Setting Up the Palette
by
Carole Greene
De Anza College
Cupertino, California
Manuscript Preparation:
D’Artagnan Greene
Cover Photo:
Hotel Johannes Vermeer Restaurant,
Delft, Holland
© 2002 by Bill Greene ii
Copyright © 2002 by Carole Greene ISBN X-XXXX-XXXX-X All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, by photography or xerography or by any other means, by broadcast or transmission, by translation into any kind of language, nor by recording electronically or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in critical articles or reviews.
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iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
ix
CHAPTER 1- Mastering the Tools
An Overview
13
The Clause
15 17 21 23 29 33
The Simple Sentence The Verb Check Items in a Series Inverted Clauses and Questions Analyzing a Question
Exercise 1: Locate Subjects and Verbs
in Questions
35 37 47 55
Exercise 2: Locate Verbs in Simple
Sentences
Exercise 3: Locate Subjects in Simple
Sentences
Exercise 4: Locate Subjects and Verbs in
Simple Sentences iv
The Need to Change Reading Habits The Phrase
69 71 73 75 77 78 79 81 83
A Phrase Versus a Clause Prepositional Phrases Common Single Word Prepositions Group Prepositions Developing a Memory System Memory Facts Analyzing the Function of Prepositional Phrases
Exercise 5: Locating Prepositional
Phrases
89
More Practice on Identifying Prepositional Phrases and Their Function
97
101 102
The Complex Sentence Subordinate Connectives Recognizing, Eliminating, or Correcting the Dependent Clause Fragment
103 105 109 125
A Subordinate Connective Versus a Preposition Punctuating the Complex Sentence Complex Sentence Variations v
A Supplementary Punctuation Rule for the Complex Sentence
133
Exercise 6: Locating Subjects and Verbs
in Complex Sentences
135 143 147 149 151
Fragment Errors Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases Variant Functions of the Infinitive Phrase Participles and Participle Phrases Flip-Flop Patterns in Prepositional and Verbal Phrases
161 163 165 167 169 173 175 179 182 183
Exercise 7: Making a Verb Chart
The Compound Sentence The Semicolon The Colon Coordinate Connectives Secondary Functions Run-On Sentences A Table of Sound Values Speaker Clauses vi
Exercise 8: Joining Main Clauses in
Compound Sentences
189 195
The Compound-Complex Sentence
Exercise 9: Punctuating
Compound-Complex Sentences
197 205 211 213 215
Logical Connectives How Versus However Than Versus Then A Supplementary Rule
CHAPTER 2 - Writing a Paragraph
Focusing on the Topic Sentence A Fact Versus an Opinion The Deductive Paragraph The Inductive Paragraph The Empty Paragraph
217 219 221 223 229 235 239 247 249 251
The Controlling Idea The Dead End Fact The Future-Based Statement The Rhetorical Question vii
A Summary of Important Paragraph Concepts
253
Exercise 1: Distinguish Between
a Fact and an Opinion
255
Exercise 2: Recognize Topic
Sentence Parts
271 275
Main Clause Unity
CHAPTER 3 - Producing an Essay
287 289 291
Structural Similarities in a Sentence, a Paragraph, and an Essay
The Topic Sentence Versus a Thesis Statement
A Single Paragraph Versus an Introductory Paragraph
293 297 299 315
A Summary of Essay Writing Concepts An Essay for Analysis Creating an Outline
GLOSSARY
319 337
BIBLIOGRAPHY
viii ix
FOREWORD
Dear Student: Congratulations!!! If you are reading this preface, you are in all probability a student of the inimitable Mrs. Carole Greene. Carole is a superb teacher, and I congratulate her on this latest series of texts which have as subject matter the great Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675). You will learn many lessons from Carole Greene that are analogous to the lessons that Vermeer teaches us. As Vermeer used light through a window to illuminate many of his subjects, Carole Greene's teaching will illuminate your learning , particularly your understanding of grammar and rhetoric. As Vermeer worked very hard and very precisely to create the detail in his thirty-five paintings, you will need to work very hard and pay attention to detail in order to be successful in this course.
So you can expect this course to be difficult and to require a great deal of effort on your part. The requirements of the course are, in fact, what make it worthwhile, and what you will gain from. Expect to have second thoughts; expect to need assistance from tutors, from your peers, and from your teacher!!! But if these are the demands, what will be the rewards? In 1986, Masako Pedigo took Carole's course, full of some of the same trepidation you may be feeling. She was from Japan, had married a Navy officer, and felt very uncomfortable with her very limited English. Carole "corrected my syntax and grammar; she was very helpful. She helped me to go on to English 1A and be very successful. But above all, she gave me confidence in myself which I had not had before. This confidence made it possible for me to become a teacher myself and to teach other teachers." So while much will be expected of you, you will gain much in return. xAnother thing I find so exciting is Carole's teaching of a master artist. In my own writing courses, I have used the great French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, and I have found that students not only learn to write but also receive as a bonus an education in art—and in living—that can be the basis for continued lifelong interest and study. There is another lesson here that Carole teaches by example: the need to combine your passions and your work. In order to write this text, Carole took a journey to Delft and Amsterdam over a Spring Break in order to capture many of the photographs you will see in this course. Teaching what you love is a lesson that good teachers follow; as students, you will catch the enthusiasm that your teacher has for Johannes Vermeer.
Carole Greene is a great, but tough teacher. If you apply yourself to the material in this course, you will gain a mastery of writing that can be the basis for your future success in college writing and in life. You will share in Masako's confidence, but this time, it will be your own. Again, I congratulate you on your selection of Carole Greene's course; this will be a lot of work, but you can do it. May Carole and Vermeer inspire you to achieve your true, higher potential.
JOHN K. SWENSSON Dean, Language Arts Division De Anza College.
1
Chapter 1
Mastering the Tools
- 2
- 3
An Overview
If you were to take a close look at the history of words and how they entered the English language, one of the things you would discover is that there is a close link between the words text and
textile.
For example, Webster’s New World Dictionary tells the reader
that the word text comes from the Latin word textus meaning fabric, structure, and text and from the past participle texere which means to weave. In English, text means the actual structure of words in a piece of writing which is sometimes referred to as the wording that is used; it also refers to the actual or original words used by an author.
text (tekst)
a noun: from Latin textus, fabric, structure, and text
and from the past participle of texere, to weave
1. the actual structure of words in a piece of writing; wording 2. the actual or original words used by an author
4
This course is about words built up from letters. It is about sentences built up from words. And it is about paragraphs built up from carefully controlled sentence types.
The dictionary also tells the reader that the word textile
comes from the Latin words textilis and texere. In English,
textile means having to do with weaving or with woven fabrics. It also refers to a fabric made by weaving.
textile (teks-til)
a noun: from Latin textilis and textus
1. having to do with weaving or with woven fabrics 2. a fabric made by weaving
This is also a course about textiles. The subject matter of this book focuses on the life and work of the Dutch master painter, Johannes Vermeer.
A textile is built up from a series of interlaced threads. A canvas is built up from those threads.
It becomes the ground sheet for a painted surface.
5
Johannes Vermeer’s canvases are built up from carefully
controlled layers of paint. They tell stories that in the words of the art historian, Johan Huizinga, portray figures whose ‘actions are steeped in mystery...where words have no sound and thoughts no form.’
The content of this book makes use of text and textiles.
The course will take you, the writer, on a word-filled journey where words become sentences and sentences become paragraphs created with control and skill.
That writing skill will make readers want to give you a
hearing just as selected viewers of Vermeer’s artwork wanted to give voice to wordless canvases that added richness to the artist’s unspoken thoughts.
6
The Clause A clause is a group of words that contains a complete subject and a complete verb.
The subject is what the sentence is about.
The verb, which may be an action or a state of being, makes
a statement about the subject.
All sentences are determined by the number and type of clauses they contain.
There are 4 main sentence types in the English language: Simple, Complex, Compound, and Compound-Complex.
7
The Simple Sentence The Simple Sentence contains 1 main or independent clause that stands alone.
Example:
1. I look at paintings by Johannes Vermeer.
There is just 1 subject and 1 verb.
It looks like this. ________________ It may be helpful to remember that the usual word order, or syn-
tax, in English is subject-verb-object. Note: While you are learning The Simple Sentence, track each clause as it occurs.
After tracking your clause, do a clause tabulation for each sentence to make sure that you have the right number and type of
clause to form a Simple Sentence. [SS]
1 mc = SS
8
The Simple Sentence may be written in command form. Example:
2. Look at the facts about the artist’s life.
Example:
3. Look.
In the preceding examples, the verb is__________.
Since these sentences are written in command form, the subject is an implied (you).
They look like this. ________________
Remember: In command form, the subject will be a stated or an under- stood (you).
You cannot imply I, he, she, it, we, or they.
9
Example:
4. A birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a death certificate, and stories about his family and his debts give the reader a fleeting glimpse of the man, breathe life into his ghostlike presence, and fill in gaps left blank by art historical accounts.
In this sentence, there is more than 1 subject and more than 1 verb.
It looks like this. ________________
Variation 1: There is more than 1 subject and only 1 verb.
A birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a death certificate, and stories about his family and his debts give the reader a fleeting
glimpse of the man.
It looks like this. ________________
