PENS & MARK
The P in the PENS Strategy
Pick a formula
Find the subject: The dog runs through the park.
dog
Find the infinitive: Can I go to the fair?
to the fair
Find the preposition: My cousin ran around the park.
around
The person, place, thing, quality, or idea the sentence is about
subject
Mark out the imposter
Find the verb: She hates eating broccoli at home.
hates
Find the infinitive: She loves to listen to music.
to music
Find the preposition: The cat hid under the blanket.
under
A word that shows the action of the subject of the sentence
Search and check
Find the subject: The car stops at the light.
car
to me
Find the prepositional phrase: He leaped over the puddle.
over the puddle
A word that links the subject to another word that describes the subject
linking verb
The R in the MARK strategy
Root out the subject
Find the verb: Caitlin fishes every day after school.
fishes
Find the infinitive: We went to McDonald's after school.
to McDonald's
Find the prepositional phrase: George hid among the bushes.
among the bushes
Made up of two words: to and a verb
Meaning
Find the verb: I am so tired.
am
An infinitive is made up of two words: to and a ______
verb
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that show ____ or _____
place or time
A group of words that show place or time