Tackling Syntax

Robby DavisLee County High School

Leesburg, Georgia

[email protected]

It’s a scary damn word!

Yet we must gird our loins and sally forth to battle!

The difficulties we face:Close reading skills—Students don’t / won’t / can’t

read closely.

Limited reading experience—Students don’t know the texture of good writing.

Vocabulary—Students lack vocabulary to describe what they see and hear in what they do read.

Limited revision experience—Students don’t really know what their choices are. Lots of teachers don’t teach those choices.

We are teaching . . .

Readers&

Writers


Readers to analyze&

Writers to utilize

Good Readers ask:

What choices did the writer make?

What are the intended effects of those choices?

Good Writers ask:

What choices do I have?

What are the probable effects of those choices?

Thankfully, there are ONLY 3 Considerations for both

Reader and Writer:

• Structure

• Diction

• Syntax

“The best words in the best order.”

Coleridge

As teachers of college-bound students, we know that . . .

Skilled readers must be able to contend with complex sentence structures.

As teachers of college-bound students, we know that . . .

Effective writers must be able to create complex sentence structures effectively.

We’re going to explore . . .

Instructional strategies and exercises that you can reshape to meet the ability level and needs of your students—as well as the requirements of your curriculum.

Initial activities and discussions

• to establish or remind students of the vocabulary of syntax

• to draw students in to the close reading of sentences

Begin with some sentences they know but have never read.

The Pledge of Allegiance ?

• How many sentences?

• What does the sentence(s) consist of?

• How is it (are they) punctuated?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Give them sentences to play with . . .

Play with sentences . . .

• Take those DOL concept to the next level: revision. Play with sentences, as well as correct them.

• Play with sentences from the texts they’re reading.

• Play with sentences that students write.

• Play with analysis & revision.

I have a little shadow that goes in and out

with me and what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me and what can be the use of him is

more than I can see.

Question 1This sentence may be hard to read because

one comma has been left out. Where would you put a comma to break up the sentence into two main parts?

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, and what can be the use of him is


Question 2

What kind of sentence is this?

a. simple b. compound

c. complex d. compound complex


more than I can see.Question 5• What is “and”?

a. a coordinating conjunctionb. a relative pronounc. a subordinating conjunctiond. a preposition modifying “what”



Question 12

What is the subject of the first subordinate clause?



Question 16

What is the verb of the second independent clause?



Question 18What are “in” and “out”?

a. prepositions b. adverbs c. objects of goes d. adjectives modifying

“with me”



PART II, Item 4

Start with “Do you have”



Do you have a little shadow that goes in and out with you, and is what can be the use of him more than you can see?

Creating MC Items:

• SENTENCE: Coming to the city as a young man, he found a job as a newspaper reporter.

• DIRECTIONS: Change Coming to He came.

a. and so he found b. and found

c. and there he found d. and then finding

e. and had found

MC Items:

He came to the city as a young man and found a job as a newspaper reporter.

a. and so he found b. and found

c. and there he found d. and then finding

e. and had found

Play with sentences . . .

Don’t merely correct them!

Now, let’s talk about . . . where English sentences come from!

S-V-C: It’s the framework for our ideas!

the woman read a novelthe cat sleptthe milk is in the refrigeratorthe road is longthe thief seemed remorseful

The SVC StructureRecognizing the 10 Patterns

• I. NP “be” ADV The students are upstairs.

• II. NP “be” ADJ (subject complement)The students are smart.

• III. NP1 “be” NP1 The students are scholars.

• IV. NP V-linking ADJ (subject complement)The students seem smart.

• V. NP1 V-linking NP1The students became scholars.


• VI. NP V-intransitive The students slept.

• VII. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (direct object) The students read their books.

• VIII. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (i. o.) NP3 (d. o.) The students gave their teacher a gift.

• IX. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (d. o.) ADJ (ob. comp.)The students consider the teacher mean.

• X. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (d. o.) NP2 (ob. comp.)The students consider the teacher a monster.


Exercise—Identify the Pattern1.The teacher made the test hard.2.The batter hit the ball hard.

1. IX. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (d. o.) ADJ (ob. comp.)

2. VII. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (direct object)


Exercise—Identify the Pattern1.The cook tasted the soup.2.The soup tasted good.


2. IV. NP V-linking ADJ (sub. complement)


Exercise—Identify the Pattern1.My husband made me a

chocolate cake.2.My husband made me a happy

woman.1. VIII. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (i. o.) NP3 (d. o.)

2. X. NP1 V-transitive NP2 (d. o.) NP2 (ob. comp.)


Exercise—Identify the Pattern1.We set off through the woods at

dawn.2.We set off the fireworks at dawn.

1. VI. NP V-intransitive


Every idea begins as a

S-V-C structure!the woman read a novelthe cat sleptthe milk is in the refrigeratorthe road is longthe thief seemed remorseful

But

we can do

magic!

We can

transform

S-V-C!

the woman read a novelWhile the woman read a novel . . .

the cat sleptThe cat that slept. . .

the milk is in the refrigeratorThe milk in the refrigerator . . .

the road is longThe long road . . .

the thief seemed remorsefulSeeming remorseful, the thief . . .

Knowing about transformations allows the reader to recognize

them when she see them.

Knowing about transformationsallows the writer to build more

mature and effective sentences.

Let’s look at the handouts.

For example—Participles

Samples for PARTICIPLES in handout:• Introduction: A participle is a form of a verb that acts as an adjective.

• Present Participles are constructed by adding ing to a base verb.

shake becomes shaking• Past Participles are typically constructed by adding d or

ed, but sometimes irregular verbs require endings such as n or en. Some verbs require individual forms.

disturb becomes disturbed, throw becomes thrown, sing becomes sung

Transforming w/ Participles

• Models to Consider and Discuss:

The old heavyweight proved an easy knockout victim. He was dazed. He was reeling.

▼Dazed and reeling, the old heavyweight proved an easy

knockout victim.or

The old heavyweight, dazed by a series of hard punches to his body and reeling from a powerful jab to his head, proved an easy knockout victim.


• Participial phrases can animate a sentence with movement:

Possums employ a whole range of responses to defendthemselves from an enemy, baring their teeth, hissinglike and angry cat, clambering up a tall tree, or, as alast resort, falling into a comatose state, body limp andeyes open.

• Participial Phrase can suggest relationships:Disillusioned by the American public’s negativeperception of the war, some Vietnam vets suffered severemental problems when they returned to civilian life.


• Special Issues: Positioning participial phrases

Keeping one eye on his professor, Ricky quickly scanned the X-Men comic hidden behind his bulky microbiology textbook.

Ricky, keeping one eye on his professor, quickly scanned the X-Men comic hidden behind his bulky microbiology textbook.

Ricky quickly scanned the X-Men comic hidden behind his bulky microbiology textbook, keeping one eye on his professor.

Transforming w/ Participles• Special Issues: Positioning participial phrases

Keeping one eye on his professor, Ricky quickly scanned the X-Men comic hidden behind his bulky microbiology textbook.

Ricky, keeping one eye on his professor, quickly scanned the X-Men comic hidden behind his bulky microbiology textbook.

Ricky quickly scanned the X-Men comic hidden behind his bulky microbiology textbook, keeping one eye on his professor.

Transforming w/ Participles• Constructing Participial PhrasesExample1. He was slowed by Parkinson’s disease.2. Muhammad Ali moved deliberately among the adoring

children at the mall.3. He signed autographs.4. He shook hands.5. He spoke in a soft voice. ▼Slowed by Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali moveddeliberately among the adoring children at the mall,signing autographs, shaking hands and speaking in asoft voice.


• You try one:

1. A team of scientists relied on DNA extracted from a preserved giant dodo.

2. A team of scientists has concluded that genetically the extinct bird was just an overgrown pigeon.

Relying on DNA extracted from a preserved giant dodo, a team of scientists has concluded that genetically the extinct bird was just an overgrown pigeon.


• Creating Participial Phrases

Example

I stared at my mom for a minute. ▼Horrified at her latest fashion statement, I stared atmy mom for a minute, examining the small goldring in her eyebrow.


You try one:

The toddler threw his half-eaten banana at the nearby crowd of shoppers.

The toddler threw his half-eaten banana at the nearby crowd of shoppers, pegging a portly woman between the eyes.

Having had his fill of healthful food alternatives, the toddler threw his half-eaten banana at the nearby crowd of shoppers.

Possible DOL format:

Page 13 in the handouts.

THE CHARTLet’s look at the handouts.

Structure and Effect: Analyzing Syntactical Choices

the woman read a novel

the cat slept

the milk is in the refrigerator

the road is long

the thief seemed remorseful


the woman read a novel – pattern VII

the cat slept – pattern VI

the milk is in the refrigerator – pattern I

the road is long – pattern II

the thief seemed remorseful – pattern V


Awareness of the rules, structures, and available

transformations can be vitally important for both

reader and writer.


The writer can make himself aware of thechoices open to him and the consequencesof those choices.

The reader can make herself aware of the choices made by the writer,

his intended effects, and the degree of his stylistic and rhetorical

success in executing those choices.


Playing with grammatical possibilities for style and rhetoric can help build awareness for both

reader and writer.


Let’s look to the handouts

and play with some choices.

Page 19


Readers to analyze&

Writers to utilize

2 Questions for the Reader:

What choices did the writer make?

What are the intended effects of those choices?

2 Questions for the Writer:

What choices do I have?

What are the probable effects of those choices?

Robby Davis

Lee County High School, Georgia

[email protected]

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Tackling Syntax

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