Syntax
Adapted from A Guide for Advanced Placement English Vertical Teams. New York: The College Board
Syntax, or sentence structure, should not be studied in isolation, but in
conjunction with other stylistic techniques that work together to develop
meaning (see other elements of style analysis we’ve studied). Analysis of style
and meaning never relies on one concept alone.
You can analyze sentence structure in several ways:
1. Examine sentence length: telegraphic (less than 5 words), short (5-8 words),
medium (15-20 words), or long and involved (30 words or more). Does the
sentence length fit the subject matter? What variety is present? Why is the
length effective?
2. Examine sentence beginnings. Variety? Pattern?
3. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a sentence. Is purpose evident?
4. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a paragraph. Evidence of pattern or
structure?
5. Examine sentence patterns:
 Declarative sentence: makes a statement (The king is sick.)
 Imperative sentence: gives a command (Stand up.)
 Interrogative sentence: asks a question (Is the king sick?)
 Exclamatory sentence: makes an exclamation (The king is dead!)
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Simple sentence: one subject and one verb (Ms. Jackson smiled at her
adoring class.)
Compound sentence: two independent clauses joined by a coordinate
conjunction (and, but, or) or by a semicolon (Ms. Jackson smiled at her
adoring class, and they held out their excellent essays to her.)
Complex sentence: independent clause and one or more subordinate
clauses (She said that she would always remember them.)
Compound-complex sentence: two or more principal clauses and one or
more subordinate clauses (Ms. Jackson smiled while her adoring students
raised their hands, and she wanted to give all of them a chance to share
their brilliant thoughts.)
Loose sentence: makes complete sense if brought to a close before the
actual ending (We reached Saigon/ that morning/ after a turbulent
flight/ and three mediocre movies.
Periodic sentence: has a series of modifying phrases inserted in the
sentence and makes sense only when the end is reached (That morning,
after a turbulent flight and three mediocre movies, we reached Saigon).
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Balanced sentence: phrases or clauses balance each other by virtue of
their likeness of structure, meaning or length (He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters.)
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Natural order: subject before predicate (Pho is eaten in Saigon.)
Inverted order: predicate before subject (In Saigon is eaten pho.) Normal
sentence patterns are reversed to create emphatic or rhythmic effect
Split order: predicate divided into two parts with subject in middle (In
Saigon, pho is eaten.)
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Juxtaposition: poetic and rhetorical device in which normally
unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another,
creating an effect of surprise and wit (“The apparition of these faces in the
crowd;/Petals on a wet, black bough.” Ezra Pound, “In a Station of the
Metro”)
Parallel structure/parallelism: grammatical or structural similarity
between sentences or parts of a sentence. Words, phrases, sentences and
paragraphs are arranged so that elements of equal importance are equally
developed and similarly phrased (She was eating, drinking, and sleeping
English 10.)
Repetition: words, sounds, or ideas are used more than once to enhance
rhythm and create emphasis (“government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from the earth” Abraham Lincoln,
“Gettysburg Address”)
Rhetorical question: expects no answer, used to draw attention to a
point, generally stronger than a direct statement (If Mrs. Jackson loves us
so much, why did she leave us?)