The Daily News
1 Yesterday was a banner day for Facebook.
2 I have two Facebooks, for the record. One is for my school life, which includes all of my former students, my current students, and my colleagues at work. The other is for my friends and family, who don’t mind seeing pictures of me doing cannonballs into the pool at the lodge we stay in each summer when we go to Tahoe. Nobody I know professionally should ever have to witness that.
3 Sometimes the two Facebooks cross-over, which is always fun.
4 My deal with Facebook is that I usually sort of post something and then fly through the Facebook nonsense just out of boredom. It’s fun as a teacher to see that students go on to live full and wonderful lives without really knowing what a participle is, or a gerund. Who cares? Facebook. I swear. Where do we go from here?
5 Yesterday, almost everybody had fun posts. I saw children smiling, birthdays, walks in the park, cute grandpas, and a smorgasbord of recipes, beaches, horses, puppies, and good times.
6 It was nice, because I went to bed really early and awakened into the1 a.m.
7 This is perfect for a professional multi-tasker. Here is how a muti-tasker works: I got home early yesterday, set up grading camp, graded about an hour of tests, ate dinner, and then conked out. It was a good day. My students were perfect yesterday, at least in my eyes.
8 They had really lagged on Monday, but I encouraged them by pointing out that they were Californians, and that we ALL lag on Mondays and Fridays.
9 I taught participles and gerunds. How do we even call ourselves human beings if we don’t master those two things? We owe this to our children. Participles and gerunds.
10 What the heck are they anyway?
11 I don’t think I even knew until around my fourteenth year teaching.
12 Now that I see how much they have touched my life, I can’t see how I ever lived not knowing what they were.
13 Okay. For the layperson, here is a quick lesson: a participle is a verb-form ending in -ing, -d, -ed, or any irregular past-participle verb form used as an adjective, and sometimes as both an adjective AND a verb.
14 Got it?
15 It’s a word that looks like a verb and operates as both a verb and an adjective. It should be called a “vadjective.” But for whatever reason, it isn’t. More’s the pity.
16 I can’t stress the importance of knowing this.
17 Let me break it down for you.
18 Let us dissect Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. It is an extraordinarily famous song, and it contains a bunch of participles and gerunds. It made Journey a ton of money. So don’t sit there and tell me that participles and gerunds shouldn’t be the center of your universe. Let’s examine this classic more closely.
19 Here are the lyrics:
Just a small town girl
Livin’ in a lonely world…
20 ”Living” is a participle. It makes the girl more specific. She is a “Livin’-in-a-lonely world” girl. Livin’ begins an entire phrase that lets us know more about the girl. She isn’t just any girl. She is a “livin’-in-a-lonely world” girl. For the record, she is actually a “small-town-livin’-in-a-lonely-world” girl, but the focus is on participial phrases, right? I will reiterate: “Livin’” is a participle because it is a vadjective. Got it? Oh, not yet, ayyy?
21 How about another from this grand old song?
22 Here go:
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit…
He already is not just a boy, but a city boy, because city, while clearly a noun, is working as an adjective modifying boy, making the boy more specific. That’s what adjectives do.
Both “born” and “raised” are participles, because both are by birthright past-participial verbs, but both have been positioned to work as adjectives modifying the city boy. He’s not just a city boy any longer. He is also a “Born-and-raised-in-South-Detroit” city boy. The entire phrase makes him more specific. The entire phrase is one big adjective. Isn’t this beautiful?
23 While I gave this lesson, I couldn’t help throwing in other identifiable parts of speech.
She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere…
“Midnight” is a fun adjective modifying “train.” That’s what adjectives do. They modify nouns and pronouns. “Midnight” is again unique in that it is a noun working as an adjective, sort of like “baseball bat.” ”Anywhere” is an adverb. They tell how, when, and where, for the most part.
24 Allow this professor to continue, if you please. Hopefully your hot oatmeal is going through your eyes and nostrils at this point. This is a good thing. It means your day is starting out just right, and you are getting edumacated simultaneously.
25 Shall we continue?
A singer in a smoky room.
The smell of wine and sweet perfume.
Two fragments and a lousy rhyme.
26 English rocks.
27 ; )
28 Are you ready to kill me yet?
29 The lesson shall continue. A-hem. Here go:
Strangers, waiting up and down the boulevard…
“Waiting” is a participle. It looks like a verb, but actually starts a phrase that becomes yet another adjective modifying “strangers.” They aren’t just “strangers.” They are “waiting-up-and-down-the-boulevard” strangers. The entire phrase works as a singular adjective. Got it? The doctor is in.
30 Still more:
Streetlight people…
First off, they are no longer simply people. The noun “streetlight” is another noun secretly working as an adjective to make the people more specific. They could be “ugly” people, or “fancy” people. But they are not. The noun “streetlight” ends all that.
Continuing:
Livin’ just to find emotion…
“Living” is a participle that begins this phrase, the entire set of words acting as a participle modifying the streetlight people. They are no longer simply “streetlight people.”
They are now “Living-just-to-find emotion” streetlight people. I love that line, by the way.
31 Shall we continue continuing:
Hidin’ somewhere in the night.
Okay. “Hiding” is a participle that begins THIS phrase, the entire set of words acting as a participle modifying further the “Living-just-to-find emotion” streetlight people.
They are now “Living-just-to-find emotion-hiding somewhere-in-the-night-streetlight people.” Talk about baggage…
32 The students just wanted to hear the song, but I kept deliberately interrupting it. Was it obnoxious? Yeah, of course it was. By design. Roll with me here. Sometimes teachers deliberately torture their students. I did yesterday, so just roll with this for a second or two more. Continuing.
33 How could I not give credit to this line:
Some will win, some will lose,
Some are born to sing the blues…
34 I let that one play, and then shouted across the room, “Great rhyme!”
35 I then let the song play with no further interruption. Many started singing, some started dancing, while others began drumming fingers. It was all pretty fun.
37 I had them write a bunch of phrases of their own, and told them that if their groups put the phrases on the board, and if the phrases were all close to perfect, that I would play the song loudly at the end of the period, and that they could sing and dance out the door when the bell rang.
38 It worked. Their sentences were perfect. They had mastered a major writing tool.
39 I played it LOUD. In one class a few kids got up and danced, and in every class they left the room singing, “Don’t stop, believing, hold on to that feel-yay-eee-yay-an…”
40 Both teachers on each side of my room came in and laughed. It was a great day.
41 I threw a mini-Facebook post out there midday. I rarely do that because I don’t really have the time, but I had to share.
42 Turns out that I threw that into a banner day on Facebook.
43 It is now into the 3 a.m. I have some old TCM thing going on. One of the classic mugs just said, “Small town.”
44 I looked up and smiled. I wasn’t really watching it, just using it as a lamp.
45 Just another in a series of a bajillion mini-coincidences.
46 AnywayZ…
47 For the record, there is no “s” at the end of “anyway.” And there certainly isn’t a capital “Z.”
48 It’s late. Or early. Multi-taskers can’t really tell the difference.
49 I’m going to tuck this magical little lesson into bed.
50 I hope you reached quintessential edification. I stole the Journey idea from some teacher’s You Tube. I modified it so that it would work with my students.
51 Consider yourself quintessentially edified.
52 It’s Wednesday, and life couldn’t be any better, at least for now. You have been drenched in participals.
53 Enjoy your day, and before you know it, there should be a three-day weekend for the majority of you.
54 Meanwhile, avoid idiots who want to make your life miserable. If you see them coming towards you, back-door ‘em ’til Friday. It’ll be wonderful for your mental health. Hope you enjoyed your English lesson.
55 See you again.
56 Peace.
~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News1 Yesterday was a banner day for Facebook.2 I have two Facebooks, for the record. One is for my school life, which includes all of my former students, my current students, and my colleagues at work. The other is for my friends and family, who don’t mind seeing pictures of me doing cannonballs into the pool at the lodge we stay in each summer when we go to Tahoe. Nobody I know professionally should ever have to witness that.3 Sometimes the two Facebooks cross-over, which is always fun.4 My deal with Facebook is that I usually sort of post something and then fly through the Facebook nonsense just out of boredom. It’s fun as a teacher to see that students go on to live full and wonderful lives without really knowing what a participle is, or a gerund. Who cares? Facebook. I swear. Where do we go from here?5 Yesterday, almost everybody had fun posts. I saw children smiling, birthdays, walks in the park, cute grandpas, and a smorgasbord of recipes, beaches, horses, puppies, and good times.6 It was nice, because I went to bed really early and awakened into the1 a.m.7 This is perfect for a professional multi-tasker. Here is how a muti-tasker works: I got home early yesterday, set up grading camp, graded about an hour of tests, ate dinner, and then conked out. It was a good day. My students were perfect yesterday, at least in my eyes.8 They had really lagged on Monday, but I encouraged them by pointing out that they were Californians, and that we ALL lag on Mondays and Fridays.9 I taught participles and gerunds. How do we even call ourselves human beings if we don’t master those two things? We owe this to our children. Participles and gerunds.10 What the heck are they anyway?11 I don’t think I even knew until around my fourteenth year teaching.12 Now that I see how much they have touched my life, I can’t see how I ever lived not knowing what they were.13 Okay. For the layperson, here is a quick lesson: a participle is a verb-form ending in -ing, -d, -ed, or any irregular past-participle verb form used as an adjective, and sometimes as both an adjective AND a verb.14 Got it?15 It’s a word that looks like a verb and operates as both a verb and an adjective. It should be called a “vadjective.” But for whatever reason, it isn’t. More’s the pity.16 I can’t stress the importance of knowing this.17 Let me break it down for you.18 Let us dissect Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. It is an extraordinarily famous song, and it contains a bunch of participles and gerunds. It made Journey a ton of money. So don’t sit there and tell me that participles and gerunds shouldn’t be the center of your universe. Let’s examine this classic more closely.19 Here are the lyrics:Just a small town girlLivin’ in a lonely world…20 ”Living” is a participle. It makes the girl more specific. She is a “Livin’-in-a-lonely world” girl. Livin’ begins an entire phrase that lets us know more about the girl. She isn’t just any girl. She is a “livin’-in-a-lonely world” girl. For the record, she is actually a “small-town-livin’-in-a-lonely-world” girl, but the focus is on participial phrases, right? I will reiterate: “Livin’” is a participle because it is a vadjective. Got it? Oh, not yet, ayyy?
21 How about another from this grand old song?22 Here go:Just a city boyBorn and raised in South Detroit…He already is not just a boy, but a city boy, because city, while clearly a noun, is working as an adjective modifying boy, making the boy more specific. That’s what adjectives do.Both “born” and “raised” are participles, because both are by birthright past-participial verbs, but both have been positioned to work as adjectives modifying the city boy. He’s not just a city boy any longer. He is also a “Born-and-raised-in-South-Detroit” city boy. The entire phrase makes him more specific. The entire phrase is one big adjective. Isn’t this beautiful?23 While I gave this lesson, I couldn’t help throwing in other identifiable parts of speech.She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere…“Midnight” is a fun adjective modifying “train.” That’s what adjectives do. They modify nouns and pronouns. “Midnight” is again unique in that it is a noun working as an adjective, sort of like “baseball bat.” ”Anywhere” is an adverb. They tell how, when, and where, for the most part.24 Allow this professor to continue, if you please. Hopefully your hot oatmeal is going through your eyes and nostrils at this point. This is a good thing. It means your day is starting out just right, and you are getting edumacated simultaneously.25 Shall we continue?A singer in a smoky room.The smell of wine and sweet perfume.Two fragments and a lousy rhyme.26 English rocks.
27 ; )28 Are you ready to kill me yet?29 The lesson shall continue. A-hem. Here go:Strangers, waiting up and down the boulevard…“Waiting” is a participle. It looks like a verb, but actually starts a phrase that becomes yet another adjective modifying “strangers.” They aren’t just “strangers.” They are “waiting-up-and-down-the-boulevard” strangers. The entire phrase works as a singular adjective. Got it? The doctor is in.30 Still more:Streetlight people…First off, they are no longer simply people. The noun “streetlight” is another noun secretly working as an adjective to make the people more specific. They could be “ugly” people, or “fancy” people. But they are not. The noun “streetlight” ends all that.Continuing:Livin’ just to find emotion…“Living” is a participle that begins this phrase, the entire set of words acting as a participle modifying the streetlight people. They are no longer simply “streetlight people.”They are now “Living-just-to-find emotion” streetlight people. I love that line, by the way.31 Shall we continue continuing:Hidin’ somewhere in the night.Okay. “Hiding” is a participle that begins THIS phrase, the entire set of words acting as a participle modifying further the “Living-just-to-find emotion” streetlight people.They are now “Living-just-to-find emotion-hiding somewhere-in-the-night-streetlight people.” Talk about baggage…32 The students just wanted to hear the song, but I kept deliberately interrupting it. Was it obnoxious? Yeah, of course it was. By design. Roll with me here. Sometimes teachers deliberately torture their students. I did yesterday, so just roll with this for a second or two more. Continuing.33 How could I not give credit to this line:Some will win, some will lose,Some are born to sing the blues…34 I let that one play, and then shouted across the room, “Great rhyme!”35 I then let the song play with no further interruption. Many started singing, some started dancing, while others began drumming fingers. It was all pretty fun.37 I had them write a bunch of phrases of their own, and told them that if their groups put the phrases on the board, and if the phrases were all close to perfect, that I would play the song loudly at the end of the period, and that they could sing and dance out the door when the bell rang.38 It worked. Their sentences were perfect. They had mastered a major writing tool.39 I played it LOUD. In one class a few kids got up and danced, and in every class they left the room singing, “Don’t stop, believing, hold on to that feel-yay-eee-yay-an…”40 Both teachers on each side of my room came in and laughed. It was a great day.41 I threw a mini-Facebook post out there midday. I rarely do that because I don’t really have the time, but I had to share.42 Turns out that I threw that into a banner day on Facebook.43 It is now into the 3 a.m. I have some old TCM thing going on. One of the classic mugs just said, “Small town.”44 I looked up and smiled. I wasn’t really watching it, just using it as a lamp.45 Just another in a series of a bajillion mini-coincidences.46 AnywayZ…47 For the record, there is no “s” at the end of “anyway.” And there certainly isn’t a capital “Z.”48 It’s late. Or early. Multi-taskers can’t really tell the difference.49 I’m going to tuck this magical little lesson into bed.50 I hope you reached quintessential edification. I stole the Journey idea from some teacher’s You Tube. I modified it so that it would work with my students.51 Consider yourself quintessentially edified.52 It’s Wednesday, and life couldn’t be any better, at least for now. You have been drenched in participals.53 Enjoy your day, and before you know it, there should be a three-day weekend for the majority of you.54 Meanwhile, avoid idiots who want to make your life miserable. If you see them coming towards you, back-door ‘em ’til Friday. It’ll be wonderful for your mental health. Hope you enjoyed your English lesson.55 See you again.56 Peace.~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
