Syntax: What’s
That?
Donna-Michelle Copas
Glencliff High School
Definition
• The arrangement and grammatical
relation of words, phrases, and
clauses in sentences; the ordering
of words into phrases, clauses, and
sentences. In this sense, syntax is
an important element of an
author’s style.
• Ernest Hemingway’s
syntax may be said to
be fairly simple, with
few complex sentences
and few modifying
elements.
In a More Technical Sense…
• Syntax refers to the study of the
“rules” for forming the
grammatical sentences of a
language.
Three Components of
Grammar
• Syntax
• Morphology (the study of the
processes of word formation)
• Phonology (the study of significant
speech sounds)
Why Study Syntax???
• To improve writing
• To understand and analyze an
author’s achievement of a
particular effect
• And…
Sentence Types/Grammatical
• Simple (one independent clause)
• Compound (2 or more IC)
• Complex (one IC, one or more
dependent clauses)
• Compound-Complex
Kinds of Sentences/ Functional
•
•
•
•
Declarative
Interrogative
Exclamatory
Imperative
Length of the Sentences
Telegraphic—shorter than five
words in length
Medium ---approximately eight
words in length
Long and Involved (30 plus words)
Emphasis of the
Sentence/Rhetorical
– Loose or cumulative sentence---makes complete
sense if brought to a close before the actual
ending
OR
– main idea is stated at the beginning of the
sentence followed by additional information
– Example: He resigned after denouncing his
accusers and asserting his own innocence time
and time again.
– Sentence continues after the main idea has been
stated.
Emphasis of the
Sentence/Rhetorical
– Periodic Sentence---makes sense only when the
end of the sentence is reached
OR
main idea is withheld until the end of the
sentence
• Example: After denouncing his accusers and asserting his own
innocence time and time again, the State Department Official
resigned.
• Main idea is suspended until the end.
Emphasis of the
Sentence/Rhetorical
• Balanced Sentence---phrases or clauses balance each
other by likeness of structure, meaning, or length
Order of the Sentence/
Sentence Patterns
• Natural order of sentence---subject
before the predicate
Subject-Verb-Complement
• Inverted order of a sentence--predicate before the subject
Verb-Subject
Used for Emphasis****
Order of the Sentence/Sentence
Patterns
• Juxtaposition---poetic and
rhetorical device placing normally
unassociated ideas, words, or
phrases next to one another.
Beginnings of Sentences
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Noun or Subject
Transition
Subordinating Clauses
Prepositional Phrases
Participial Phrase
Infinitive
Adjective
Syntactical Elements
• Parallel structure---grammatical or structural
similarity between sentences or parts of
sentences
• Repetition---words, sounds, and ideas are
used more than once
• Rhetorical question---question that requires
no answer
• Rhetorical fragment---fragment used
deliberately for persuasive purpose
Parallelism
• Structural similarity between
sentences or parts of a sentence
• He was walking, running, and
jumping for joy.
Repetition
• Words, sounds, and ideas used
more than once for enhancing
rhythm and creating emphasis
• “…government of the people, by
the people, for the people, shall
not perish from the earth…”
Rhetorical Question
• A question which expects no answer—used
to draw attention to a point, stronger than a
direct statement
• “Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a
micher and eat blackberries? A question not
to be ask’d. Shall the son of England prove a
thief and take purses? A question to be
ask’d.”
Anaphora
• Repetition of the same word or group
of words at the beginning of successive
clauses
• “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing—grounds , we shall
fight in the fields and the streets, we
shall fight in the hills.”
Antithesis
• A contrast used for emphasis
• “India is a poetic nation, yet it
demands new electrical plants. It
is a mystical nation, yet it wants
new roads.”
Juxtaposition
• Unassociated ideas, words, or
phrases placed next to one
another, creating an effect of
surprise
• “The apparition of these faces in
the crowd: Petals on a wet, black
bough.”
Asyndeton
• Deliberate omission of
conjunctions in a series of related
clauses
• “I came. I saw. I conquered.”
Polysyndeton
• Deliberate use of many conjunctions
for special emphasis
• “The meal was huge—my mother fixed
okra and green beans and ham and
apple pie and green pickled tomatoes
and ambrosia salad and all manner of
fine country food..”
Chiasmus
• Sentence strategy in which the
arrangement of ideas in the second
clause is a reversal of the first
• “Ask not what your country can
do for you: ask what you can do
for your country.”
Epistrophe
• The same word is repeated at the
end of successive clauses, phrases,
or sentences.
• “I believe we should fight for
justice. You believe we should
fight for justice. How can we not,
then, fight for justice.” ML King
Zeugma
• Use of a verb that has two
different meanings with objects
that complement both meanings
• “He stole both her car and her
heart that fateful night.”
Other Considerations
• Punctuation: Where do commas,
semi-colons, and periods fall within
the sentence?
– What is the relationship between
punctuation and stanzas in a poem?
• Diction---
Other Considerations
• Word Order
• Use of similar words
• A shift in word order
Your Turn…
• Examine the use of syntax in a
scene from William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet.
• Identify the elements of
grammatical structure
• Tell the effect of the structural /
syntactical elements
Examining Syntax Within a
Single Sentence
• Look at the four excerpts.
• Identify elements of syntax.
• What is the effect of the syntax on
the reader?
AP Question
• Paret selection
• Read the prompt and the selection
• How does the writer use syntax to
produce his effect?
Syntax Chart
• Use this chart to analyze text
• Use the chart to reflect on
personal writing
Chart page 47
• What do we learn from the
examination of the syntax?
• How and why does Norman
Mailer, the author, manipulate the
syntax?
Sentence Patterns
•
•
•
•
•
Strong, active verb
A question
An exclamation
Adverb opener
Prepositional Phrase
opener
• Inverted Word Order
• Conversation or
quotation
• Apposition
• Adverbial clause
opener
• Parallel structure
“A Typical School Day”
• Examining the Diction and syntax.
• Follow Directions on the page
A Closer Look at My Writing
• Reflection
• Use the chart as a tool to further
examine writing
• Categories can change or may be
personalized for each student
Practical Writing Lesson
• Examine the syntax in the essay.
• Patterns?
• Effect of the syntactical elements?
Class Activities on Syntax
• Read and examine a literary
passage with focus on how the
words and length echo or support
the action. Use the SOS (Sentence
Opening Sheet). Draw conclusions.
Activities
• Assign a short passage
• Use cooperative groups to read,
incorporate the SOS, and draw
conclusions
• Reflection IS SOOOOOO
important.
Activities
• Assign for homework a short
passage to read and write an
individual analysis of the author’s
syntactical style
Activities
• Have students use the SOS or “A
Closer Look” to examine their
own essays or a peer. Write
evaluations based on the analysis.
Revise essays for a more effective
syntactical style.
Activities
• Additions…