English Syntax

English Syntax What is diction? Diction is word choice.
Definition and Examples

The following examples have similar syntax but different diction.
Syntax definition: Syntax is the grammatical structure of words and phrases to
The boy jumped happily.
create coherent sentences.
The girl sang beautifully.
What is syntax?
The dog barked loudly.
What does syntax mean? Syntax is the grammatical structure of sentences. The
format in which words and phrases are arranged to create sentences is called Each of these sentences has the same syntax. Each sentence follows the structure of
syntax. subject-verb-adverb. However, each sentence uses different diction (word choice).
Lets look at an example of how a sentence can be rearranged to create varied The following examples have similar diction but different syntax.
syntax. The boy jumped happily.
In linguistics, syntax (/sntks/) is the set of rules, principles, and processes that They boy happily
govern the structure of sentences in a given language, specifically word order and
punctuation. The term syntax is also used to refer to the study of such principles Happily, the boy jumped.
and processes. The goal of many syntacticians is to discover the syntactic Each of these sentences has the same diction. Each sentence uses the same four
rules common to all languages. words. However, each sentence has different word order to create different syntax.
In mathematics, syntax refers to the rules governing the behavior of mathematical In other words, diction and syntax focus on different things. Diction focuses on
systems, such as formal languages used in logic. word choice, while syntax focuses on the order and structure of those words.
Examples of Syntax in a Sentence:
The boy jumped happily. Proper Syntax in English Sentences
They boy happily In English, a strong, active voice sentence will always have the subject doing the
Happily, the boy jumped. action of the sentence. These sentences will follow a basic subject-verb-object
format.
Simply by rearranging one word in the sentence different syntax is formed. Each is
grammatically correct and acceptable English language form. Below are a few examples of different types of syntax in English. Each of these
examples has different syntax.
A writer will vary sentence syntax to make writing more interesting or to
emphasize a particular point.
Words and phrases must follow English rules for correct arrangement and Simple sentences follow a subject-verb format.
coherent sentences. Simple Syntax Examples:
The boy jumped.
Syntax vs. Diction: Whats the Difference? The girl sang.
Syntax and diction are different concepts in grammar and in literature.
What is syntax? Syntax is the arrangement of words that make a sentence.
Compound sentences have more than one subject or verb. Because the road was icy and the driver was going too fast, he was unable
to brake in time when a fox ran into the road in front of him.
Compound Syntax Examples:
Note: Sentences can also be categorized according to their function.
The boy jumped and the girl sang.
Note: Independent clauses are also called main clauses. Dependent clauses are also
I did not go to the concert but I went to the fair.
called subordinate clauses.
Parallel Structure in Sentences
Complex sentences contain a subordinating clause.
When constructing sentences, it is important to
Complex Syntax Examples: always keep in mind that ideas should be parallel.
The boy jumped even though he was nervous. In English, parallel structure is most often an
Because she was excited, the girl sang. issue when creating a series list. Therefore, we will look at an example of
appropriate parallel structure through lists.
Correct example:
Compound-complex sentences contain two independent clauses and more
dependent clauses. I like running, jumping, and hiking.
In this example, three gerunds are used (running, jumping, hiking) to create the
grammatically correct list.
Compound-complex Syntax Examples:
Incorrect example:
Even though he was nervous, the boy jumped and he landed across the
stream. I like to run, jumping, and hiking.
The girl sang and the woman shrieked because they were excited. In this example, to run and jumping and hiking are not parallel. To run is
I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats because they make her an infinitive and jumping and hiking are gerunds. This sentence is
sneeze. grammatically incorrect and this sentence does not have proper syntax.
You can write on paper, but using a computer is better as you can easily
Summary: What is Syntax in Literature?
correct your mistakes.
Define syntax: the definition of syntax is,
A tree fell onto the school roof in a storm, but none of the students was injured,
although many of them were in classrooms at the top of the building. the arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences
Advice: Writing that contains mostly short, simple sentences can be uninteresting a way for writers to express creativity and create interest
or even irritating to read. Writing that consists of mostly long, complex sentences
a balance of words that must be parallel to be grammatically correct
is usually difficult to read. Good writers, therefore, use a variety of sentence types.
They also occasionally start complex (or compound-complex) sentences with the
dependent clause and not the independent clause. In the following examples the
dependent clause is shown in red:
Although it was raining, we decided to go fishing.
If it doesn't rain soon, the river will dry out.

English Syntax

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English Syntax What is diction? Diction is word choice.

Definition and Examples

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