Syntax Flashcards
(16 cards)
Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.
Anaphora
“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, 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; we shall never surrender.” - Winston Churchill
Anaphora
A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction). The parts of a sentence are emphasized equally; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence.
Asyndeton
“I came, I saw, I conquered”
“As they went in under the light, I saw white hands, wavy hair, white faces, grimacing, gesturing, talking. With them was Brett” (Hemingway 28).
Asyndeton
Construction in which both halves of the sentence are about the same length and importance.
Balance
I waited patiently for the taxi; he drove nonchalantly by me.
Balance
Variation of the normal word order (subject first, then verb, then complement) which puts a modifier or the verb as the first in the sentence. The element that appears first is emphasized more than the subject.
Inversion
“Jabberwocky”
“Long time the manxome foe he sought”“So rested he by the Tumtum tree,” (10-11)
Inversion
An atmosphere created by a writer’s word choice (diction) and the details selected. Syntax is also a determiner because sentence strength, length, and complexity affect pacing.
Mood
describe through diction, connotation, and syntax:“Venus rising from the foam could have presented no more entrancing a spectacle than Mrs. Pontellier, blazing with beauty and diamonds at the head of the board, while the other women were all of them youthful houris, possessed of incomparable charms.” (Chopin 173)
Mood
Sentence construction which places in close proximity two or more equal grammatical constructions. May be as simple as listing two or three modifiers in a row to describe the same noun or verb; it may take the form of two or more of the same type of phrases (prepositional, participial, gerund, appositive) that modify the same noun or verb.
Parallelism
“When I got up to go I found I had taken off my shoes. I hunted for them and found them and carried them down-stairs.” (Hemingway 199)
Parallelism
“When I got up to go I found I had taken off my shoes. I hunted for them and found them and carried them down-stairs. I found my room and went inside and undressed and got into bed.” (Hemingway 199)
Polysyndeton
Sentence which uses “and” or another conjunction, with no commas, to separate the items in a series, usually appearing in the form X and Y and Z, stressing equally each member of the series. It makes the sentence slower and the items more emphatic than in the asyndeton.
Polysyndeton
In grammar, the arrangement of words as elements in a sentence to show their relationship.
Syntax
Can involve inversion “the sculptor well those passions read” Particular patterns used again and again “I love thee…”
Syntax
