SYNTAXSTUDY COMBINED BY MR. M.S MKIZE

The manner in which a speaker or author constructs a sentence affects what the audience understands … syntax must be examined for its ability to contribute to and enhance meaning and effect.

WORDS TO DESCRIBE SENT. STRUCTURE

• Telegraphic• Shorter than 5 words in length

• Short• Approximately 5-10 words in length

• Medium• Approximately 18 words in length

• Long and involved• 30 words or more in length

SENTENCE PATTERNS 1

One of the most important elements of syntax is the way the words, phrases, and clauses are arranged.

• Declarative makes a statement• The king is sick.

• Imperative gives a command• Cure the king!

• Interrogative asks a question• Is the king sick?

• Exclamatory provides emphasis or expresses strong emotion

• The king is dead! Long live the king!

SENTENCE PATTERNS 2

One of the most important elements of syntax is the way the words, phrases, and clauses are arranged.

• Simple Sentence contains one independent clause• The singer bowed to her adoring audience.

• Compound Sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or by a semicolon

• The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores

• Complex Sentence contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses

• Because the singer was tired, she went straight to bed after the concert.

SENTENCE PATTERNS 3

One of the most important elements of syntax is the way the words, phrases, and clauses are arranged.

• Compound-Complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more subordinate clauses

• The singer bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang no encores.

• Loose or Cumulative sentence has the independent clauses come first; less important or supplementary details to follow.

• We reached Edmonton that morning after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, tired but exhilarated, full of stories to tell our friends and neighbors.

• Periodic Sentence has the main idea come last, just before the period.

• That morning, after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, we reached Edmonton.

SYNTAX QUESTIONS

• What is the effect of sentence length the author uses?

• Is there a good variety of sentence beginnings, or does a pattern emerge?

• Are the arrangement of ideas in a sentence set out in a special way for a purpose?

• Arrangement in a paragraph?• Does a pattern emerge suggesting a

particular strategy on the part of the author?

WORDS TO DESCRIBE STYLE

• Plain, spare, austere, unadorned

• Ornate, elaborate, flowery

• Jumbled, chaotic, obfuscating

• Erudite, esoteric• Journalistic, terse,

laconic• Harsh, grating• Mellifluous, musical,

lilting, lyrical

• Whimsical• Elegant• Staccato, abrupt• Solid, thudding• Sprawling,• Disorganized• Dry• Deceptively simple

SINGLE SENTENCE

“Next morning when the first light came into the sky and sparrows stirred in the trees, when the cows rattled their chains and the rooster crowed and the early automobiles went whispering along the road, Wilbur awoke and looked for Charlotte.”

SINGLE SENTENCE

“Next morning when the first light came into the sky and sparrows stirred in the trees, when the cows rattled their chains and the rooster crowed and the early automobiles went whispering along the road, Wilbur awoke and looked for Charlotte.”

• Sentence follows the awakening process

• Sunlight is farthest removed from humanity

• No mention of animal characteristics

• Periodic

• Scene is set before the action

PARAGRAPH

• It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

• Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two CitiesEnglish novelist (1812 - 1870)

SENTENCES

SENTENCE

• A group of words that contains a subject and its predicate and makes a complete thought.

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE

• Two part thought• Predicate about a subject• An idea

One/two Subject/predicate What we are talking about/what we’re saying

about it.

The sentence is the mind, in language.

Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.

POSPSTPHRClauses

SUBJECT/PREDICATE SET

• It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its nosiest authorities insisted on its being received for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

• Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

FRAGMENTS

They race. (p 5)

--Jerry Spinelli, Loser

Matt winces. (p. 364)

Maria flinched. (p. 366)

Matt froze. (p. 370)

Matt nodded. (p. 372)

--Nancy Farmer, House of the Scorpion

The lights cluster brilliantly up the street of Claudia’s house. (p.174)

In the spring Mrs. Biswell is certain that Zinkoff will be absent at least one day…(p. 60)

--Loser

SENTENCE SMACK DOWN!

• Identify the subject and verb or your sentences. Underline the subject and put explosion marks around the verb.

• Assign roles• Reader• Subject• Verb

• Subjects write the subject of the sentences in large letters on a piece of construction paper. Verbs write the verb of the sentence in large letters of construction paper, surrounding it with exploding marks to connote action.

• Then identify the subject and the verb for all the other sentences.

EXAMPLES

• Then he lowers his hand.• Who or what does something? (He)• What does he do (lowers) He lowers.His ears echo the thousand warnings of his mother:

“Don’t cross the street.”• Who or what does something? (ears)• What do the ears do (echo) Ears echo.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

GOOD COMMAND OVER ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS ONE OF THE KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS IN FINDING A JOB.WE SUGGEST YOU GLANCE THROUGH THE ATTACHED NOTES.

RESOURCES OF LANGUAGE

By: Jaqueline RosasWhitney KarowP.8

1. SYNTAX

• It is the word order and sentence

structure in a passage or poem.

• Designed to arrange words in a specific manner to create meaning.

• Poetry may use syntax to create emotional meaning or purpose.

• Shifts in the structure may also be altered to create an emphasis of a change.

EXAMPLE:

• Sentence

fragments.

• Run on

Sentences.

REMEMBER:Business: Syntax = as business makes up the economy, syntax structures the passage.

2. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• The active voice in a passage is one that involves a subject acting (verb) upon the object.

Ex: The man feeds the dog.

• The passive voice is when the object becomes the subject.

Ex: The dog was fed by the man.

CONTINUED:

• The object in the active sentence switches as the subject of the passive sentence:

Active: The student read the book.

Passive: The book was read by the student.

REMEMBER:

• “You Act before you Pass the test”

3. ANAPHORA

• It is words or phrases used for repetition throughout a passage.

• Usually at the beginning of successive clauses, or multiple clauses after the other.

• Can be used to emphasize a point or add emotion in a passage.

CONTINUED:

• Example:“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”Tale of Two Cities.

In this case, it emphasizes the past tense of “it was”, comparing and contrasting the atmosphere in the setting of the story.

REMEMBER:

• ANAPHORA

• In the word itself, the “A” is repeated between the letters, representing the clauses or phrases.

4. ANASTROPHE

• It is the exchange of order between the noun and adjective in a sentence.

• It may be used to create dramatic focus, or emphasis on the content of the sentence.

• Used for euphony (Good sound) or rhythm.

• It is similar to inversion: change in the arrangement of words in a sentence.

CONTINUED:

• Example:

Original : “The tree is tall and old…”

Anastrophe: “Tall and old is the tree...”

REMEMBER:

• “ANASTROPHE is a CATASROPHE”

Rearranges and causes dramatic effect

5. ASYNDETON

• It is the lack of conjunctions in a sentence or phrase.

• It is used to focus on the immediate message it tries to convey.

• Ex: “LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE”

• No “And, Or, But, As, However, Etc.”

• Straight-forward

REMEMBER: ASYN/DETON[ATE]

“As in/ Detonate”

*Creates a SUDDEN message

6. CHIASMUS

• It is when the first phrase is being reversed in

the second phrase of a sentence.

• It helps create a contradictory sentence to serve a new meaning.

• It rearranges the context of the sentence.

CONTINUED:

• Example:

“Nations do not mistrust each other because they are armed, they are armed because they mistrust each other.”

Ronald Reagan

REMEMBER:

• CHIASMUS

7. INVERSION

• It is the reverse of words in the normal order, or syntax, of a sentence.

• The verb may come before the subject.

• It adds emphasis to the sentence.

• Ex: You will learn only when you study.

Only when you study, will you learn.

REMEMBER:

INVERSION INVERSE

= REVERSE

8. LOOSE SENTENCE

• It is a sentence that contains additional information and may be long.

• Usually starts off with a predicate statement.

• May be used to create a narrative literature.

• Helps convey the main idea first.

CONTINUED:

• Example:

 "Halfway between West Egg and New York City sprawls a desolate plain, a gray valley where New York’s ashes are dumped." - The Great Gatsby

*It states what the story will be about, stating the setting and creating imagery.

REMEMBER:

• Loose sentence

• It flows freely, loose, not restrained.

9. REPETITION

• Technique in which words, phrases, or stanzas are used repeatedly.

• Causes emphasis to focus on the message.

EXAMPLE: The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;Along the sea-sands damp and brownThe traveler hastens toward the town,And the tide rises, the tide falls.Darkness settles on roofs and walls,But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;The little waves, with their soft, white handsEfface the footprints in the sands,And the tide rises, the tide falls.The morning breaks; the steeds in their stallsStamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;The day returns, but nevermoreReturns the traveler to the shore.And the tide rises, the tide falls.

REMEMBER:

• REPEAT

10. POLYSYNDETON:

• The repetition of conjunctions in close succession.

• The opposite of asyndeton.

• Ex: I said, "Who killed him?" and he said, "I don't know who killed him but he's dead all right," and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was all right only she was full of water.—Ernest Hemingway, "After the Storm."

REMEMBER:• POLY MANY/MORE THAN ONE

• Syndeton is a rhetorical term for a sentence style in which words, phrases, or clauses are joined by conjunctions.

• Which equals a repetition of conjunctions

11.ENJAMBENT

• The running over of a sentence from one line, couplet, stanza to the next.

Legend By GILLIAN CLARKE The rooms were mirrorsfor that luminous face,

the morning windows fernedwith cold. Outside

a level world of snow.Voiceless birds in the trees

like notes in the booksin the piano stool.

She let us suck top-of-the-milkburst from the bottles like corks.

REMEMBER:

• ENJAMBENT: “Overflowing”

12. EPISTROPHE

• The words that end the same in lines, phrases, clauses, and sentences.

• EX: “We are born to sorrow,

pass our time in sorrow,

end our days in sorrow.

REMEMBER:• EPISTROPHE

13. CAESURA

• A break or division in the middle of the line, phrase, or stanza.

• EXAMPLE:• Sing a song of sixpence, || a pocket full of rye.

Four and twenty blackbirds, || baked in a pie.When the pie was opened, || the birds began to sing;Wasn’t that a dainty dish, || to set before the king?

• The king was in his counting house, || counting out his money;The queen was in the parlour, || eating bread and honey.The maid was in the garden, || hanging out the clothes;When down came a blackbird || and pecked off her nose.

REMEMBER:

REVISION ACTIVITIES

WRITING WITH AUTHORITY

• Underline every time you mention an author’s name.

• Circle every time you refer to “the article” or “the book.”

• Put a star next to every quote that you stick in the paragraph without setting it up/referring to the author.

• Put two stars next to every paragraph that starts with an author’s ideas, rather than your own.

• Put three stars next to every quote that you incorporate without explaining, analyzing.

• Highlight your argument in every paragraph.

• Add up your totals. What do you need to work on?

WRITING WITH AUTHORITY

• Share your results with someone next to you.

• Brainstorm ideas for ways to write with more authority.

• Jot down ideas on your draft for how to resolve your problems.

PROBLEMS WITH STRUCTURE?

• Create a reverse outline: jot down the main idea behind each paragraph.

• Ask yourself the following questions:• Does your paper flow logically?• Was anything unclear?• Did each paragraph relate to your larger argument?• Were there any paragraphs that were difficult to categorize,

that seemed out of place, or unrelated? • Write a new outline using what you

learned from this exercise, and use this to reorganize your paper.

TOO WORDY?

• Trade papers with a partner.

• Draw a box around the main argument, thesis, or idea of the paper.

• Highlight your favorite sentence in the paper.

• Cross through one unnecessary or unappealing sentence.

• Find a new place for the paper to start, and write “start” at the beginning of the sentence.

• Find a new place for the paper to end, and write “end” at the beginning of the sentence.

• Cross out every word that isn’t either necessary or beneficial to the meaning of the sentence.

NOT ENOUGH VARIETY?

• Go through your entire paper, and put a slash between every sentence.

• Count the number of words in each sentence, and write the number in the margins.

• Take a look at the numbers; do your sentences vary in length? Are there lots of long sentences, or short sentences, next to one another? Where can you create some variety?

PROBLEMS WITH STYLE?

• Circle every time you use the word “I.” Are you using the pronoun to firmly state your position, or is it a weak subjective, statement, such as “I feel”? Or is it unnecessary?

• Circle every time you use a form of the verb “to be.” (is, was, are, etc.). Can you substitute a more specific verb?

• Look for examples of passive voice. Can you make your sentences more active?

• Difference between passive voice and active voice: • Passive: A study was conducted on the cuteness of

baby seals.• Active: Smith and Jackson conducted a study on the

cuteness of baby seals.

REFERENCES

• http://www.slideshare.net/frickewi/syntax-9313394

• http://www.slideshare.net/liutony66/sentences-7416347

• http://www.slideshare.net/crinafeier/english-grammar-23920125

• http://www.slideshare.net/aplitper7/resources-of-language-whitney-karow-and-jackie-rosas-12760603

• http://www.slideshare.net/heatherdwayne/enc1101-revision-activities?qid=ee979e24-faa3-448a-a635-5a108f162188&v=default&b=&from_search=3