Ally McBeal cadence Cornell-notes + color-coded flashcards — parsing Augustine for a 13-year-old

Step-by-step, age-13 friendly Cornell notes, Ally McBeal cadence reading cues, color-coded flashcards, and a T-model sentence-parsing template (blanks + answer key) for a long sentence from Saint Augustine's The City of God.

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Quick guide (age 13)

We will: 1) read with comical cadence annotations; 2) set up Cornell notes; 3) use color-coded flashcards for tricky words; 4) give a T-model sentence parse template you can fill in (blanks); 5) show the full answer key and explanations.

1) Read with Ally McBeal comical cadence (helps you hear clause breaks)

Original sentence (with cadence):

As I see that I have still to discuss the fit destinies of the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly, [light chuckle] I must first explain, [short intake] so far as the limits of this work allow me, the reasonings by which men have attempted to make for themselves a happiness in this unhappy life, [sadder, slower] in order that it may be evident, not only from divine authority, but also from such reasons as can be adduced to unbelievers, [crescendo] how the empty dreams of the philosophers differ from the hope which God gives to us, and from the substantial fulfillment of it which He will give us as our blessedness.

Why the cadence helps

Say those bracketed stage directions aloud while you read. Pauses match clause boundaries. Fun cadence makes the grammar less scary.

2) Cornell notes (left = cues / questions, right = notes)

Cues / Questions
  • What is the main clause?
  • Which dependent clauses are here?
  • What phrases should you label?
 Notes
  1. Main clause: "I must first explain ..." — subject = I; verb phrase = must first explain; object = the reasonings...
  2. Opening adverbial clause (context): "As I see that I have still to discuss the fit destinies of the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly"
  3. Appositive: "the earthly and the heavenly" (renames "the two cities")
  4. Parenthetical adverbial clause: "so far as the limits of this work allow me" (limits how fully he can explain)
  5. Object noun phrase (long) with a relative clause: "the reasonings by which men have attempted to make for themselves a happiness in this unhappy life"
  6. Purpose/result clause: "in order that it may be evident ... how ... differ" (answers what the explanation should make clear)
Summary: This is a complex, declarative sentence — one independent clause packed with many dependent clauses (adverbial, relative, purpose) and several key phrases.

3) Color-coded flashcards (quick review of tricky words & terms)

destinies — noun — fates or futures ☐
appositive — grammar term — renames a noun ☐
reasonings — noun — logical arguments ☐
adduced — verb (past part.) — brought forward as evidence ☐
unbelievers — noun — people who do not believe ☐
substantial — adj — real, solid ☐
fulfillment — noun — completion ☐
blessedness — noun — state of being blessed ☐

4) T-model sentence parsing template (fill-in-the-blanks)

Michael Clay Thompson style T-model: left = subject/intro clauses; top-level center = main clause; right = object/phrases. Use the circles to label parts of speech and the boxes to label phrase types.

Top-level (Independent clause)
Subject: ☐ "I"
Predicate (verb phrase): ☐ "must first explain"
Direct object (noun phrase): ☐ "the reasonings by which men have attempted to make for themselves a happiness in this unhappy life"
Opening adverbial (dependent): ☐ "As I see that I have still to discuss the fit destinies of the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly"
Parenthetical adverbial: ☐ "so far as the limits of this work allow me"
Purpose/result clause: ☐ "in order that it may be evident ... how ... differ ..."

5) Word-by-word practice: blanks for parts of speech

Try this first — write the part of speech in each circle ⭕. After you try, check the answer key below.

As ⭕ I ⭕ see ⭕ that ⭕ I ⭕ have ⭕ still ⭕ to ⭕ discuss ⭕ the ⭕ fit ⭕ destinies ⭕ of ⭕ the ⭕ two ⭕ cities ⭕ , ⭕ the ⭕ earthly ⭕ and ⭕ the ⭕ heavenly ⭕ , ⭕ I ⭕ must ⭕ first ⭕ explain ⭕ , ⭕ so ⭕ far ⭕ as ⭕ the ⭕ limits ⭕ of ⭕ this ⭕ work ⭕ allow ⭕ me ⭕ , ⭕ the ⭕ reasonings ⭕ by ⭕ which ⭕ men ⭕ have ⭕ attempted ⭕ to ⭕ make ⭕ for ⭕ themselves ⭕ a ⭕ happiness ⭕ in ⭕ this ⭕ unhappy ⭕ life ⭕ , ⭕ in ⭕ order ⭕ that ⭕ it ⭕ may ⭕ be ⭕ evident ⭕ , ⭕ not ⭕ only ⭕ from ⭕ divine ⭕ authority ⭕ , ⭕ but ⭕ also ⭕ from ⭕ such ⭕ reasons ⭕ as ⭕ can ⭕ be ⭕ adduced ⭕ to ⭕ unbelievers ⭕ , ⭕ how ⭕ the ⭕ empty ⭕ dreams ⭕ of ⭕ the ⭕ philosophers ⭕ differ ⭕ from ⭕ the ⭕ hope ⭕ which ⭕ God ⭕ gives ⭕ to ⭕ us ⭕ , ⭕ and ⭕ from ⭕ the ⭕ substantial ⭕ fulfillment ⭕ of ⭕ it ⭕ which ⭕ He ⭕ will ⭕ give ⭕ us ⭕ as ⭕ our ⭕ blessedness ⭕ .

Answer key — parts of speech (quick)

As (subordinating conjunction), I (pronoun), see (verb), that (subordinating conjunction), I (pronoun), have (auxiliary verb), still (adverb), to (infinitive marker), discuss (verb, infinitive), the (article), fit (adjective), destinies (noun), of (preposition), the (article), two (numeral adjective), cities (noun), , (punctuation), the (article), earthly (adjective), and (coordinating conjunction), the (article), heavenly (adjective), , (punctuation), I (pronoun), must (modal auxiliary), first (adverb), explain (verb), , (punctuation), so (adverb), far (adverb), as (subordinating conjunction), the (article), limits (noun), of (preposition), this (determiner), work (noun), allow (verb), me (pronoun), , (punctuation), the (article), reasonings (noun), by (preposition), which (relative pronoun), men (noun), have (auxiliary), attempted (past participle / verb), to (infinitive marker), make (verb), for (preposition), themselves (reflexive pronoun), a (article), happiness (noun), in (preposition), this (determiner), unhappy (adjective), life (noun), , (punctuation), in (preposition), order (noun), that (subordinating conjunction), it (pronoun), may (modal), be (verb), evident (adjective), , (punctuation), not (adverb), only (adverb), from (preposition), divine (adjective), authority (noun), , (punctuation), but (coordinating conjunction), also (adverb), from (preposition), such (determiner), reasons (noun), as (relative conjunction), can (modal), be (auxiliary), adduced (past participle), to (preposition), unbelievers (noun), , (punctuation), how (subordinating conjunction), the (article), empty (adjective), dreams (noun), of (preposition), the (article), philosophers (noun), differ (verb), from (preposition), the (article), hope (noun), which (relative pronoun), God (proper noun), gives (verb), to (preposition), us (pronoun), , (punctuation), and (coordinating conjunction), from (preposition), the (article), substantial (adjective), fulfillment (noun), of (preposition), it (pronoun), which (relative pronoun), He (pronoun), will (modal), give (verb), us (pronoun), as (preposition), our (possessive determiner), blessedness (noun), . (punctuation)

6) Sentence structure & type

Structure: Complex sentence — one independent clause ("I must first explain...") plus many dependent clauses (adverbial, relative, purpose). Type: Declarative — it makes a statement.

7) Short practice prompts (do these out loud or write answers)

  1. Circle the appositive: "the earthly and the heavenly". Why is it an appositive? (Answer: It renames "the two cities" immediately after it.)
  2. Underline the purpose clause starting with "in order that". Which word introduces the idea of what must become clear? (Answer: "that" and the clause continues with "how".)
  3. Find two infinitives and write their base verbs: "to discuss" (discuss), "to make" (make).

Final tip: read the sentence slowly with the stage directions in brackets. The pauses will help you hear where one clause stops and the next begins — that makes parsing much easier.

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