Syntax and Sentence Structure Flashcards

Syntax refers to the system of rules governing:

Answer: The arrangement of words to form grammatically correct sentences

Syntax is the branch of linguistics dealing with the rules that govern sentence structure, how words and phrases are arranged to create grammatically correct sentences.

A student who consistently writes fragments such as Because it was raining most likely needs instruction in:

Answer: Identifying and constructing complete sentences with a subject and predicate

Sentence fragments lack a complete subject-predicate structure, and the student needs explicit instruction in what constitutes a complete sentence and the difference between dependent and independent clauses.

Sentence combining instruction helps students with:

Answer: Creating more syntactically complex and varied sentences from simple kernel sentences

Sentence combining teaches students to join simple sentences into more complex structures using conjunctions, relative clauses, and other syntactic devices.

The ability to understand complex sentences with embedded relative clauses is a:

Answer: Higher-level syntactic comprehension skill

Processing embedded relative clauses requires sophisticated syntactic comprehension, holding the main clause in working memory while parsing the embedded clause and then integrating both.

In English grammar, a compound sentence contains:

Answer: Two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction

A compound sentence joins two or more independent clauses using a coordinating conjunction such as those in the FANBOYS mnemonic: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Understanding the passive voice construction The trophy was awarded to the winner by the judges requires:

Answer: Syntactic awareness to correctly identify who performed the action

Passive voice reverses the typical subject-actor relationship, and syntactic awareness is needed to correctly identify who performed the action.