Sentence diagramming is the long division of English. It involves a bewildering array of lines and diagonal branches. It is loathed as an elementary school chore. And it is presumed to be obsolete.

I read an article last month about the lost art of diagramming sentences, a once-required skill that many American children had to master if they wanted to pass English back in the mid-20th century.

Sentence diagramming was once a widespread technique for teaching kids how to analyze the structure of a sentence. If you had to do it in school, you either loved it or you hated it. Most kids hated ...

There are plenty of people out there—not only English teachers but also amateur language buffs like me—who believe that diagramming a sentence provides insight into the mind of its perpetrator. The ...

Forget politics. Anyone who’s interested in clarity should study this post on Slate.com by author Kitty Burns Florey: “Diagramming Sarah: Can Palin’s sentences stand up to a grammarian?” In her post, ...

When you think about a sentence, you usually think about words — not lines. But sentence diagramming brings geometry into grammar. If you weren't taught to diagram a sentence, this might sound a ...

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. Parsing the statements of politicians has never been an easy task. But ...

Can language exist without grammar? Grammar is the system for organising a language. All major languages have a grammatical structure. What is an adjective? Learn about the importance of adjectives ...

My sentences are the best. Nobody can top my sentences. Photo by Richard Ellis/Getty Images At the Slate Political Gabfest's live D.C. show this week, Emily, David, and John tried to diagram a ...