deciphoring complicated sentences

[babyphat]

Hi! Pls see if I'm on the right track. I'm trying to decipher the sentence (Ex: subject, verb, subordinate, etc)

"A good book can absorb us to the exclusion of the present time and place; a familiar "mental movie" plays in the imagination and occupies the senses." - excerpt from Eric McLuhan in 'The Changing Face of Literacy'

2 core parts (coordination)

1st core part - Subject (book), verb (absorb), object (exclusion)
2nd core part - Subject (mental movie), verb (plays) and (occupies), object (imagination) and (senses).

 

[TheParser]

NOT A TEACHER


1. I think that traditional grammar books would call your sentence a compound sentence.

a. That is to say, it has two complete sentences linked with a semicolon (.

2. I would parse the first sentence like this:

a. A good book = the complete subject.
b. can absorb = the verb phrase.
c. us = the direct object.
d. to the exclusion = prepositional phrase that modifies "can absorb."
e. "Of the present time and place" = prepositional phrase that modifies "exclusion."

*****'

3. I would parse the second sentence like this:

a. "A familiar 'mental movie' " = the complete subject.
b. "plays" = first verb of a compound predicate (two verbs).
c. "in the imagination" = prepositional phrase that modifies "plays." ("the imagination" is the object of the preposition "in.")

d. "and" = coordinating conjunction links the two verbs "play" and "occupies."

e. "occupies" = second verb of a compound predicate.
f. "the senses" = the object of the verb "occupies."