Download Sentence Patterns

Sentence Patterns
Creating effects by the order
in which parts of the
sentence are put:
The main sentence patterns
you will come across are:
• Inversion
• Repetition
• Climax and anti-climax
• Antithesis
• Long and short sentences
Inversion
• Inverting (reversing) the expected order
of the words.
• The expected order of a simple sentence is
subject, verb, object.
The object is linked to
The subject is the
who or what in a
sentence.
Verbs control the
tense of the
sentence and
indicate the action
• E.g. Miss Hamilton is a teacher.
the verb and gives
information which
completes the
sentence.
Why use inversion?
• Inversion alters the emphasis in any sentence.
• It tends to be used in shorter sentence – but not always.
• It is used to stress a particular word or phrase, however the
dramatic impact will depend on the content.
• E.g: instead of “the teacher went on and on” a writer may
say “on and on went the teacher.”
• Effect: throws emphasis on how tedious the teacher is.
• Eg: “Merrily, the carol singers harmonised” instead of “The
carol singers harmonised merrily.”
• Effect: Throws emphasis on how merrily the singers were
singing.
Repetition
• It is not just words or phrases that can be
repeated; structures can be repeated too.
• Eg: “He hated spiders, he hated lemons, he
hated television, he hated teachers, he hated
children, he hated fools.”
• Effect: the repetition of the phrase “he hated”
emphasises how complaining he is and makes
him sound insufferable.
• NOTE: is always weak to give an answer like “the
repetition emphasises it.” You must be specific
about what is being emphasised.
Climax and anti-climax
• Climax :A number of items which are ordered in a
way that leaves the most important/dramatic
thing to last.
• E.g. “I trembled silently. My lip began to quiver.
I began to whimper and sniffle before letting out
an ear-shattering, purple-faced, fist-waving
screech.”
• Anti-climax is the opposite (the items are in
descending order.)
• Effect: depends on the example. Climax: often
raises expectations/tension. Anti-climax: often
disappoints/puzzles/creates humour.
Antithesis
• Putting 2 balanced opposites together to create a
contrast.
• E.g: “Ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.”
• Effect: depends on the example. Here, it sounds
statesmanlike and impressive and “quotable”.
• It can also be used for comedy. It can create
rhythm.
• Finally, it can often be used by journalists to try
and persuade readers’ in some way.
Short/long sentences
• Effect: depends on the example. Often:
• Long sentences: conveys a feeling of speed,
continuous movement.
• Short: slower, more interrupted rhythm.
• Often, length of sentence mirrors what it is
describing.
E.g: long, stretched out sentence to describe a
huge, massive sky.
short sentence to describe a pause on movement
or a shock.
What the examiner is
looking for!
• Knowledge of different types of
sentences.
• Understanding of how punctuation is
used to break up sentences.
• Ability to identify sentence patterns
and comment on the impact they
have.
• Understanding of the impact of
varied sentence lengths.
• Q2
• Q3
• Q5
• Q7
• Q8
• Q10