How to Remember the 5 Canonical Clause Structures

The five canonical clause structures are 

• Ordinary Intransitive: Subject - Predicate
• Complex Intransitive: Subject - Predicate - Predicative Complement
• Ordinary Monotransitive: Subject - Predicate - Direct Object
• Complex Transitive: Subject - Predicate - Direct Object - Predicative Complement
• Ditransitive: Subject - Predicate - Indirect Object - Direct Object

How do we identify each structure? Easy!

• We hesitated. 

We is the subject. Hesitated is the verb/predicator. 

This is an ordinary intransitive clause structure.

• We felt happy. 

We is the subject. Felt is the verb/predicator. Happy modifies the verb/predicator, which makes it the predicative complement. 

This is a complex intransitive clause structure.

• We sold our house. 

We is the subject. Sold is the verb/predicator. Our is the dependent genitive that shows the ownership of the object. House is the object directly influenced by the verb.

This is an ordinary monotransitive clause structure.

• We made them happy. 

We is the subject. Made is the verb/predicator. Them is the direct object because it is influenced by the verb. Happy is the predicative complement because it modifies the verb.

This is a complex transitive clause structure.

• We gave them some food.

We is the subject. Gave is the verb/predicator. Them is the indirect object because it is the receiver in this clause. Some Food is the direct object because it is the element that is influenced by the verb.

Pronoun Usage

I vs Me
We vs Us
They vs Them

Using these words is always easy until it isn't and for that exact situation, I present to you the tell-tale proof on proper usage!

Pronouns are an interesting class of nouns because they go through deixis. Deixis means that the speaker of the sentence defines the meaning of the word and that the meaning changes each time it is spoken. Like other nouns, pronouns can be used as subjects and objects of sentences while also taking possession of objects within sentence.

The proper usage of each pronoun class can be remembered by using 4 sentences, which I will discuss below.

Subject Pronouns

These subject pronouns can be easily remembered by constructing a sentence with a blank subject and filling in the proper pronoun for each case.

• ______ went to the store.

We can use every pronoun that works as the subject of a sentence: I, You, He, She, It, We, You, and They.

• I went to the store.
• You went to the store.
• He went to the store.
• She went to the store
• and so on.

Object Pronouns

Like subject pronouns, we can do the same with the object pronouns.

• They gave this to ______.

We can use every pronoun that works as the object of a sentence: Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, You, and Them

• They gave this to him.
• They gave this to her.
• They gave this to it.
• They gave this to us.
• and so on.

Independent Genitive

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the heck is a genitive?

That is definitely a subject for another post but just consider it to show ownership of an object. The important part of this class is that we remember the first word, Independent. This means that it can stand on its own. We can do the same thing with these pronouns as all of the others in that sense.

• This car is _____.

We can use every pronoun that works that independent genitive pronoun: Mine, Yours, His, Hers, Its, Ours, Yours, and Theirs

• This car is ours.
• This car is yours.
• This car is theirs.
• and so on.

Dependent Genitive

Remember the independent genitive? Of course you do it, it's right above! If you don't, go a head and scroll up for a quick summary. The dependent genitive is the little brother of the independent genitive that needs a little help from an object to be used properly. In the following sentence, we show ownership of a house.

• This is ____ house.

We can use every pronoun that works with the dependent genitive pronoun: My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, Your and Their

• This is my house.
• This is your house.
• This is his house.
• This is her house.
• and so on.

Wrap Up

With the following four sentences, you can remember the proper usage of every pronoun so those little hiccups will never occur again!

______ went to the store.

They gave this to ______.

This car is _____.

This is ____ house.

The Dangling Modifier

Dangling modifiers are a common issue when it comes to writing papers as students often try to cram too much information the space they are provided.

A dangling modifier occurs when the introductory phrase of a sentence describes the subject of a sentence in a way that is senseless or illogical. This usually occurs when the writer intends to modify another object or idea within the sentence.

Here is an example:

• Published in 1845, Poe gained a larger audience.

The subject of this sentence is Edgar Allan Poe, a famous American writer, but the modifier of this sentence, "Published in 1845", obviously refers to an item that can be published, such as a book, a story, a poem, or an article. A man can not be published, but his work can. To fix this issue, we would rewrite the sentence as follows.

• Published in 1845, "The Raven" is responsible for gaining a larger audience for Poe.

Here the modifier makes sense, as "The Raven" was a poem by Poe that was published.

Errors such as these are common and can mean the difference between a successful paper and a paper that leaves something to be desired.