Diagramming Sentences: Silly Sentence Saturday

Question: Will Will Smith smith?
Answer: Will Smith will smith.

Diagramming sentences is so much fun, sometimes I go in search of silly sentences to diagram on a Silly Sentence Saturday.

Today's silly sentences are "Will Will Smith smith?" and "Will Smith will smith."  Pretty silly, right?  But silly or not, both are grammatically correct sentences that can be diagrammed quite easily.  These sentences are simple sentences, and they have only one subject and one predicate, each.

Will Will Smith smith?

The first silly sentence, "Will Will Smith smith?" is an interrogative sentence.  The first "Will" in the sentence is part of the verb, which is in the future tense, "will smith."  "Smith" is both the last name of our subject and the main verb, which means to make or craft a product, generally of iron.  

First, we must rearrange the sentence because it is in the interrogative form: The helping verb and subject have traded places. Second, the subject of the sentence is placed on the left side of the base line.  The predicate, in this case the future simple tense of the verb, is placed on the right side of the base line.  Third, the subject-verb divider line is placed across the base line.  Last, but not least, all of the proper nouns and the first word of the sentence must be checked to be sure they are still properly capitalized.

Will Smith will smith.

The second silly sentence, "Will Smith will smith" is a declarative sentence.  The first "Will" in the sentence is part of the subject, and the first "Smith" is part of the subject, too.  Both words, together, are a person's name, and they are proper nouns, so they are capitalized.  The second "will" in the sentence is a helping verb, and the second "smith" is the main verb.  Together, "will smith" is the predicate of the sentence, the future simple tense of the verb "to smith."

First, the subject of the sentence, "Will Smith," is placed on the left side of the base line.  The predicate, in this case the future simple tense of the verb, "will smith," is placed on the right side of the base line.  Third, the subject-verb divider line is placed across the base line.  Last, but not least, all of the proper nouns and the first word of the sentence must be checked to be sure they are still properly capitalized.

Do you have any additional sentences that would be great for a Silly Sentence Saturday explanation?  Let me know in the comments!

Want to know more about diagramming sentences?

Try my text, Diagramming Sentences: A Playful Way to Analyze Everyday Language, or my online course, Sentence Diagramming; From Beginner to Expert in 12 Lessons. 




Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.