What Is Syntax?

Function of Syntax

Syntax refers to sentence structure. It is basically how words are arranged in a sentence and how a writer has created a pattern with the words. Syntax shows a writer's style by showing how he creates patterns of words. Use of syntax can also show a writer's skill because word patterns and sentence structures need to be modified at times to fit certain types of writing. Often writers like to experiment with syntax in their writing to provide emphasis or to create a deeper meaning using word patterns. Many examples follow to show the function of syntax.

Regular or normal syntax consists of a sentence with a basic pattern of a subject, verb and object. This pattern is often fixed in normal syntax, meaning that the order of words in a sentence must be subject, verb, object. A simple example: The girl held a puppy. Another type of syntax is irregular syntax, in which writers place words in varying order to create emphasis or to explore further meaning in their words. An example of irregular syntax from the Thomas Hardy poem "The Man He Killed": "Yes; quaint and curious war is!"

The effect of normal syntax is often to relay a message. Most writing follows normal syntax because it is likely more easily understood to the average reader. On the other hand, irregular syntax can have a more poetic effect. Writers use irregular syntax for many reasons, most of which are linked to creating a special or underlying meaning or image. Writers manipulate words to create a certain rhythm or rhyme scheme. Words are also often manipulated in irregular syntax to create a special meaning or to convey imagery. The image created from the following lines of Thomas Hardy's poem "The Man He Killed" is a great example of this: "But ranged as infantry, / And staring face to face, / I shot at him as he at me, / And killed him in his place." These lines convey an impressive image and irregular syntax is used, particularly in the first and third lines, to carry on the rhyme scheme.

Syntax refers entirely to words, so when understanding the features of syntax, it is best to examine the words that are used and how they are put together in a sentence. To understand the type of syntax that a writer is using, first identify the parts of the sentence. Locate the subject, verb and objects in the sentence. All sentences consist of these three parts, but the important thing in understanding syntax is how these parts are arranged. The arrangement will reveal a great deal about the writer and explain a lot about the significance of her writing. In Thomas Hardy's poem "The Man He Killed," the syntax in the lines "You shoot a fellow down / You'd treat if met where any bar is, / Or help to half-a-crown" demonstrate the author's cultural significance by showing that he is British and that he is able to write from the persona of a semi-uneducated infantryman.

Syntax can reveal a writer's level of creativity and ability to take risks. Syntax can also expose certain cultural characteristics about a writer. For example, the syntax of American and British writers can differ greatly. It can also show a writer's level of skill by showing how craftily he puts words together. Syntax is also used for poetic purposes, to create or maintain rhyme schemes, for example. In Robert Browning's poem "Porphyria's Lover," he uses irregular syntax to maintain rhyme in the following example: "In one long yellow string I wound / Three times her little throat around."