THE POWER OF SYNTAX

Definition of Syntax

Syntax is the grammatical structure of sentences. The format in which words and phrases are arranged to create sentences is called syntax.

Sentence Structure Examples

Fundamentally, syntax is about structure. The rules of syntax exist to make sentences clear and consistent. There are a variety of common syntactical mistakes, and all are easy to fix once a writer knows what they're doing wrong. For instance:

• Incorrect: While watching a movie, people who text on their phone are very annoying.

• Correct: People who text on their phone while watching a movie are very annoying.

Or…

• Incorrect: Happy about her upcoming promotion, the trip home was full of singing.
• Correct: Happy about her upcoming promotion, Sammie sang all the way home.

Here, the problem is a misplaced modifier. A modifier is a word or phrase intended to change, or modify, another part of the sentence, typically the subject. Misplaced modifiers make sentences unclear, because they could be modifying more than one subject.

In the second incorrect example, the sentence is stating that the "the trip home" (subject) was "happy about her upcoming promotion," which doesn't make sense. Instead, it is "Sammie" who is the happy individual with a promotion, as stated in the correct sentence.

Punctuation Examples

Another set of common mistakes have to do with punctuation.

• Incorrect: Come for a visit I have plenty of food.
• Correct: Come for a visit! I have plenty of food.

The problem here is a run-on sentence. The absence of punctuation makes the statement appear vague and rushed. Breaking the words into two sentences with an exclamation point adds clarity and increases the impact of "Come for a visit!"

• Incorrect: Before we go to the movies.
• Correct: I need a nap before we go to the movies.

This example has the opposite problem: it's a sentence fragment. A sentence fragment like "before we go to the movies" doesn't make a complete statement. Without the addition of "I need a nap," the reader doesn't know the writer's intent.

The following example has a similar problem, but requires a different solution.

• Incorrect: You can't go the movies. Or buy popcorn without any money.
• Correct: You can't go the movies or buy popcorn without any money.

The incorrect example is a broken sentence. The difference is that "You can't go to the movies" could be a complete sentence in itself, but it is followed by a phrase that needs to be incorporated into it. Instead of simply adding more text, the solution to a broken sentence is to combine the pieces.

Word Choice Examples

There is also the syntactical question of word choice. This is the area in which the rules of syntax offer the most leeway, and consequently perhaps the easiest area in which to make mistakes.

• Incorrect: To the movies we are going.
• Correct: We are going to the movies.

The issue here is outdated phrasing. By the rules of syntax, "to the movies we are going" isn't technically wrong. It's just archaic. Shakespeare would have been fine with "to the movies we are going," at least once somebody explained movies to him.

Modern English, however, expects sentences to go subject-verb-object rather than object-subject-verb. It's a perfect example of how the rules of syntax change with place and time, and that the first priority of any writer should be clear communication. For further help, read up on subject-verb agreement.

On the subject of tricky verbs…

• Incorrect: Did you ever speak to him? Yes, I was speaking to him yesterday.
• Correct: Did you ever speak to him? Yes, I spoke to him yesterday.

The incorrect example uses the wrong verb tense. Specifically, instead of using the past simple tense, "was speaking" uses the past continuous tense. It suggests an act in the past that may still be going on. If you "were speaking," you may still be speaking. "Spoke" is the past simple tense, indicating an act that already happened and is now over. If you "spoke," you're done speaking now. The latter is appropriate here. (https://examples.yourdictionary.com/syntax-examples.html).

So? Syntax is everything in writing.