I love Latin

Word of the day:
preeminent • \pre-EM-uh-nunt\ • adjective
Definition: having paramount rank, dignity, or importance : outstanding, supreme
Example Sentence:
Carrie considered herself lucky to have one of the country’s preeminent novelists as her writing professor.
Did you know?
What is noteworthy about the following sentence? 'Mount McKinley is a prominent eminence in the Alaskan landscape.' You very likely recognized two words that are closely related to 'preeminent' -- 'prominent' and 'eminence.' All three words are rooted in the Latin verb stem '-minēre,' meaning 'to stand out.' But did you note as well the related word 'mount'? Not too surprisingly, '-minēre' is related to 'mons,' the Latin word for 'mountain.' That relationship leads us in turn to 'paramount,' a word closely related in meaning to 'preeminent.'"

Latin word of the day:
asper, aspera, asperum--(adjective)
Definition: rough, harsh, bitter
Derivatives: asperity, exasperate

Ya know, I was thinking...if I were to teach Latin, I would have a blast. I was daydreaming about it today, what it would be like on the first day of class. The kids would think I was absolutely off my rocker. During the first class, we would hardly even talk about Latin. No vocab, no translations, no verb conjugations or noun declensions. Guess what we would do?


Diagram sentences!! Ahh, how I love diagramming. (Anyone know why you can spell diagramming with either one m or 2?) I could write for hours, really, about why I love diagramming and why it's so important- and definitely a lost art. I will spare you the details. I should probably practice diagramming a bit if I want to teach how to do it.
Ya know what else I love? Dangling modifiers. What parts of grammar do you like? (Don't say verbs.) Does anyone else diagram sentences?