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Aesop's Fable # 4: The Crow and the Pitcher
Level Two: Add Subjects, Verbs,
and Complements
Menu of Analysis by Levels
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A
Crow, half-dead
{with thirst}, came
upon a Pitcher
(DO) which#1
had
once been
full (PA) {of
water}; but when the
Crow put
its beak
(DO) {into the
mouth} {of the
Pitcher} he found#2
that only very little
water was
left {in it}, and
that
he could
not reach
far enough down to get
{at it}. He
tried, and he
tried, but
{at
last} had
to give up {in despair}.
Then a thought
came {to
him}, and he took
a
pebble (DO) and
dropped it
(DO) {into the
Pitcher}. Then he
took another
pebble (DO) and
dropped it
(DO) {into the
Pitcher}. Then he
took another
pebble (DO) and
dropped that
(DO) {into the
Pitcher}. {At last}, {at
last}, he
saw the
water mount#3 up
{near him}, and {after
casting in a few
more pebbles}
he
was able
(PA) to quench his thirst
and save his life.
Little
{by little} does
the trick
(DO).
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Notes
1. Note the importance of teaching the S/V/C pattern
as the basis of the clause. Students who are taught that a clause is a
subject verb pattern will want to make "Pitcher" the subject of "had been
full," and, in traditional instruction, there is nothing to stop them from
doing so. If, however, they are taught to find the verb, its subjet, and
its complement, and if they are taught that the complement of one verb
cannot be the suibject of another, then they are forced to recognize the
pronoun as the subject -- there is nothing else to choose as the subject.
2. Because they haven't studied clauses, students are
not expected to get the direct objects of "found."
3. Some students will want to make "water mount up"
a finite verb pattern. I simply explain that "The water mount up" does
not work as a sentence. They would say that "the waters mount up,"
or that that "the water mounts up," but not that "the water mount
up." Thus "water mount up" is not a finite subject and verb. (This "sentence
test" works most of the time, but not always.)
From The KISS Approach to Grammar http://www.pct.edu/courses/evavra/KISS.htm
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