Embedded Sentences in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
Here are a few examples of embedded sentences from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," along with how to break them into a tree diagram:
Example 1: "The Dormouse shook its head impatiently, and said, 'Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself.' "
Embedded Sentence: "Just what I was going to remark myself."
Tree Diagram:
```
S
|
-- NP (I)
| |
| -- DET (just)
| |
| -- NP (what)
| | |
| | -- SBAR
| | | |
| | | -- S
| | | | |
| | | | -- VP (was going to remark)
| | | | | |
| | | | | -- VP (remark)
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | -- NP (myself)
| | | |
| | | -- PP (myself)
| | | |
| | | -- P (to)
| | | |
| | | -- NP (myself)
| |
| -- VP (remark)
| |
| -- NP (myself)
```
Explanation:
* The embedded sentence "Just what I was going to remark myself" is a noun phrase (NP) acting as the object of the verb "said".
* Within the NP, "just" functions as a determiner (DET) modifying the NP "what".
* "What" heads a SBAR (sentence-like phrase), containing a complete sentence: "I was going to remark myself".
* This sentence is broken down further: "I" is the subject (NP), "was going to remark" is the verb phrase (VP), and "myself" is the object (NP).
* The prepositional phrase (PP) "to myself" functions as an adverbial modifier, telling us the direction of the remarking.
Example 2: " 'You are old, Father William,' the young man said, 'And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head – Do you think, at your age, it is right?' "
Embedded Sentence: "And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head – Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
Tree Diagram:
```
S
|
-- NP (you)
| |
| -- ADJP (old)
| |
| -- ADJ (old)
|
-- VP (are)
|
-- NP (Father William)
```
Explanation:
* In this case, the embedded sentence is a complex structure that is part of a larger quotation.
* It functions as an object of the verb "said" and consists of several smaller clauses connected by conjunctions.
* The entire embedded sentence is a complex NP acting as the direct object of the verb "said".
* Each individual clause within the embedded sentence could be further broken down into its constituent parts like in the previous example.
These are just a few examples, and the complexity of the embedded sentences can vary greatly. By understanding the structure of sentences and phrases, you can analyze and understand even the most intricate sentences in literature.