Diagramming Sentences
Sentence Diagrams
~ One Way of Learning English Grammar ~
Sentences from the United States Constitution
Return to Sentences from the United States Constitution, page 1
Diagramming SentencesSentence Diagrams ~ One Way of Learning English Grammar ~ Sentences from the United States Constitution |
| Amendment 9: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. |
|
| Lesson 10: Since other is not the direct object of disparage alone but of both deny and disparage, the line that divides after to, in order to accommodate the compound infinitive, becomes a single line again before the vertical-line indicator of the direct object. |
| Apologia pro descriptione mea: I have diagrammed the infinitive phrase as an adverbial modifier of the verb shall be construed; however, one can make a case for its use as a subjective complement. The expression shall not be construed to deny or disparage can be restated as is not a denial or disparagement of without significant change of meaning. A diagram of Amendment 9 with the infinitive used as a subjective complement appears below. |
|
| On to the next
sentence!
Return to Sentences from the United States Constitution, page 1 |