Download Elements of Style: Syntax

Elements of Style:
Syntax
ADAPTED FROM NANCY DEAN
Syntax=sentence structure, or the way
words are put together
Syntax includes
sentence parts,
word order,
sentence length, and
punctuation.
Syntax--Examples
A writer can use mostly long, elaborate sentences (as Henry James did) or
simple, direct sentences, as the contemporary writer Gary Paulsen does: “He
had to fly it somehow. Had to fly the plane. He had to help himself.”
One Irish writer, James Joyce, wrote long run-on sentences that sound exactly
like thoughts racing through a person’s mind. One sentence in his novel Ulysses
runs on for forty pages!
Ernest Hemingway wrote sentences so straightforward and plain that several
generations of novelists have tried to copy his style; William Faulkner wrote
sentences so elaborate and ornate that several generations of novelists have
tried to copy his style.
Sentence Structure
Which type is the sentence?
Simple Sentence (one subject, one verb)
The singer bowed her head to her adoring audience.
Compound Sentence (two independent clauses joined by a
conjunction or a semicolon)
The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores.
Go and speak.
Sentence Structure—What type of
sentence?
Complex Sentence (one independent, one or more subordinate
clauses)
When I heard the concert, I enjoyed it because she sang beautifully.
When I really understand grammar and when I actually put it to use, my grades in English will
improve. (two dependent clauses, one independent clause)
Compound-Complex (two or more independent and one or more
subordinate clauses)
The singer bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang no encores.
Where you go I will go, and where you dwell I will dwell.
Loose, Periodic, and Balanced Sentences
Loose—main idea stated at the beginning of the sentence followed by additional information.
The sentence makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending
 We reached Columbia/ that morning/ after a turbulent flight.
 He resigned after denouncing his accusers and asserting his own innocence time and time again.
Periodic—main idea withheld until the end of the sentence. It makes sense only when the end
of the sentence is reached
 That morning after a turbulent flight, we reached Columbia.
 After denouncing his accusers and asserting his own innocence time and time again, the State Department
official resigned.
Balanced/Parallel—the phrases or clauses balance each other in likeness or structure,
meaning, and/or length
 To err is human, to forgive is divine.
 Together we planned the house, together we built it, and together we watched it go up in smoke.
 He was walking, running, and jumping
Word Order
Usually has the subject first, then the verb and other details.
BUT look at how changing the word order changes the meaning in these
sentences:
 Jim said that he drives only a truck.
 Jim said that only he drives a truck.
 Jim only said that he drives a truck.
 Only Jim said that he drives a truck.
(He drives nothing else)
(No one else drives a truck).
(He probably doesn’t really drive a truck).
(No one else said it)
Writers can shift the word for emphasis or novelty:
“Am I ever happy about my report card”
“Hungry, without a doubt, he is.”
“Sara I like—not Susan”
Punctuation
Ellipses
Dash
a trailing off; equally etc.; going off into a dreamlike state
…
--
interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another; informal
and more conversational
Italics
parallel ideas; a piling up of detail; tells the reader that all the clauses are
equally important
a list; a definition or explanation; tells the reader thatsomething important
will follow
for emphasis
CAPITALIZATION
for emphasis
Semicolon
;
Colon
:
Exclamation Point
!
for emphasis; for emotion
Analyzing Syntax: Jerry Spinelli,
Maniac Magee
Grayson said, “Pitcher.” This word, unlike the others, was not worn at all, but
fresh and robust. It startled Maniac. It declared: I am not what you see. I am
a line-laying, pickup-driving, live-at-the-Y, bean-brained parkhand. I am not
rickety, whiskered worm chow. I am a pitcher.
1. Notice that the passage alternates long, layered sentences with short
sentences. What is the purpose of the short sentences? What is the
purpose of the longer sentences?
2. Why is the last sentence in italics? What effect does this sentence
have on the impact of the passage?
Analyzing Syntax: Jerry Spinelli,
Maniac Magee
Grayson said, “Pitcher.” This word, unlike the others, was not worn at all, but fresh and robust. It
startled Maniac. It declared: I am not what you see. I am a line-laying, pickup-driving, live-at-theY, bean-brained parkhand. I am not rickety, whiskered worm chow. I am a pitcher.
Now you try it:
1. Write a short sentence that follows and emphasizes the long sentence:
Although I’m not a great athlete, that day I was flying—running as if I’d been
training for weeks—and I felt capable, for the very first time, of winning a
race, of being a track star, of helping my team.
2.
Write your own long sentence, followed by a short sentence for emphasis.
Analyzing Syntax: Louisa May Alcott,
Little Women
“Like sunshine after storm were the peaceful weeks which
followed.”
1.
2.
What is the subject of the sentence (underline it)? What is the
main verb (circle it)? Is this the usual order of subjects and verbs in
English?
How would the meaning and impact of the sentence be different if
it read:
The peaceful weeks which followed were like sunshine after storm.
Analyzing Syntax: Louisa May Alcott,
Little Women
“Like sunshine after storm were the peaceful weeks which
followed.”
Now you try it:
1. Reorganize this sentence. Start with the simile and reverse the normal
order of the subject and verb. Spring break came like a time of calm
winds after a hurricane.
2. Write your own inverted sentence using a subject of your choice.
Analyzing Syntax: Edgar Allan Poe, “The
Tell-Tale Heart”
“When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down,
I resolved to open a little—a very, very crevice in the lantern. So I opened it—
your cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily—until, at length, a single dim
ray, like the thread of a spider, shot from out the crevice and full upon the
vulture eye.”
1. Look carefully at the sentence. There are several groups of words called
phrases (very patiently, without hearing him lie down, a very, very little) that interrupt
the flow of the sentence. Why do you think Poe wrote the sentence like
this?
2. Look at the second sentence. What is the purpose of the dashes? How do
these dashes, and the words they set off, involve the reader in the action
of the passage?
Analyzing Syntax: Edgar Allan Poe, “The
Tell-Tale Heart”
“When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down,
I resolved to open a little—a very, very crevice in the lantern. So I opened it—
your cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily—until, at length, a single dim
ray, like the thread of a spider, shot from out the crevice and full upon the
vulture eye.”
Now you try it:
1. Write a sentence about doing your homework. Imitate the way Poe uses
phrases to slow down the way you read the sentence. Use at least one dash.