Verbs and the circle

The more I learn about grammar the easier it gets. I’m really enjoying challenging myself in learning the specifics for writing. This week we went over prepositional phrases and we also had another Socratic circle. I wasn’t in class Monday so I’m not exactly sure what to say about it. I suppose I understand prepositional phrases to an extent. Is it true that basically they state a location such as “under, about, above, or with?” I feel confident that I could recognize them in a sentence.

As for transitive and intransitive verbs, I think I have the basics down when I say that transitive needs a direct object whereas intransitive does not. It is just a little difficult to identify in text sometimes but if you look for the direct object it is much easier. When we studied the two before using the magnets it was very helpful to see each words separately or to decide on a verb and then use it in a transitive or intransitive way. Linking verbs I do not feel as confident about. I understand that the verb links the subject with a description of the subject but when there is not one of the five senses involved it is difficult to determine if it really is a linking verb or not. I am sure with more practice I will be able to identify them right away.

The Socratic circle this time was different then how we had done it previously. This time we were in one giant circle which I found both positive and negatives. People were much more willing to talk because we were all on the same level I suppose you could say but I like how with two circle you get to take a step back and watch from the outside. However, with one circle you get to voice your opinion basically whenever you have an idea. I can see the pros and cons to both but I would say that I enjoyed having two circles.

Question: How do you go about recognizing linking verbs? What triggers you to say it is one and do you have any examples?

Yay for Verbs and Socratic circle!

This week in class was definitely an interesting one. I really enjoyed furthering my learning of verbs with the magnetic poetry activity. It really helped me to be able to see the words separately and identify what they were before putting them into a sentence. I guess I never realized or was taught about how there are different verbs and that they may function in a different way. I always kind of thought there were just verbs. I think the one I will struggle the most with is linking verbs. It is difficult to explain but I those verbs I have to take another look at to really remember what they are. I understand transitive verbs to require a direct object. The direct object can be any noun really correct? Intransitive verbs can stand alone but can also have modifiers if the writer chooses. I am excited to learn about verbs and to recognize them in every day writing and language.

We also had the Socratic circle this week. I must begin by saying, unlike most, I rather enjoyed being on the outer circle rather than the inner one. On the outside I got to observe and see a whole new perspective. It was interesting to me because I was not able to give any input which made me listen more carefully and actually think about what they were saying and where they were coming from. There was not much content to discuss so I really enjoyed how people brought up other ideas and stories about teaching and us as teachers. However, I did not like how we discussed writing only from a teacher’s view. Yes the article was about teaching writing but we ignored how writing can be explored by lack of structure. What I mean by that is writing can sometimes serve a purpose by just telling students to write. It opens up imagination and creativity. They do not always need to know the specific assignment or purpose of the writing. Overall I think the Socratic circle was an effective way to get us talking. Our group size was just right I think to keep the circle flowing effectively.




Question: Which verb sentence pattern do you think appears the most in every day language?

Oh House Style, Oh apostrophes, Oh Word Classes!

What have I learned this past week from English 326? I agree with Samantha that the magazine we had to use for House Style was pretty difficult to work with. There was little there besides just recipes and travel information. However, we were able to learn about the magazine’s use of commas and numbers. The single possessive noun ending in an s we never really found, though we hunted for it for a very long time. I wonder why we were so crazy about finding that one. I suppose because it helps us to sort out the correct way to use the apostrophe. Hunting for it used in different ways for so long really helped to put it in my brain the correct ways to use an apostrophe, especially single versus plural possessive. How the magazine treated numbers also gave us some trouble. It appeared there was no set rule. Sometimes numbers were spelled out but more often a digit was used. It was annoying because every time we thought we understood the rule, another number would be found to make us throw the rule out the window. It would have been way easier if the magazine had just set a limit but they did not. We ended up deciding that when numbers are used as some type of measurement they usually appear as a digit, otherwise they are spelled out. By the end though, I was a little tired of reading Sunset magazine to be honest. I was happy for what I had learned but there truly and honestly was not much there to work with.

I have to say that the workshops we do in class really do help me learn. Learning the word classes this week, or reviewing them was much easier to work through with the headlines exercise. When it comes to word classes I believe that I understand what all of them are clearer now. The adverb was really the only one that could at times be difficult for me to identify. At least now I have a few ways to identify them such as looking for a ly or asking who, what, where when, why, how. I am sure there are more word classes that we have not discussed yet that will also give me some trouble such as preposition. Unlike others I do not remember going over the word classes for a long period of time. I do not remember it being drilled into my head and discussed over and over again. I am sure I must have learned the basics at some point such as a noun, verb, and adjective but there is no memory in my mind of long days filled with grammar. I think this is why I am so interested in the subject because I do not remember actually discussing the different functions of the classes. I know what they are but it sometimes is difficult to identify them in a sentence. I am really looking forward to learning more about grammar and applying it in other places outside of English 326.



When do you use “that” versus “which” or who? “I really do not like the adverb that/ which has given me trouble before.”