Diagramming question

[Amy in CO]

My son had this sentence to diagram today and it stumped me. I think I may have got it, but wanted to see if anyone knew for sure before I go over it with him in the morning.

 

The sentence is: The ants worked all day to drag the enormous dead cricket into their nest.

 

"The ants worked" I was able to get easily :D

 

"to drag the enormous dead cricket into their nest", I think this is an infinitive phrase coming on the direct object line beside worked. Is that right? Would "into their nest" be a prepositional phrase off "drag"?

 

Then the last part, "all day", is "day" an adverb telling when the ants worked, and "all" is an adverb modifying day?

 

I hope that all made sense. Did I get it right or is there another way to do it? The right way :lol:

 

Some days I wonder how I am supposed to teach them these things when I know so little about it.

[Storm Bay]

My son had this sentence to diagram today and it stumped me. I think I may have got it, but wanted to see if anyone knew for sure before I go over it with him in the morning.

 

The sentence is: The ants worked all day to drag the enormous dead cricket into their nest.

 

"The ants worked" I was able to get easily :D

 

"to drag the enormous dead cricket into their nest", I think this is an infinitive phrase coming on the direct object line beside worked. Is that right? Would "into their nest" be a prepositional phrase off "drag"?

 

Then the last part, "all day", is "day" an adverb telling when the ants worked, and "all" is an adverb modifying day?

 

I hope that all made sense. Did I get it right or is there another way to do it? The right way :lol:

 

Some days I wonder how I am supposed to teach them these things when I know so little about it.

 

 

Dd says it is an infinitive phrase. "all day" is an limiting adverb that tells when. She thinks that "all" is not clear, and that it's probably an adverb since it's modifying another adverb. You need the all, because you can't say "the ants worked day", but ultimately, she thought that one was confusing. Yes, "onto their nest" comes off of drag.

 

Don't ask me, I never diagrammed and merely grade from the book at her level.

Edited March 16, 2010 by Karin

[Amy in CO]

Thanks, I usually have the answers as well to back me up since I didn't learn this as a child, but this program doesn't have the answers to the diagramming or the parsing. I am slowly learning diagramming, but I am obviously not up to this level.

[titianmom]

Looks like an adverb phrase modifying a verb, then 2 prep phrases.

 

My daughter knows this stuff better than I do now. She could diagram it in seconds so I'll ask her tomorrow. she's in bed, now.

Kim

[titianmom]

Okay, I see the infinitive. I must be blind.

 

:)

 

Kim