went on” as meaning “kept,” some grammars include “keep” among helping verbs. Thus, “telling” can be considered part of the finite verb phrase. Alternatively, it could be described as a verbal (gerund) that functions as the direct object of “went on.” It can also be explained as a gerund that functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb. The important thing in this exercise, of course, is that students should not mark “on telling” as a prepositional phrase.

4. The princess put on her maid's shabby clothes (DO). |

5. *You* Just look at the beautiful flowers (DO). |

In this case, look {at ... flowers} would also be acceptable. 6. The Wolf made a jump (DO) {out of bed} and swallowed down poor Little Red

Riding Hood (DO) also. |

7. "*You* Leave off that noise (DO)." |

“Leave off” means “stop.” The important thing is that the students do not mark “off that noise” as a prepositional phrase. 8. {Upon a clear space} he had turned out his sack (DO) {of jewels}, [Adv. (result) to

“turned out” so that he could count and admire them (DO)]. |

9. Then she took her clumsy shoe (DO) {off her left foot} and put on the golden slipper

(DO). | 18

“On” clearly means “on her left foot.”

Ex. 4 - Palimpsest Patterns from The Fairy Reader [AK] 1. Just then the bear’s master came running up. |

2. He seems to be dead (PA). |

3. Then I can see the world (DO) and grow large (PA) and tall (PA). |

4. Susan will come home [NuA] safe (PA) {in the morning}. |

5. And the briars grew higher (PA) and thicker (PA) every day [NuA]. |

6. There the King and Queen sat sleeping {in their chairs}. |

7. There the sun shone very bright (PA). |

8. {Before the end} {of another week} the large egg broke open (PA). |

9. There seemed to be a bright fire (PN) inside. |

10. And the feathers flew thick (PA) and fast (PA) {through the air}. |

Ex. 5 - Varied Positions in S/V/C Patterns from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK] This review exercise is also preparation for “Unit 2 – Subordinate Clauses as Direct Objects.” In much of what students at this level read, these subordinate clauses appear before the main subject and verb. 1. Presently in came the masters {of the cottage}. |

[“Snow-White”] “In” functions as an adverb here because it is what is left of an adverbial prepositional phrase—“came in *the cottage.”

2. All this (DO) the old king saw. | [“The Goose Girl”]

3. That (DO) I must not tell you (IO) or any man (IO). | [“The Goose Girl”]

4. How meek (PA) and patient (PA) she had been! | [“The Goose Girl”] 19

5. Then first came two white doves in {at the kitchen window}. | [“Cinderella”]

6. {In this garden} stood a fine large pear tree full (PA) {of ripe fruit}. |

[“Cinderella’] “Full” is a post-positioned adjective (a reduction of “*which was* full”) that functions as an adjective to “tree.” See: KISS Level 5.5.

7. “How sad (PA) I feel !” |

[“Little Red Riding Hood”] KISS explains this as a palimpsest pattern with “feel” written over “am.” See KISS Level 2.1.4 - Palimpsest Patterns.

8. “But, grandmother [DirA], what very great teeth (DO) you have!” | [“Little Red Riding Hood”]

9. This (DO) I can never do. | [“The White Fawn”]

Prepositions

Ex. 6 - Is It a Preposition? from My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales [AK]

1. They took care (DO) {of Beauty's father} {until the end} {of his days}. | [“Beauty and the Beast”] “Until the end of his days” does not include a sentence, so “until” is a preposition.

2. I have traveled all {over the world}, [Adv. to "have traveled" since we parted]. | [“Thumbling”] “We parted” could be a sentence, so “since” is not a preposition.

3. There {before them} was standing a handsome man. | [“Snow-White and Rose-Red”] The meaningful answer to “Before what?” is “them,” and since “them” cannot be a sentence, “before” functions as a prepositional phrase.

4. Every morning [NuA], [Adv. to "placed" before her mother awoke], Rose-Red placed {by her bed} a bouquet (DO). | [“Snow-White and Rose-Red”] The answer to “Before what?” is “her mother awoke, which could be a sentence. Therefore “before” is not a preposition here.

5. {After this}, every evening [NuA] {at the same time} the bear came, lay {by the fire}, and allowed the children (IO) to play (DO) {with him}. | [“Snow-White and Rose-Red”] “This” is not a sentence, so “After” is a preposition. 20

At this KISS level, expect students to mark “children” as a direct object. (Whether it is direct or indirect is probably a matter of debate among grammarians.) At KISS Level Four (verbals), students will learn that “children” functions as both an indirect object “allowed” and subject of the verbal (infinitive) “to play.” The entire infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “allowed.”

6. He stole my treasure (DO), and compelled me (IO) to roam (DO) the woods (DO) [Adv. to "roam" until his death should set me free. | [“Snow-White and Rose-Red”] “His death should set me free” is a sentence, so “until” is not a preposition here. “Woods” is the direct object and “me” is the subject of the infinitive “to roam.” The infinitive phrase is the direct object of “compelled.” “Free” is a predicate adjective to—and “me” is the subject of—an ellipsed infinitive “to be.” The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of “should set.” For more on this, see the discussion of ellipsed infinitives in KISS Level 4.

7. The kind children did not hesitate {for an instant}. | [“Snow-White and Rose-Red”] “An instant” is not a sentence, so “for” functions as a preposition.

8. Grethel took the bread (DO) {in her apron}, [Adv. (cause) to "took" for Hansel's pocket was full (PA) {of pebbles}]. | [“Hansel and Grethel”] “Hansel’s pocket was full of pebbles” is a sentence, so “for” here functions as a preposition. For more on “for” as a conjunction, see KISS Level 3.2.2 - “So” and “For” as Conjunctions.

Ex. 7 – The “To” Problem - The Velveteen Rabbit [AK] Remember that the primary purpose of these exercises is to enable students to identify the prepositional phrases and not mark the verbals as prepositional phrases. Do not expect the students to label the complements of the verbals.

1. Nana came to tidy the room (DO). |

“Tidy” is a verb. The verbal (infinitive) phrase “to tidy the room” functions as an adverb of purpose to “came.”

2. They crept quite close {to Him}. |

3. He longed to become Real (PA). |

“To become” is a verb. The verbal (infinitive) phrase “to become Real” functions as the direct object of “longed.” 21

4. Most {of the hairs} {in his tail} had been pulled (P) out to string bead necklaces

(DO). |

“To string” is a verb. The verbal (infinitive) phrase “to string bead necklaces” functions as an adverb of purpose to “had been pulled out.”

5. Then Aunts and Uncles came {to dinner}. |

6. Nana had gone away {to her supper}. |

7. Mechanical toys arrived to boast and swagger. |

“To boast” and “swagger” are verbs. The verbal (infinitive) phrase “to boast and swagger” functions as an adverb of purpose to “arrived.”

8. Why couldn’t they stop and talk {to me}? |

9. The Boy was going {to bed}. |

10. He had the potatoes (DO) to dig and the green peas (DO) to gather. |

“To dig” and “to gather” are verbs. The verbal (infinitive) phrase “to dig” functions as an adjective to “potatoes” and the phrase “to gather” functions as an adjective to “peas.” Note that this structure focuses on the potatoes and the peas. In the sentence “He had to dig the potatoes and to gather the green peas,” more focus is put on “dig” and “gather.”

Ex. 8 - The Meanings of “Too” from Pinocchio [AK] Even at the college level some students confuse “to” and “too.” This is, therefore, an exercise on spelling to help students to avoid that error.

1. I shall die too. | [also]

2. It was too hot (PA). | [how much]

3. My friend is too modest (PA). | [how much]

4. Why do you not come too? [also]

5. “*You* Make a little [#1] room (DO) {for me} (IO). | I am coming too.” | [also]

6. I have already delayed too long. | [how much]

7. The puppet, however, did not wish to trust (DO) him (DO) too far. | [how much] 22

8. I should have thought {of it} sooner! | Now it is too late! | [how much]

9. Soon the Romans wanted to play (DO), too. | [also]

Note 1. In “make a little room,” “little” can be explained as meaning “a little *bit of* room.” That makes “little” an adjective to the direct object “bit” and room the object of “of.” 2. At this point, I would accept “did wish to trust” as the finite verb phrase. Unit Four of this book deals specifically with verbals (like “to trust” as direct objects—and their objects. The same goes for “wanted to play” in sentence nine.

Ex. 9 - Writing Sentences with “To” and “Too” [NA]

Ex. 10 - Embedded Prepositional Phrases from The Velveteen Rabbit [AK] 1. The little Rabbit lay {among the old picture-books} [Adv. to “lay”] {in the corner} [Adj. to

“picture-books”] {behind the fowl-house} [Adj. to “corner”]. |

2. He thought {of those long sunlit hours} [Adv. to “thought”] {in the garden} [Adj. to “hours”]. |

3. Lovely fairy huts were built (P) {for him} (IO) {under the raspberry canes} [Adv. to “were

built”] {behind the flower border} [Adj. to “canes”]. |

4. {In the open glade} [Adv. to “danced”] {between the tree-trunks} [Adj. to “glade”] the wild rabbits

danced {with their shadows} [Adv. to “danced”] {on the velvet grass} [Adj. to “shadows”]. |

The phrase “on the velvet grass” can also be processed as adverbial (where) to “danced.”

5. The Boy went out to play {in the wood} [Adv. to “to play”] {behind the house} [Adj. to “wood”]. |

“To play” is a verbal (infinitive) that functions as an adverb of purpose to “went.”

6. And so the little Rabbit was put (P) {into a sack} [Adv. to “was put”] {with the old picture-

books and a lot} [Adj. to “sack”] {of rubbish} [Adj. to “lot”], and carried out {to the end}

[Adv. to “carried”] {of the garden} [Adj. to “end”] {behind the fowl-house} [Adj. to “garden”]. | 23

Mixed Complements

Ex. 11 – Mixed Complements - From Pinocchio [AK]

1. Where {on earth} can that little voice have come {from}? |

Note how “Where” functions both as an interrogative pronoun and as the object of “from.”

2. The end {of his nose} had become blue (PA) {from fright}. |

3. What name (DO) shall I give him (IO)? |

4. He had recovered the use (DO) {of his speech}. |

5. “Oh! [Inj] what a dreadful illness (PN) hunger is!” |

6. The sight was doubtless a moving one (PN). |

7. {At that moment} someone knocked {at the door}. |

8. Master Cherry’s nose was always as red (PA) and polished (PA) {as a ripe cherry}. |

The “as” phrase chunks to the first “as.”

9. “What (DO) are you doing there {on the floor}?” |

10. “I am teaching the alphabet (DO) {to the ants} (IO).” |

Ex. 12 – Mixed Complements based on “The Cat and the Fox” [AK] In addition to being a quick review of mixed complement, this exercise closely follows the plot of “The Cat and the Fox,” thereby helping the students to remember the story for the writing assignments.

1. {Under some green trees} a Cat met a Fox (DO). |

2. The Fox was very proud (PA). |

3 How dare you speak {to me} (IO)? |

4. I know one trick (DO). |

5. What is that (PN)? | 24

Some people will reverse the subject and verb because in questions with direct objects, the direct object comes first—“Whom did you see?” In KISS that would be acceptable.

6. I will show you (IO). |

7. The Cat went {with the Fox} far {into the green woods}. |

“Far” can be explained as modifying the following prepositional phrase, or the phrase can be seen as modifying “far.” The important point is that the two chunk together to modify “went.”

8. Soon a hunter came along. |

9. He had four swift dogs (DO) {with him}. |

10. The Cat ran {up a tree}. |

11. The leaves hid her (DO) {from sight}. |

12. That is my trick (PN). |

13. The Fox ran this way [NuA] and that [NuA]. |

14. {At last} the Fox felt the dogs’ sharp teeth (DO). |

Clauses

Ex. 13 - Compound Main Clauses from The Velveteen Rabbit (#1) [AK] 1. They stared {at him}, | and the little Rabbit stared back. |

2. One {of the rabbits} was brown (PA) all over, | but the other had strange

markings (DO) {under his fur}. |

3. {For a long time} he lived {in the toy cupboard} or {on the nursery floor}, | and no

one thought very much {about him}. | 25

4. He was fat (PA) and bunchy (PA), | his coat was spotted (P) brown [NuA] and

white [NuA], | he had real thread whiskers (DO), | and his ears were lined (P)

{with pink sateen}. |

Expect students to have problems with “brown” and “white.” An alternative explanation is to consider them predicate adjectives in a palimpsest pattern with “was spotted” written over “was.” See KISS Level 2.1.4 Palimpsest Patterns. [You probably will not find an explanation of this use of “brown and white” in any grammar textbook.]

5. The Boy hugged him (DO) very tight, | and sometimes he rolled over {on him}, |

and sometimes he pushed him (DO) far {under the pillow}. |

6. And so time went on, | and the little Rabbit was very happy (PA). |

7. Spring came, | and they had long days (DO) {in the garden}. |

Ex. 14 –Just for Fun: Q & A Puns [AK]

Q. Why did Cinderella get thrown {out of the football team}? |

A. She kept running away {from the ball}!! |

Q. Why can’t two elephants go swimming? |

Technically,“swimming” is a gerund that functions as a Noun Used as an Adverb, but because students haven’t studied these yet, I would accept “can’t go swimming” as the verb phrase. A. They only have one pair (DO) {of trunks}!! |

Q. Why are clocks dirty (PA)? |

A. They work 24 hours [NuA] a day [NuA], and never wash their hands (DO)

or face (DO)!! |

Q. What (DO) do clouds wear {under their clothes}? |

A. They wear thunderwear (DO) | 26

Q. Why did the burglar take a shower (DO)? |

A. He wanted to make [V (Ger), DO] a clean getaway (DO). |

Q. Why are there so many Smiths (PN) {in the phone book}? |

A. They all have phones (DO). |

Q. Where do cow astronauts travel? |

A. They travel {to the mooooon}!! |

Punctuation & Writing

Ex. 15 - Apostrophes for Possession from The Fairy Reader [AK] 1. He dragged the Lion (DO) {to his Master’s door}. |

to the door of his Master

2. The mother’s face was white (PA) {with fright}. |

The face of the mother 3. He took the long hairs (DO) {of the Horse’s tail} and tied them (DO) {around the

Lion’s legs}. |

of the tail of the Horse . . . of the legs of the Lion

4. {With the spindle} {in her hand}, the Kind Child ran {to her aunt’s door}. |

to the door of her aunt

5. She went {down the same road}, and soon came {to the baker’s oven}. |

to the oven of the baker

6. She was not afraid (PA) {of Mother Frost’s big teeth}. |

of the big teeth of Mother Frost

7. But he took aim (DO), and shot {at the Wolf’s head}. |

at the head of the Wolf 27

8. {At noon}, Jane set out {with her father’s dinner}. |

with the dinner of her father [“Out” can be considered part of the verb phrase or as an adverb to “set.”]

9. Little Annie went upstairs and shook up the Old Man’s bed (DO). |

the bed of the Old Man

10. And we wish you (IO) a good night’s rest (DO). |

the rest of a good night (“A good night’s rest” has become idiomatic, so this one sound awkward.)

Ex. 16 - Apostrophes in Contractions from Pinocchio [AK] 1. Geppetto, don’t insult me or I will call you Polendina! 2. Its skin was green. 3. It’s a long story. 4. Even so I can’t drink it. [C] 5. Its wheels were bound round with tow and rags. [C] 6. It’s Pinocchio! 7. It’s beginning now. [C] 8. Its arms were dangling. 9. Dear papa, I can’t open the door. 10. Don’t throw it away; in this world everything may be of use. [C]

Ex. 17 – Punctuation: The Opening of “The Cat and the Fox” The original text: One day a Cat was walking in the woods. Under some green trees she met a Fox. “Good morning, dear Fox,” she said. “How glad I am to meet you! Are you well today?” The Fox was very proud. He looked at the Cat and did not speak for some time. Then he said: “You poor little thing! How dare you speak to one who is so much wiser than yourself? What do you know that is worth knowing? Tell me.” “I do not know much” said the Cat. “But I know one trick.” FYI Analysis: 28

One day [NuA] a Cat was walking {in the woods}. | {Under some green trees} she met a Fox (DO). |

“Good morning [#1], dear Fox [DirA],” (DO) she said. | “How glad (PA) I am to meet [V Inf, Adv. to “glad”] you (DO)! | Are you well (PA) today?” |

The Fox was very proud (PA). | He looked {at the Cat} and did not speak

{for some time}. | Then he said: “[DO You *are a* poor little thing (PN)!] | How dare you speak {to one} (IO) [Adj. to “one” who is so much wiser (PA) {than yourself}]? | What (DO) do you know [Adj. to “What” that is {worth [#2] knowing

[V G, OP] } (PA)? | *You* Tell me (IO).” |

[DO “I do not know much (DO)”] said the Cat. | “But I know one trick

(DO).” | Notes 1. “Good morning” is understood to mean something like “I wish you a good morning.” 2. Merriam-Webster claims that “worth” can function as a preposition.

Ex. 18 – Writing Topics (“The Cat and the Fox”) Remember that each of the stories in Baldwin’s book can be viewed as having a theme (a moral), and if you have students write option (3) below, at the end of the year you can ask the students to combine two, three, or four of their papers to show how the stories have different (or similar) themes. At that point they can add an introductory and a concluding paragraph. Suggested Topics: 1. The story is divided into two sections. Write a short paragraph (two to three sentences) about each section. In each, summarize the main things that happen in the section. After each paragraph, make a list of the characters that are in that section. 2. Reread the story at least once. Rewrite it as a story in your own words without looking at the original text. You can use the summaries that you made for option 1. 3. Fairy tales often suggest a moral, an idea of how we should or do behave. Which of the following do you see as the moral of “The Cat and the Fox”? a.) Don’t go into the woods. b.) People should not boast. 29

c.) Learn how to climb trees. d.) Don’t think like the Fox that you are better than everyone else. e.) Learn how to defend yourself from dogs. Write a paragraph or more that shows which moral you chose and what in the story supports your choice. Start your response with a topic sentence. A topic sentence is a sentence at the beginning of a paragraph that states what a paragraph (or paragraphs) will be about. If you quote from the story, be sure to do so accurately and use quotation marks. 4. What are the differences between cowardice and bravery? Is the cat a coward because it ran up a tree? To support your view, show in detail what one person (from your personal experience) did that was brave, and also what another person did that was cowardly.