Richbaub's Introduction to Middle School Grammar Book 2

Getting into “The Routine”
A. So far, we’ve emphasized the following routine:
First, surround prepositional phrases with parentheses.
Second, mark the verb(s) with a box (action verb) or an “L” shape (linking verb).
Third, circle the subject(s).
On any kind of grammar exercise, you should ALWAYS approach each sentence
this way; it will help immensely in your hunt for adjectives and adverbs.
B. Only after completing “The Routine” should you look for your descriptive words,
adjectives and adverbs.
C. Let’s begin the hunt for adjectives and adverbs by running through an example:
(After the meal) the children sat quietly (in the family room.)
D. Above, the descriptive words should stand out because you have eliminated some words
from consideration:
- Your subject is not an adjective or adverb (subjects are always nouns or pronouns).
- Your verb is obviously not an adjective or adverb!
- In the prepositional phrases, you know that the first word is a preposition and the last
word (o.p.) is a noun or pronoun.
- You should also remember that between the preposition and the o.p. there can be
descriptive words, so that’s a good place to look for adjectives and adverbs.
E. In our example sentence…
quietly is an adverb answering the question “how?” about the verb sat
family is an adjective describing the noun room
RICHBAUB’S INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE SCHOOL GRAMMAR, BOOK 2
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