Syntactic Features Flashcards
Periodic Sentence
Begins with a series of subordinate phrases and clauses, then ends with a forceful independent clause.
‘If I had only taken his keys, or had I even tried, he might not have made that terrible mistake to drive drunk, and my friend would still be alive.’
Cumulative Sentence
Begins with an independent clause and finished with a series of phrases or clauses.
‘I opened my eyes sluggishly, worried that I had again overslept, and thinking about the test that I would have to take that day.’
Absolute Language
Language with no ‘middle ground’. Conveys confidence.
‘I am always on time’
Declarative Sentence
A sentence that makes a statement. related to absolute language, as it also conveys confidence.
‘There is nothing to fear but fear itself.’
Conditional Sentence
An ‘If-Then’ sentence: a sentence which focuses on a question of truth or fact, introduced by ‘if’ or its equivalent.
Conveys a logical thought process and appeals to our sense of logic and reason.
‘If you study hard, then you will do well.’
Imperative Sentence
A sentence giving a direct command, where the subject is implied. Seen as a strong command or call to action.
‘Act now to have the whales’
Parallel Structure/ Parallelism
A set of similarly structured words, phrases, or clauses that appears in a sentence or paragraph. It shows equal importance of ideas, and is a tool used to add emphasis to an idea or concept.
‘Give me liberty or give me death!’
Juxtaposition
Placing two ideas, words, or pictures side by side so that their closeness creates a new, sometimes ironic, meaning.
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’
Polysyndeton
The use of many conjunctions to separate clauses and phrases; it can be used to slow the narrative pace of writing, and may also create a crescendo or build up of thought or emotion.
‘let the white folks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly- mostly- let them have their whiteness’
Asyndeton
The practice of leaving out the usual conjunctions between coordinate sentence elements; often used to speed up the narrative pace, or suggest an emotional haste.
‘This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely’
Anaphora
The deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence.
‘We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, when shall defend our island…’
Anadiplosis
A type of repetition where the last words of a sentence are used as the first words of the next. This is a lyrical device to show unity of thought.
‘Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering’
Epanalepsis
A sentence where the beginning and the end words/ phrases are the same.
‘The king is dead, long live the king’
Epistrophe
A type of repetition where the words at the end of the sentence or phrase are repeated.
‘I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’
Narrative Pace
While not a ‘term’ per se, we often discuss how syntax impacts narrative pace in commentaries.
‘Narrative pace could be sped up through the use of short, even fragmented sentence structures, in order to convey a sense of urgency. On the other hand, a slower narrative pace could indicate a thoughtful or reflective quality.’
