Can someone help us diagram two sentences?

[kenic]

My daughter, currently a high school English teacher, asked me, a long-ago high school English teacher, to check the correctness of two sentences. I wanted to resort to diagramming them, then realized I no longer knew how to. In fact, I didn't know how to write the second sentence correctly!

1) "The two sculptors I have studied are he and Alexander Caulder."
I could affirm the correctness of the usage (assuming the "he" refers to a male sculptor mentioned earlier). But how do I diagram the sentence?

2) "The sundial, or sun clock, is one of the oldest type of clock."
This time I was stumped all across the sentence!
Is it "oldest" or "older"?
Is it "type" or "types"?
Is it "clock" or "clocks"?
Or are there two or three correct options?

I see this as an equivalent sentence: "The golden retriever, or golden lab, is one of the sweetest breed of dog."
Should it be "sweeter"?
Should it be "breeds"?
Should it be "dogs"?

And how do I diagram the sentence?

Thank you, anyone who can help.

[Frank Antonson]

My daughter, currently a high school English teacher, asked me, a long-ago high school English teacher, to check the correctness of two sentences. I wanted to resort to diagramming them, then realized I no longer knew how to. In fact, I didn't know how to write the second sentence correctly!

1) "The two sculptors I have studied are he and Alexander Caulder."
I could affirm the correctness of the usage (assuming the "he" refers to a male sculptor mentioned earlier). But how do I diagram the sentence?

2) "The sundial, or sun clock, is one of the oldest type of clock."
This time I was stumped all across the sentence!
Is it "oldest" or "older"?
Is it "type" or "types"?
Is it "clock" or "clocks"?
Or are there two or three correct options?

I see this as an equivalent sentence: "The golden retriever, or golden lab, is one of the sweetest breed of dog."
Should it be "sweeter"?
Should it be "breeds"?
Should it be "dogs"?

And how do I diagram the sentence?

Thank you, anyone who can help.

...one of the oldest types of clock.
...one of the sweetest breeds of dog
The last words could also probably be used as plurals.
I'll leave the diagram to Kondorosi. He's really good at it.
Linguist Farmer

[Kondorosi]

He's really good at it.

Really?

[Frank Antonson]

Dear Kondorosi,
I agree with your first sentence.
In the second one, however, I think "one" is the predicate nominative, modified by a prepositional phrase whose object "types" is in turn modified by the prepositional phrase "of clocks".
lf

[Frank Antonson]

I think you did fine with "or". I guess I might have put if up on a base line of its own as a sort of "function word" (as you might put "that" in a noun clause) and connected it with a vertical dashed line.
Regarding the prepositional phrases, however, I am not with you.

As you might have guessed, I am, once again, home from school. After all there was only one more day until vacation. Having a fractured hip AND a cold seemed reason enough for me.

[Frank Antonson]

Taking a chance, I am going to say that I think you may be "prepositional phrasedly" challenged. But, to balance it out, I suffer from "diagram envy".
My daughter will be home over the holidays, and I intend to enlist her help in bringing me up to speed on diagramming with a computer -- and posting said diagrams on this site.
lf

[Frank Antonson]

"Diagram envy" is an entirely new phrase which I have coined. I think there are a whole host of such " ... envy" phrases, but they all come from Sigmund Freud's "penis envy". You know, like, someone can play the piano better than you, so you have "pianist envy".
lf
Yes, Erica is good with computers. My son is too, but, like a son, is not as willingly helpful with his father's passions.
lf

[Kondorosi]

Hello Frank,

I am playing with the NP in red bold

The sundial, or sun clock, is [(one (of the oldest)) (type of)] clock. 'clock' is the head.



(one (of the oldest)) (type) (of clock) -- 'type' is the head



one ((of the oldest type) of clock) -- 'one' as the head



You like the third diagram; I like the second and the first. I like the first most.

[Kondorosi]

A little bit of light relief from the dullness of diagramming:

YouTube - Nagyon durva braketánc

Watch from 0:44. Ultrabrutality!

[Frank Antonson]

Yes, you are right. I like the third one best. I can't even relate to the others. The object of a preposition must be a noun, or something noun-like.
That first one has me wondering what new book you are reading.

Pretty good dancer -- that second guy on Youtube.

My daughter is home and I am going to see if she can help me diagram better.

What "dullness" of diagramming?!
lf