I need some help diagraming the sentence:

How can an art decay?

Thanks,
Michelle

art | can decay
________________
\ \
\an \ How
\ \

Please note in the above diagram that "How" modifies "can decay."

i need help distinguishing verbs from verbals (cont.)

i need help with distinguishing verb from verbals.

Verbs show action or state of being. The present and past participles of verbs need helping verbs. Examples of VERBS:
Joe IS WORKING for his dad this summer.
He HAS WORKED for him for the last two years.
ARE you THINKING about your future?

Verbals are present or past participles or infinitives. They act as nouns (gerunds and infinitives) or adjectives (participles) and do not show action. Verbals are not preceded by helping verbs.

Examples of VERBALS:

WORKING during the summer was a necessity for Joe. (Used as a gerund [noun], the subject of "was.")
WORKED to death, the slaves had a high mortality rate. (Used as a participle [adjective], modifying "slaves.")
THINKING about pizza made Katy hungry. (Used as a gerund, the subject of "was.")

This website has more information.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_verbals.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_verbals.html

Thanks Ms. Sue.
I meant for the 'How' to modify 'can decay', but the spaces that I typed were omitted. That is also why the slanted \ lines aren't lined up, as they should be.

I thought that was what had happened. :-)
Drwls -- you are multi-talented -- from physics to geography to sentence diagramming! You're a one-man high school faculty!! LOL!

In this sentence, God brought Abraham to Canaan, a rich land inhabited by idolatrous people., What part of speech are the words Abraham, land, and people?

"Abraham" is a direct object (noun) of the verb "brought."
"Land" is an appositive (noun), defining "Canaan."
"People" is an object (noun) of the preposition "by."

Where can i find examples of verbals?