Name:
Date:
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Syntax Analysis 2
Directions: Read the passage below. Complete as directed. Answer all questions in
thorough, paragraph form.
I came to serve at the age of twenty-eight years, and now I have not a hair on my body
that is not gray, and my body is infirm, and whatever remained to me of those years of
service has been spent and taken away from me and sold, and from my brothers, down to
my very coat, without my being heard or seen, to my great dishonor.
— Christopher Columbus, “Letter from the Fourth Voyage”
1. Label all subjects and verbs. Underline all independent clauses. [Bracket] all
subordinate clause(s) and label types.
2. Classify the sentence as simple, compound, complex or compound-complex.
3. Draw a box around all prepositional phrases.
4. Circle all verbals. Label each one as infinitive, participial, or gerund.
5. What is the tone of the passage toward its subject? What words, phrases, and
constructions contribute to this tone?
6. Rewrite the sentence above twice. In each new version, you should rearrange
Columbus’ language to keep his meaning, but change the syntax and the number of
sentences.