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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…