Analysis of Syntax
How does syntax contribute to the meaning of a passage?
Syntax Defined
The term syntax refers not only to the structure of sentences, their types, their uses, their connection, and the
variations authors choose, but also to smaller structures within sentences. Phrases (any group of words) and clauses
(groups of words that contain a subject and a verb) are also syntactic elements that require a reader’s attention.
One of the most important elements of syntax is the way the words, phrases, and clauses are arranged. This is a key
element of the author’s style and can have a marked effect on meaning.
Sentence Length
Telegraphic
Short
Medium
Long
Shorter than 5 words in length
Approximately 5 words in length
Approximately 18 words in length
Long and involved – 30 words or more in length
Types of Sentences
Declarative
Imperative
Interrogative
Exclamatory
The king is sick.
Cure the King!
Is the king sick?
The king is dead; long live the
king!
Makes a statement
Gives a command
Asks a question
Provides strong emphasis or expresses strong
emotion
Assertive
Authoritative
Questioning
Emotional
Sentence Structures
Simple sentence
Compound
sentence
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Complex sentence
Compoundcomplex sentence
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contains one subject and one verb
has only one main, complete thought
The singer bowed to her adoring audience.
contains only two independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction (and, but,
or) or by a semicolon
has two or more main, complete thoughts – Two or more simple sentences are
joined, usually with or, but, or and.
The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores.
has one simple sentence and one or more clauses – These clauses are connected to
the simple sentence with words like because, while, when, if, as, although, since, unless, after,
so, which, who, and that.
contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses
After she bowed to the audience, the singer sang an encore.
a combination of the above
contains two or more principal clauses and one or more subordinate clauses
The singer bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang no encores.
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Loose/Cumulative
sentence
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Periodic sentence
Balanced sentence
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Natural order of a
Sentence
Inverted order of a
sentence
(sentence inversion)
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Split order of a
sentence
makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending
the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent
clauses and phrases
the sentence could end before the modifying phrase(s) without losing its
coherence
We almost always speak in loose sentences!
We reached Denver / that morning / after a turbulent flight / and some exciting
experiences.
makes sense only when the end of the sentence is reached
the sentence is not grammatically complete until is end
That morning, after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, we reached Denver.
the phrases and 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 the still waters.
involves constructing a sentence so the subject comes before the predicate
Oranges grow in California.
involves constructing a sentence so the predicate comes before the subject
this is a device in which normal sentence patterns are reversed to create an
emphatic or rhythmic effect
In California grow the oranges.
divides the predicate into two parts with the subject coming in the middle
In California oranges grow.
Verbals
The three types of verbals are participles, gerunds, and infinitives.
Participles
 ends in –ing or –ed
 looks like a verb but is used as an adjective
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Examples:
o The crying baby reached for his mother.
o Crying, a form of the very cry, modifies or describes the noun baby.
o Screaming, Matt jumped away from the spider.
o Screaming, a form of the verb scream, modifies the noun Matt.
o The amused teacher chuckled at the student’s joke.
o Amused, a form of the verb amuse, modifies the noun teacher.
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Note: Participles and gerunds do not have helping verbs. If you see an –ing verb
with a helping verb it is a verb.
o Example: The student is amusing the teacher.
Gerunds
 ends in –ing
 looks like a verb but is used as a noun
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Examples:
o Chewing with your mouth open does not impress people.
o Chewing, a form of the verb chew, is the subject of the sentence. What does
not impress people? Chewing
o Mark practices speaking in public.
o Speaking is the direct object of the verb practices. Mark practices what? speaking
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Note: Participles and gerunds do not have helping verbs. If you see an –ing verb
with a helping verb it is a verb.
Infinitives
 to + verb
 a word that looks like a verb but is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
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Examples:
o To fly far away would be wonderful.
o To fly is a noun and the subject of the sentence.
o Erica is the woman to visit.
o To visit is an adjective modifying the noun woman.
o The amused teacher chuckled at the student’s joke.
o Amused, a form of the verb amuse, modifies the noun teacher.
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WATCH OUT!! Many fragments begin with these tricky verbals. The fragment can usually be
connected to another sentence.
Fragment: Making our party complete. Erin finally brought the cake.
Complete sentence: Making our party complete, Eric finally brought the cake.
Other Syntactical Elements
This is lists many of the most common devices of syntax you will encounter. There are many, many more.
Anaphora – the regular repetition of the same word or
phrase at the beginning of successive phrases
Ex. Martin Luther King’s speech, “I have a
dream…”
Anastrophe – an arrangement in which word order is
reversed or rearranged. Think Yoda from Star Wars.
Ex. “Powerful you have become; the dark side
I sense in you.”
Apposition – placing one noun after another noun, an
appositive
Ex. “This was not Aunt Dahlia, my good and
kindly aunt, but my Aunt Agatha, the one who chews
broken bottles and kills rats with her teeth.” (P.G.
Wodehouse)
Asyndeton – conjunctions are omitted, producing fastpaced and rapid prose to speed up the reader so as to
have the reader experience the events along with the
persona in a rapid succession
Ex. “I woke up, got out of bed, pulled on my
clothes, rushed out the door.”
Chiasmus – grammatical structure in which the first
clause or phrase is reversed in the second, sometimes
repeating the same words. Reversing the syntactical
order emphasizes the reversal in meaning and thus
reinforces the contrast; it is useful in writing to
emphasize differences or contrasts in meaning.
Ex. “Ask not what your country can do for
you, but what you can do for your country.”
Epanalepsis – the repetition of the end of a clause of
the word from the beginning of the clause
Ex. “Blood has purchased blood.”
Epistrophe – repetition of the same word (or group of
words) at the ends of successive clauses (the opposite
of anaphora)
Ex. “I’ll have my bond. Speak not against my
bond. I have sworn an oath for my bond.”
Parallelism – expresses similar or related ideas in a
similar grammatical structure.
Ex. “He walked to the store; he walked to the
library; he walked to the apartment.”
Parenthesis – the insertion of words or phrases that are
not syntactically related to the rest of the sentence
Ex. “And remember that life’s A Great
Balancing Act.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
(Dr. Seuss – Oh, The Places You’ll Go!)
Polysyndeton – the use of many conjunctions (has the
opposite effect of asyndeton); it slows the pace of the
reader but the effect is to possibly overwhelm the
reader with details thus connecting the reader and
persona to the same experience
Ex. “My mother cooked turkey and dressing
and sweet potatoes and peas and pumpkin pie.
Rhetorical Questions – a question posed by the speaker
which has an obvious answer, no answer, or is the
argument the speaker or writer intends to answer in
an effort to further prove their argument. These are
leading questions asked by the speaker. If the answer
is obvious, the speaker already knows the answer and
is intending to lead the audience to his/her point of
view or conclusion. If there is no answer, the speaker
is aware of the lack of an answer and uses that lack to
highlight the flaw in the opposing viewpoint.
Sometimes, there is an obvious answer to the
rhetorical question resulting in an emphasis on the
point the speaker is making.
Ex. “Do any of you want to pay higher
taxes?”
Ex. “Why can’t we all just get along?”
Zeugma – After an action verb, the objects are yoked
(joined together) to produce a desired effect
Ex. “He bolted his food and then the door.”