4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings

"This book is a rare gem from the days of old school grammar books in that it has an answer key. This book is comprehensive enough that it could be your first book on grammar, but the diagramming portions are limited and not always "standard," so if you're looking for a book to learn sentence diagramming specifically, look elsewhere.

That being said, this book's section on infinitives really shines, and it might aid you in your understanding of diagramming once you've already learned the basics."

4.32 avg rating — 81 ratings

"This is an excellent beginner book on grammar and sentence diagramming; having finished the book, you won't be able to parse or diagram any sentence, but you'll be ready to move on to a more challenging book.

Where this books shines is in its tone and the number and type of questions that it asks. When you read it, you can tell that Ms. Davenport was a teacher, and her enthusiasm and desire to challenge her students is evident throughout.

However, she also uses some non-standard diagramming techniques, and seems unaware of expletives, calling them "sky hooks" instead.

Having read this book, you should move on to Semmelmeyer's "Practical English" for a more in depth look at grammar, Vitto's "Grammar By Diagram" for a practical mix of grammar and diagramming, or Moutoux's "Drawing Sentences" if you want to truly master the art of sentence diagramming."

4.32 avg rating — 37 ratings

"This could be your first book on grammar and sentence diagramming, but it is best suited for those who want to master the latter. Having finished this book, you will likely be able to diagram or parse any sentence.

Also, this book is probably the modern standard for diagramming sentences, and it is true to most of the conventions set out by Reed and Kellogg, aside from not using curved gerunds and participles (because of typesetting problems).

Having read this book, you should move on to either Vitto's "Grammar By Diagram" to deepen you grammar knowledge and diagramming skills (although the diagramming you learn in "Drawing Sentences" is more advanced than that taught in "Grammar By Diagram"), or Semmelmeyer's "Practical English," for an even more detailed look at grammar and some sentence diagramming (The diagramming portion of this book is mediocre, but the grammar portion is more thorough than Vitto's or Moutoux's). "

4.50 avg rating — 18 ratings

"This should not be your first book on grammar or sentence diagramming.

While it might be possible to teacher yourself using this book, the onus is on your: you will have to study, and study hard, to score higher than 50% correct on the exercises by the time you read the middle.

That being said, if you're already confident in your grammar knowledge and diagramming skill, this book will enlighten and challenge you further; it might be one of the last grammar or sentence diagramming books that you'll need to read before feeling yourself close to mastery.

Prior to reading this book, you should at least read Moutoux's other book, "Drawing Sentences," and probably also "Practical English" by Semmelmeyer, or "Grammar By Diagram" by Vitto."

4.25 avg rating — 106 ratings

"This book could be your first book on grammar and sentence diagramming, but it is not quite in depth enough to be your only book.

Vitto does a good job alternating between prescriptive and descriptive chapters, and having finished this book, you will have a good general sense of grammar and be reasonably skilled in diagramming. However, to really get the most out of it, you will probably have to go through the workbook instead, something that I resent as I believe a textbook should have enough exercises to train its reader.

Having finished this book, you should read Semmelmeyr's "Practical English" to get a deeper understanding of grammar, and "Drawing Sentences," by Moutoux, to feel more comfortable diagramming any sentence that you might find."

3.92 avg rating — 48 ratings

"This is a poor book on sentence diagramming and grammar, and is more suited to children if it is suited to anyone at all.

The exercises are few, there are errors in the answers, and some exercises require knowledge from chapters that have not yet been covered.

If you already have an understanding of grammar and sentence diagramming and want to have a text to help teach your child, then maybe this book is for you. However, if you want to learn how to diagram sentences well (or even to teach your child), it's better to pass on this book and go straight to Eugene Moutoux's "Drawing Sentences." "