A Brief Overview of Brushstrokes

(Image Grammar)

Core Sentence:

The dog walked across the lawn.

#1 Painting with Absolutes

Simple Definition: a noun + an “-ing” verb

Example: “Ears drooping”New Sentence: Ears drooping, the

dog walked across the lawn.

#2 Painting with AppositivesSimple Definition: a noun that

renames the noun before it (use an article-the,an,a- to be sure it is an appositive)

Example: “a mixed Lab and Collie”New Sentence: The dog, a mixed Lab

and Collie, walked across the lawn.

# 3 Painting with Participles

Simple Definition: “-ing” or “-ed” form of a verb

Example: “Foaming at the mouth”New Sentence: Foaming at the

mouth, the dog, a mixed Lab and Collie, walked across the lawn.

# 4 Painting with Prepositions

Simple Definition: a phrase with an introductory “direction, time, space” word

Example: “with her puppies”New Sentence: The dog, a

mixed Lab and Collie, walked with her puppies across the lawn.

# 5 Painting with Adjectives out of Order

Simple Definition: placing adjectives somewhere other than before the noun

Example: “parched and hungry”New Sentence: The dog, parched

and hungry, walked with her puppies across the lawn.

# 6 Painting with Action Verbs

Simple Definition: Use strong action verbs whenever possible

Example: “limped”New Sentence: Ears drooping,

the dog, parched and hungry, limped with her puppies across the lawn.