Syntax Terminology
and Analysis
11th Advanced Placement
Mrs. Burgar
2004-2005
Elements in Sentence Construction
Parts of Speech
• Noun: a person, place, thing, or idea
• Pronoun: a word that is used in place of a
noun
• Adjective: a word that modifies a noun
• Verb: words that show action or state of
being
• Adverb: a word that modifies a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb
Elements in Sentence Construction
Parts of Speech
• Preposition: a word that connects a noun to
some other word in the sentence
• Conjunction: a word that joins together
sentences, clauses, phrases, or words
• Interjection: a word added to a sentence to
convey emotion
• Article: a kind of adjective which is always
used with, and gives information about, a
noun
Elements in Sentence Construction
Parts of a Sentence
• Subject: what or whom the sentence is about
• Verb/predicate: tells something about the subject
• Objects: a word that completes a verb’s meaning
• Direct object: the receiver of action within a
sentence
• i.e. He hit the ball
• Indirect object: identifies to or for whom or what
the action of the verb is performed.
• i.e. Sam sold me his boat
Elements in Sentence Construction
Parts of a Sentence
• Modifiers
Phrases: a group of related words lacking both subject and
predicate
Prepositional: a group of words containing a
preposition, object & modifiers
i.e. Fishing by the river
Infinitive: consists of “to” followed by a verb
i.e. To fish is fun
Appositive: Noun phrases that rename nouns or
pronouns
i.e. Fish, our next dinner, swim in the river.
Elements in Sentence Construction
Parts of a Sentence
• Clauses: A group of related words that
contain a subject and predicate
Types of Sentence by STRUCTURE
• Simple: subject, verb, and object – has one
independent clause
• i.e. Tom reads novels
• Compound: two independent clauses
joined by a.) coordinating conjunction (but)
b.) conjunctive adverb (however)
c.) a semicolon alone
-i.e. Tom reads novels, but Jack reads comics.
Types of Sentence by STRUCTURE
• Complex: One dependent clause headed by a
subordinating conjunction joined to an
independent clause
• i.e. Although Tom reads novels, Jack reads comics.
• Compound-complex: Two independent clauses
joined to one or more dependent clauses.
• i.e. While Tom reads novels, Jack reads
(dependent)
(independent)
comics, and Sam reads only magazines
(independent)
Types of Sentence by
PURPOSE
• Declarative: simply states a fact or argument,
without requiring either an answer or action
from the reader
• i.e. Ottowa is the capital of Canada
• Imperative: gives a direct command to
someone.
• i.e. Read this book for tomorrow.
• Interrogative: asks a direct question and
always ends in a question mark.
• i.e. When was Lester Pearson prime minister?
Types of Sentence by
PURPOSE
• Exclamatory: a more forceful version of
declarative sentence with an exclamation
mark at the end
• i.e. The butler did it! (note: avoid overuse and
multiple exclamation marks!!!!!)
• Rhetorical: a question which you do not
actually expect the reader to answer
• i.e. Why did the War of 1812 take place? Some
scholars argue that it was simply a land-grab by
the Americans…
Types of Sentence by
ARRANGEMENT
• Simple/basic: a sentence that is short and to the
point.
• i.e. Tensions flare.
Crowds cheer. (also called telegraphic)
• Inverted: reversing the customary order of words
in a sentence or phrase. The verb occurs before the
subject (often begins with “here” or “there” or
prepositional phrase
• i.e. There are three mice in the bathtub.
In a field across the road are a cow and its calf.
Types of Sentence by
ARRANGEMENT
• Loose: constructed so that the main thought
is first stated and then added to by various
phrases and clauses (grammatically
complete before the end of sentence. The
phrases and clauses work like an
afterthought, qualifying, clarifying, adding
to the main thought)
• Clarisse thanked the repairman, tired from
spending an entire afternoon in a hot attic.
Types of Sentence by
ARRANGEMENT
• Periodic: grammatically constructed so that the
main thought is suspended until the end of the
sentence (it can create suspense and end with a
note of emphasis)
• i.e. At the end of the day, exhausted and hot, Clarisse
thanked the repairman.
• Interrupted: The main clause is interrupted by or
follows a phrase or series of phrases
• i.e. At the end of the day, exhausted and hot, Clarisse
thanked the repairman, the epitome of perseverance and
a master of air-conditioning repair.
Types of Sentence by
ARRANGEMENT
• Parallel: similarity of structure in a pair or
series of related words, phrases or clauses.
• i.e. The love of liberty is the love of others; the
love of power is the love of ourselves.
• Balanced: the phrases or clauses balance
each other by virtue of their likeness,
structure, meaning, or length.
• i.e. There is a time to study, and there is a time
to appreciate what you have learned.
Syntactical Schemes of Sentence
Construction
• This is the way authors manipulate word
order
• More often than note, syntactical schemes
are used for rhythm and or emphasis
• We will look at:
•
•
•
•
Balance/Order/Placement/Juxtaposition
Omission
Addition and Repetition
Syntactical Style Analysis elements
Balance, Order, Placement,
Juxtaposition
• Parallelism: repetition of a structure: either
words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to
give structural similarity (Greek root: beside
one another)
i.e. She went to the post office, cleaners, and
gas station.
• Isocolon: items of equal length
i.e. A good student questions his teachers,
studies his books, and learns his lessons.
Balance, Order, Placement,
Juxtaposition
• Juxtaposition: The parallel placement of
contrasting ideas. Conjunctions that express this
include: but, yet, and while
i.e. I offered to help, but he refused my
assistance.
• Paradox: An assertion that seemingly opposes
common sense, but that makes sense in context
i.e. Sometimes people must die in order to
have peace.
Balance, Order, Placement,
Juxtaposition
• Oxymoron: The apparent paradox achieved
by the juxtaposed use of words which seem
to contradict one another
i.e. military intelligence
i.e. cold sweat
• Listing: presenting ideas in a list format,
separated by commas.
Balance, Order, Placement,
Juxtaposition
• Transitions: words or phrases that help carry
over a thought from one idea, sentence, or
paragraph to another
i.e. furthermore, in addition
(you will receive extensive transition list)
Omission
• Ellipsis: Deliberate omission of a word or
words implied by context.
i.e. The man lost three teeth, the woman
two.
• Asyndeton: Purposeful elimination of
conjunctions in a sentence.
i.e. I came, I saw, I conquered
Addition/Repetition
• Apposition (appositive): Placing side by
side two nouns, the second of which serves
as an explanation of the first
i.e. The bear, a massive black object,
frightened the small children.
• Parenthesis: Insertion of some verbal unit
in a position that interrupts the normal flow
of the sentence.
Addition/Repetition
• Polysyndenton: inserting extra conjunctions in a
sentence
i.e. John pursues his way and jumps and swims
and floats. (instead of using commas)
• Epistrophe: Purposeful repetition of same
word(s), of successive phrase/clause/sentence
i.e. Speak not against my bond, write not
against my bond, think not against my bond.