What is syntax?

Picture



When you preview text with your students, do you point out different sentence structures or patterns, to help get them ready to read and access the material?  Well, you are helping them with learning about syntax- the grammatical and structural basics of English.

Syntax helps us to make clear sentences that “sound right,” where words, phrases, and clauses each serve their function and are correctly ordered to form and communicate a complete sentence with meaning.

The parts of speech are groups of words that make up the grammar of the English language, which include open-class words (changeable and accepts new words, such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs) and closed-class words (function words and rarely accepts new words, such as prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, complementizers, determiners, and auxiliary verbs).  In these categories, words can be described by their morphological forms and typical position in a sentence.  The following website “Parts of Speech” by Heather MacFadyen offers a detailed explanation and review of the different parts of speech and how they are used in sentences:  http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/partsp.html.

Next, we must look at grammar at the phrase, clause, and sentence level.  Constituents are groups of words that go together and fit into larger units, which are then built into sentences.  Let’s look at the following sentence:

The happy boy jumped swiftly over the rock by the pond.

The smaller constituents (i.e. the happy boy, the pond, the rock- all noun phrases) fit into larger constituents (i.e. by the pond- prepositional phrase), and even larger constituents (the rock by the pond- bigger noun phrase).  These constituents follow a hierarchical structure:

Word --> Phrase --> Clause --> Sentence

In English, the 5 types of phrases include: noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and prepositional phrases.  Clauses are composed of noun phrases as the subject and verb phrases as the predicate.  Some clauses can stand independently as a sentence, and others are dependent or subordinate.  Compound sentences can be formed by joining two independent clauses, joined by a conjunction or punctuation (semicolon or colon).  To learn more about phrases, clauses, and sentence structure rules, you can look at this section on MacFayden’s website on parts of a sentence:  http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/partse.html

In the classroom

Tips for Applying Syntax:
  • Teach Grammar without hindering communication: Encourage students to listen to and engage in English as much as possible, carefully selecting grammar rules and corrections that will support social and academic language development and effective communication, without significantly hindering it.  Activities involving more self-inquiry and problem-solving/word sorting are helpful to encourage ELLs to find patterns on their own and develop a sense of the grammar rules and structures.  Teaching grammar in context of student’s own writing and in read-alouds is a powerful way to make learning about syntax more meaningful, giving them more opportunities to learn what “sounds right.”
  • Explicit teaching of grammar rules and structures may be necessary for students, especially for ELLs gaining academic language.  Here is a great resource, from North Carolina Public Schools, of grammar tips for teaching and numerous lessons to tackle those common grammar challenges, including concept of a sentence, run-on sentences, verb tenses:
  • Standard usage of prepositions and pronouns are challenging concepts that younger students are actively learning, in learning sight words and across content areas.  For prepositions, teachers can make these more concrete for students, teaching prepositional words as everywhere a squirrel can go with respect to a tree (i.e. A squirrel is by the tree.  A squirrel is in the tree.)  For older students, teaching of prepositional words should also include their meaning in respect to time, duration, manner, and other more abstract concepts (It will take about an hour.  He did it in a hurry.)  For pronouns, ELLs take much longer to develop correct pronoun usage, but modeling and appropriate correction as necessary can help to support correct usage, without hindering communication.  
  • Explore the grammatical patterns of ethnic and community dialects - through literature, film, and audio-tapes, for example - and contrast these with the corresponding features of the Standard English.  Students can make such comparisons by translating a well-known or well-liked text into a particular dialect or by writing original poems, stories, and plays in one or more ethnic and community dialects as well as in the Standard English.  Such language study and writing can help students appreciate each others’ dialects as well as consider which dialects are most appropriate for what kinds of writing and under what circumstances. (from Teaching Grammar & Minilessons - www.usi.edu)