Syntax: What’s That?

Donna-Michelle CopasGlencliff 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 lengthMedium ---approximately eight words in lengthLong 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 subjectVerb-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…