Advanced Topics
Miscellaneous
A collection of special constructions that don't fit neatly into one category: unidiomatic expressions, pleonasm, correlative conjunctions, passive constructions with phrasal verbs, and factitive verbs.
Passive Voice with Phrasal Verbs
When a phrasal verb such as shoot at is made passive, the preposition becomes part of the verb phrase. The object of the active sentence cannot be moved to the subject position in the usual way — instead, the whole phrasal verb is treated as a unit.
“Civilians were shot at by snipers.”
Pleonasm
A pleonasm is an expression that uses more words than necessary (e.g., the reason why, the fact that, in spite of the fact that). These constructions can often be simplified, but they are still grammatically diagrammed according to their actual structure.
“One can diagram the unidiomatic expression.”
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions come in pairs: both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also. They join parallel elements (subjects, objects, predicates) and are diagrammed like coordinating conjunctions — with the two parts of the pair written on the broken vertical connector, one above the other.
“She both knows and corresponds with the queen.”
Factitive Verbs
A factitive verb (e.g., make, keep, find, consider, call, elect, appoint, name) takes both a direct object and an objective complement. Even in the passive voice, these verbs can be followed by a subjective complement.
“Why should we keep the rope taut?”
You've Covered All 18 Topics
Congratulations — you have worked through the complete Reed-Kellogg diagramming system, from the simplest subject-verb baseline all the way to compound-complex sentences with nested clauses. The best way to solidify this knowledge is to pick sentences from real texts and diagram them. Start with short simple sentences, then work up to complex literary prose.