Sentence construction

1. SYNTAX
STUDY 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.

2. 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

3. 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!

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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?

7. 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

8. 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.”

9. 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

10. 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 Cities
English novelist (1812 - 1870)

11. SENTENCES

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

13. 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.

14. The sentence is the mind, in language
.
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.
POS
PST
PHR
Clauses

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. • 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.

20. 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.

22. WE SUGGEST YOU
GLANCE THROUGH
THE ATTACHED
NOTES.

31. RESOURCES OF
LANGUAGE
By: Jaqueline Rosas
Whitney Karow
P.8

32. 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.

33. EXAMPLE:
• Sentence
fragments.
• Run on
Sentences.

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

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. REMEMBER:
• “You Act before you Pass the test”

38. 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.

39. 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.

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

41. 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.

42. CONTINUED:
• Example:
Original :
“The tree is tall and old…”
Anastrophe: “Tall and old is the tree...”

43. REMEMBER:
• “ANASTROPHE is a CATASROPHE”
Rearranges and causes dramatic effect

44. 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

45. ASYN/DETON[ATE]
“As in/ Detonate”
*Creates a SUDDEN message
REMEMBER:

46. 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.

47. CONTINUED:
• Example:
“Nations do not mistrust each other because they are
armed, they are armed because they mistrust each
other.”
Ronald Reagan

48. REMEMBER:
• CHIASMUS

49. 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.

50. REMEMBER:
INVERSION
= REVERSE
INVERSE

51. 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.

52. 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.

53. REMEMBER:
• Loose sentence
• It flows freely, loose, not restrained.

54. 9. REPETITION
• Technique in which words, phrases, or stanzas are used
repeatedly.
• Causes emphasis to focus on the message.

55. 
EXAMPLE:
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The 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 hands
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore.
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

56. REMEMBER:
•
REPEAT

57. 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."

58. • POLY
MANY/MORE THAN ONE
REMEMBER:
• 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

59. 11.ENJAMBENT
• The running over of a sentence from one line, couplet,
stanza to the next.
Legend By GILLIAN CLARKE
The rooms were mirrors
for that luminous face,
the morning windows ferned
with cold. Outside
a level world of snow.
Voiceless birds in the trees
like notes in the books
in the piano stool.
She let us suck top-of-the-milk
burst from the bottles like corks.

60. REMEMBER:
• ENJAMBENT: “Overflowing”

61. 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.

62. • EPISTROPHE
REMEMBER:

63. 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.

64. REMEMBER:

65. REVISION
ACTIVITIES

66. 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?

67. 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.

68. 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.

69. 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.

70. 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?

71. 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.

72. REFERENCES
• http://www.slideshare.net/frickewi/syntax-9313394
• http://www.slideshare.net/liutony66/sentences-7416347
• http://www.slideshare.net/crinafeier/english-grammar23920125
• http://www.slideshare.net/aplitper7/resources-oflanguage-whitney-karow-and-jackie-rosas-12760603
• http://www.slideshare.net/heatherdwayne/enc1101revision-activities?qid=ee979e24-faa3-448a-a6355a108f162188&v=default&b=&from_search=3