Zaddi, I didn't know anyone knew about diagramming sentences anymore. I loved that exercise. I was a poor student (undiagnosed learning and other disorders), but I did well with diagramming sentences. I have since come to believe that it should be a staple of education. But then, public school education in the US is about as effective as going to the DMV. I have met english teachers who couldn't diagram sentences, and whose grammar would probably not pass high school english requirements. No, I am not kidding or exaggerating. Just one example: I knew an english teacher who regularly used expressions such as 'I been', 'I had drove', 'I had went', etc. - but not just in her casual speech, which I would not have questioned; she believed they were correct, and taught them to her classes.