Verbs are sexy.
We started off the week with a fish bowl discussion, and that was pretty fun, if not aggravating. I started out on the outside, and had to listen to the inside group touch on many of the things I found interesting without being able to comment on them myself. I hate to sound like a whiner, but that sucked. I did, however, appreciate the fact that when our turn came around, we were forced deeper into the article. I was able to take away a further understanding from it than what I did the first go around by myself. I think that the ability to teach grammar without teaching grammar is one that we all (or at least those of us that are going to be teachers) need to have in our arsenals, as it proved very useful, at least in the case of our article subjects. The poems were simply beautiful.
And then came the verbs. They certainly are active little buggers.
I was somewhat nervous about Wednesday’s class. Barbara made it sound like the single most important day of our collegiate lives. We were explicitly told NOT to miss class, which in and of itself almost made me want to skip (What if it’s too complicated for me?) I was almost expecting some sort of surgical training, or something of the like. However, no scalpel was involved. That is, unless you count the dissection of sentence structure and pattern.
I suppose that I’ve always known that there were many different types of verbs. It makes sense when you think about it. There are kinds that stand alone and there are kinds that are just really needy and have to have something following them all the time. And, of course, a whole slew of rules and regulations that govern each of those kinds of verbs, as well as others. (Don’t even get me started on linking verbs. They are such people pleasers!) At the same time, I’m also sure that I’ve heard each of the names before. Transitive and intransitive are both words that I’ve heard within the context of grammar, but I’ve never been able to nail down a definition before, not that I’ve tried. It’s nice to be able to put the name to a face, and vice versa.
I especially enjoyed our little activity with verbs. Choosing the “Romance Novel” magnet box was my favorite decision of the day, I must say. Not only was I exercising my knowledge of how to make sentences with transitive verbs, but I got to say, “He touched her uncharted continent,” while I was doing it. The addition of “She fought off his pirate ship,” made it that much better. I wish we would have had more time with it. I found myself secretly wanting to take home the magnet with “the captain” proudly displayed on it.
Disclaimer: No verbs were harmed in the making of this lesson, except for ‘fought’. We’re paying out a hefty settlement though, don’t worry.
Are there any times within a sentence when a single verb can fit into more than one category?
And then came the verbs. They certainly are active little buggers.
I was somewhat nervous about Wednesday’s class. Barbara made it sound like the single most important day of our collegiate lives. We were explicitly told NOT to miss class, which in and of itself almost made me want to skip (What if it’s too complicated for me?) I was almost expecting some sort of surgical training, or something of the like. However, no scalpel was involved. That is, unless you count the dissection of sentence structure and pattern.
I suppose that I’ve always known that there were many different types of verbs. It makes sense when you think about it. There are kinds that stand alone and there are kinds that are just really needy and have to have something following them all the time. And, of course, a whole slew of rules and regulations that govern each of those kinds of verbs, as well as others. (Don’t even get me started on linking verbs. They are such people pleasers!) At the same time, I’m also sure that I’ve heard each of the names before. Transitive and intransitive are both words that I’ve heard within the context of grammar, but I’ve never been able to nail down a definition before, not that I’ve tried. It’s nice to be able to put the name to a face, and vice versa.
I especially enjoyed our little activity with verbs. Choosing the “Romance Novel” magnet box was my favorite decision of the day, I must say. Not only was I exercising my knowledge of how to make sentences with transitive verbs, but I got to say, “He touched her uncharted continent,” while I was doing it. The addition of “She fought off his pirate ship,” made it that much better. I wish we would have had more time with it. I found myself secretly wanting to take home the magnet with “the captain” proudly displayed on it.
Disclaimer: No verbs were harmed in the making of this lesson, except for ‘fought’. We’re paying out a hefty settlement though, don’t worry.
Are there any times within a sentence when a single verb can fit into more than one category?