Syntax An Introduction

Sentence Length Short sentences – Typically a straightforward message Long sentences – Typically more descriptive, detailed

Sentence Type Declarative: Makes a statement (I went to the store.) Exclamatory: Communicates strong emotion or feeling (What a wonderful store!) Interrogative: Asks a question (Is this a store?) Imperative: Commands (Go to the store.) Conditional: Expresses wishes or possibility (If there is a store nearby, then I want to go.)

PRACTICE #1 Write a short, imperative sentence to your best friend who was just suspended from school. Write an exclamatory sentence that declares your love for school.

Sentence Structure Simple: Contains one subject and one verb The singer bowed to her adoring audience. Compound: Contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction (FANBOYS) or by a semicolon The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores. Complex: Contains an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses Because you often tell the truth, I trust you. Compound-complex: Contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses While I was traveling to the store, I saw my friend, and she gave me money for candy.

PRACTICE #2 Write a complex conditional sentence about what you want to do in college. Write a compound declarative sentence that states the two best things about your English class.

Sentence Order Loose (or Cumulative) Sentence: A sentence that makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending, thus relieving tension and allowing the reader to explore the rest of the sentence without urgency. We reached Edmonton that morning after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences. Periodic Sentence: A sentence that makes complete sense only by the ending of the sentence, thus creating tension as the reader must wait until the end of the sentence to understand the meaning. That morning, after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, we reached Edmonton. Balanced Sentence: A sentence in which the phrases and clauses balance each other in their likeness of structure, meaning, or length There is no shame in failure; there is no honor in cheating.

PRACTICE #3 Write a periodic sentence about a dramatic event that happened to you recently. Write a balanced sentence comparing Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Bermudez.

Sentence Schemes Parallel structure (parallelism): involves the use of grammatically similar words, phrases or clauses for special effect The laws of our land are said to be “by the people, of the people, and for the people.” Antithesis: Balanced parallelism in which two opposing ideas are contrasted or juxtaposed. “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

PRACTICE #4 Write a sentence that uses antithesis to contrast cats and dogs.

Sentence Schemes Repetition: A device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythm and create emphasis “…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Anaphora: The 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 in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.”

PRACTICE #5 Write a sentence that uses anaphora to convince someone they should vote for you for president.

Sentence Schemes Rhetorical question: A question that expects no answer; it is used to draw attention to a point and is generally stronger than a direct statement “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?”

PRACTICE #6 Write a rhetorical question that shows your belief about cheating.

Sentence Schemes Asyndeton: A deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Polysyndeton: The deliberate use of many conjunctions for special emphasis to highlight quantity or mass of detail or to create a flowing, continuous sentence pattern “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 – but no matter how I tried, I could not consume it to her satisfaction.”

PRACTICE #7 Write a sentence using asyndeton that describes a person playing basketball. Now re-write that sentence using polysyndeton.