Syntax Flashcards
Asyndeton
The absence of a conjunction between the parts of a sentence
“So, we construct a plot from Mr. Whistler’s actions: he comes, he sleeps. Now, Aristotle would say that the next question is not why, but what is Mr. Whistler going to do next?” (Shadowlands)
Syndeton
Style where words/phrases/clauses are joined by a conjunction
“So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.” (MLK)
Polysyndeton
Deliberately adding conjunctions to slow down the prose
“In years gone by, there were in every community men and women who spoke the language of duty and morality and loyalty and obligation.” – William F. Buckley
Deliberate fragments
An incomplete sentence
“Anything can happen.” (Didion)
Dashes
to mark the beginning and end of a series
“…degenerating sense of “nobodyness” – then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.”
Anaphora
a word or expression is repeated at the beginning of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases
“That my heart has been troubled, that I have not sought this nomination, that I could not seek it in good conscience, that I would not seek it in honest self-appraisal, is not to say that I value it the less. Rather, it is that I revere the office of the Presidency of the United States.” – Adlai Stevenson
Epistrophe
repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses
“On November 26 a prominent Pasadena attorney, depressed about money, shot and killed his wife, their two sons, and himself. On November 27 a South Gate divorcée, twenty-two, was murdered and thrown from a moving car. On November 30 the San Gabriel fire was still out of control, and the wind in town was blowing eighty miles an hour.” (Didion)
Antithesis
places opposite words, ideas, or qualities parallel to each other
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (MLK)
Hypophora
figure of speech wherein a writer raises a question and then immediately answers it
“Is not segregation an existential expression of man’s tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.” (MLK)
Expletive
a single word or short phrase used to lend emphasis to the words on either side of the expletive
“I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” (MLK)
Periodic sentences
Long sentence marked by repetitive clauses
“But when you… then you will understand why we have to wait.” (Letter from Birmingham Jail)
Cumulative sentences
an independent clause followed by one or more modifiers
“So we had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community.” (MLK)
Imperative sentences
a sentence that expresses a direct command, request, invitations, warning, or instruction
“So I say to you, my friends, that even though we must face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” (MLK)
Parallel structure
a pattern of successive, repetitive clauses or words
“So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.” (MLK)
Inversion
occurs when the writer changes the normal order of words
“In any nonviolent campaign, there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” (MLK)
Apostrophe
refers to a speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object
“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” - Abraham Lincoln
Simple sentence
an independent clause that conveys a single, complete thought
“The baby frets.” (Didion)
Compound sentences
a sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined by a comma, semicolon or conjunction
“The Santa Ana caused Malibu to burn the way it did in 1956, and Bel Air in 1961, and Santa Barbara in 1964.” (Didion)
Compound-Complex sentences
a sentence with 2 independent clause and at least one dependent clause
“The Santa Ana, which is named for one of the canyons it rushes through, is a foehn wind, like the foehn of Austria and Switzerland and the hamsin of Israel.” (Didion)
