James 1:8 Reed-Kellogg Sentence Diagram help

Hi all,

I have made a sentence diagram of James 1:8 using the “NASB 2020” and while I believe it’s correct; I have some reservations about the verb “being” if it is indeed a verb that is. I assume it’s in the present progress active indicative, however, it doesn’t follow the typical format of: subject + present form of be + present participle form of the verb. so what is going on here?

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Comments

David Paul

I think part of your problem with this snippet is that it is a snippet. Taking what you said in a different thread, that you are only practicing diagramming of English to improve your grammar recognition skills, I won't refer to the Greek at all, but you should definitely focus on whole sentences when engaged in this process. It is pretty much impossible for forum onlookers to give a proper assessment of this fragment without the entire sentence available to examine. Another consideration...how all of this gets resolved will vary from one English translation to another, so no one can assume what the missing sentence section says unless the specific translation is known.

Also, pretty sure the prep phrase mods the pred adjective "unstable".

I just realized that you have transposed the visible part of the sentence significantly in the process of diagramming it. You have "man" as a subject in your graph, when in the greater sentence, it is a predicate noun (EDIT: based on my comments below, it is part of an adjectival participle phrase).

MJ. Smith

Try reading The Verb "To Be" in English (grammar-monster.com). Does man being unstable fit into any of the grammatical uses described there? Or is this fragment even a valid clause and if so, what type? Clause: Definition and Examples (grammar-monster.com). Is "being" a finite verb form? Finite Verbs: Explanation and Examples (grammar-monster.com)

I would suggest that "being" is either a gerund or a participle - your diagram reflects neither. Explore their grammatical use to get yourself on track.

Let me step back a bit in time. I went to a three room, eight grade school where two days a week while the boys had PE, the girls, grades 4-8, had crafts or science. When our craft was something like knitting squares for blankets for refugees, we would conjugate verbs out loud. It was our turn until we made a mistake, then the next girl would take over ... when we got into the esoteric forms only 7 & 8 graders might know, if you made a mistake, the verb would change and the next girl would start at the beginning. This pounded conjugation into our heads so thoroughly that in college I discovered I had a better base of understanding grammar than the students from fancy prep schools. You need to pound the information in English Verb Conjugation - The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (grammarbook.com) into your head until it is second nature. Knowing the verb and how it behaves in a sentence is so fundamental that there is a form of sentence diagramming called dependency diagrams that begins at the verb.

David Paul

I would suggest that "being" is either a gerund or a participle - your diagram reflects neither. Explore their grammatical use to get yourself on track.

I considered gerund for a second or two, but it's definitely not functioning as a noun. There simply isn't enough in this verse to constitute a sentence. I doesn't entirely help that "being" isn't technically in the Greek, but since we are focusing only on the English as it is presented, this verse needs to be plugged into the previous verse before this segment can be ordered. This verse has neither subject nor main verb.

Brandon Stevens

I would suggest that "being" is either a gerund or a participle - your diagram reflects neither. Explore their grammatical use to get yourself on track.

I considered gerund for a second or two, but it's definitely not functioning as a noun. There simply isn't enough in this verse to constitute a sentence. I doesn't entirely help that "being" isn't technically in the Greek, but since we are focusing only on the English as it is presented, this verse needs to be plugged into the previous verse before this segment can be ordered. This verse has neither subject nor main verb.

I diagramed James 1:5-8.

MJ. Smith

I'm heading to bed so I can't look at it closely until morning but I spotted three problems just glancing at it - "like" is not acting as a verb but is introducing a simile; and "generously" modifies giving not "all"; it is the "surf" that is "driven" and "tossed" not the "sea". I'm beginning to think that you need a stronger grasp of English grammar if I am going to be effective helping you diagram the sentences. I have a tendency to use linguistic terms rather than the Language Arts terms used in schools. And I suspect if I talked "valence" of the verb in the steps to diagram a sentence you'd give me a blank stare (many Logos users would [;)])

David Paul

I diagramed James 1:5-8.

Sheesh...don't know why I'm doing this--I hate this stuff.

Looking only at verses 7-8 (For that person ought...):

"That" is an adjective telling which "person", so should branch below. Have no idea how to graph the infinitive, so maybe that's correct, but since "ought to expect" is a verb phrase, maybe it should all be together? Not sure about how to graph the subordinate clause, but I'm pretty sure the prep phrase "from the Lord" is modifying "will receive" rather than "anything". MJ was right that "being" is either a gerund or participle, but it takes no verb, so it's not functioning as a noun. Which leaves participle...specifically, it is introducing an adjectival participle phrase, which means it's not modifying "ought", but rather modifying "person", that is, "person" (is) "being" a particular kind of "man". Also, you chose to apply an understood (who is), which seems acceptable, but I think that since "unstable" is describing the "man" just as "double-minded" is, you could skip (who is) and just branch "unstable" off "man".

David Paul

I would suggest that "being" is either a gerund or a participle - your diagram reflects neither. Explore their grammatical use to get yourself on track.

Going back to this, check out this webpage...the two best options are 3 & 4, as MJ says, but since "being" takes no verb, option 4 is best and correct.

https://www.englishwithashish.com/use-of-being-in-a-sentence/

Brandon Stevens

I would suggest that "being" is either a gerund or a participle - your diagram reflects neither. Explore their grammatical use to get yourself on track.

Going back to this, check out this webpage...the two best options are 3 & 4, as MJ says, but since "being" takes no verb, option 4 is best and correct.

https://www.englishwithashish.com/use-of-being-in-a-sentence/

I restarted the diagram and made the suggested corrections some of which I made naturally as I was re-doing the diagram such as “graciously“ modifying the verb “gives.” I have provided two diagrams one with “being“ as the main verb and one with ”being“ as a participle. In the grammar book I am going through I have yet to come to participles so I may have it modifying the wrong word.

MJ. Smith and David Paul I’m sure this has been to some degree inconvenience for you both, but I truly appreciate your help and advice.

David Paul

Verses 7-8 of second diagram look good to me (except for "that" floating free--again, I don't remember the procedure for graphing subordination). Above that section, one thing that jumps out at me is the "God, who gives generously..." passage. Look again at what you have graphed after "who" and think about what is your verb and where should the "and" go. Hint: you have that section graphed as a compound verb.