Mariana Berenguer AP Language and Composition Syntax Mariana Berenguer AP Language and Composition

Syntax in the AP Exam Most of the questions on the exam test your ability to understand how language works in each passage. These questions ask you to analyze the syntax (sentence structure and word order). Your mere recognition of these elements is not enough; you must be able to understand precisely how and why the devices of rhetoric produce particular effects. "AP Tests: AP English Language and Composition: Kinds of Questions - CliffsNotes ." Get Homework Help with CliffsNotes Study Guides - CliffsNotes . N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/Section/AP-English-Language-and-Composition-Kinds-of-Questions.id-305363,articleId-31643.html#ixzz1IVZGNLyp>.

What is syntax? Syntax is the discipline that examines the rules of a language that dictate how the various parts of sentences go together. One part of syntax, called inflection, deals with how the end of a word might change to tell a listener or reader something about the role that word is playing. Another part of syntax covers the various parts of speech that a language uses and separates the words of the language into these groups.

Another aspect of syntax is how the various parts of speech connect together, with rules that dictate where a part of speech is allowed and where it is not, and how to interpret the resulting sentence.

Inflection This deals with the ending in verbs that tell us the time, person, and mood of an action. TO GO: I went Go He goes They are going We will go

Parts of speech nouns -> person, place, or thing (house/girl) verbs -> action words (run/jump) adjectives -> description words (big/flat) articles -> word that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference of the noun (the/an) prepositions -> relates things mentioned in a sentence (on/in) pronouns -> word that replaces a noun and refer to an antecedent (it/he) adverbs -> verbs that modify nouns or adjectives (greatly/less)

Connections The basic syntactical order in English is subject, verb, object. This means that the first noun phrase is the subject and the subsequent verb phrase may contain the object. The boy kicked the ball.

Sentences The declarative sentence makes a statement. The interrogative sentence asks a question. The exclamatory sentence is a statement that shows strong emotion. The imperative sentence gives a direction or a command. "Quia - Types of Sentences." Quia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2011. <http://www.quia.com/quiz/106467.html?AP_rand=1130896059>.

An independent clause (or main clause) is a clause that can stand by itself, also known as a simple sentence. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate; it makes sense by itself. A dependent clause (also subordinate clause) is a clause used in conjunction with the independent clause, augmenting or attributing it. Dependent clauses cannot stand alone as a sentence; A loose sentence is a type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. A periodic sentence is a sentence that is not grammatically complete until the final clause or phrase.

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