Syntax:

Definition_and_Examples:
In linguistics, syntax refers to the rules that govern the ways in which
words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. It's the
concept that enables people to know things like adjectives generally
come before the nouns they describe (green chair), how to start a
question with a question word (What is that?), that subjects often come
before verbs in non-question sentences (She jogged.), prepositional
phrases start with prepositions (to the store), helping verbs come
before main verbs (can go, will do), and so on.
Key_Takeaways: Syntax
Syntax is the proper order of words in a phrase or sentence.
Syntax is a tool used in writing grammatical sentences.
Native speakers of a language learn correct syntax without realizing it.
The complexity of a writer's or speaker's sentences creates a formal or
informal level of diction that is presented to its audience.
For native speakers, it's something that comes naturally, as word order
is learned as soon as an infant starts learning the language. Native
speakers can tell something isn't said quite right because it "sounds
weird," even if they can't detail the exact grammar rule that makes
something sound "off" to the ear.
"It is syntax that gives the words the power to relate to each other in a
sequence...to carry meaning—of whatever kind—as well as glow
individually in just the right place,"
The term syntax comes from the Greek, meaning "arrange together."
The term is also used to mean the study of the syntactic properties of
a language. Syntax is one of the major components of grammar.
In computer contexts the term refers to the proper ordering of symbols
and codes so that the computer can understand what instructions are
telling it to do.
Syntactic_Rules:
English parts of speech often follow ordering patterns in sentences and
clauses, such as compound sentences are joined by conjunctions (and,
but, or) or that multiple adjectives modifying the same noun follow a
particular order according to their class (such as opinion-size-color, as
in a shabby, huge green chair).
Sentences often start with a subject, followed by a predicate (or just a
verb in the simplest sentences) and contain an object or a complement
(or both), which shows, for example, what's being acted upon. Take the
sentence "Beth slowly ran the race in wild, multicolored flip-flops." The
sentence follows a subject-verb-object pattern (Beth ran the race),
adverbs and adjectives take their places in front of what they're
modifying, the object (the race) follows the verb, and the prepositional
phrase (in wild, multicolored flip-flops) starts with a preposition (in).
The rules of how to order words help the language parts make
sense.
Syntax_vs_Diction,
Formal_vs_Informal:
Diction refers to the stye of writing or speaking that someone uses,
brought about by their choice of words, whereas syntax is the order in
which they're arranged in that spoken or written sentence. If
something is written using a very high level of diction, it's written very
formally, for example, a paper published in an academic journal or a
lecture given in a college classroom. Speaking to friends and texting
have a low, or informal, level of diction.
Jim Miller emphasized, "It is essential to understand that the
differences exist not because spoken language is a degradation of
written language but because any written language, whether English
or Chinese, results from centuries of development and elaboration by a
small number of users."
Formal written works or presentations would likely also have more
complex sentences and industry-specific jargon, as they are directed to
a more narrow audience than something meant to be read or heard by
the general public, where the audience members' backgrounds will be
more diverse.
Precision in word choice are less exacting in informal contexts than in
formal ones, and grammar rules are more flexible in spoken language
than in formal written language. Understandable English syntax is
more flexible than most.
"The odd thing about English is that no matter how much you screw
sequences word up, you understood, still, like Yoda, will be," Douglas
Coupland wrote in "Generation A." "Other languages don't work that
way. French? Dieu! Misplace a single le or la and an idea vaporizes into
a sonic puff. English is flexible: you can jam it into a Cuisinart for an
hour, remove it, and meaning will still emerge.”
Types_of_Syntax:
(Sentence Structures)
Types of sentences and their syntax modes include: simple sentences,
compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex
sentences. Compound sentences are two simple sentences joined by a
conjunction. Complex sentences have dependent clauses, and
compound-complex sentences have both types included.
Simple_sentence:
The girl ran.
Structure: Subject+verb.
Compound_sentence:
The girl ran the marathon, and her cousin did, too.
Structure:
Subject+verb+object+conjunction+subject+verb.
Complex_sentence:
Although they were tired after the marathon, the cousins decided to go
to a celebration at the park. Structure:
Dependent clause+subject+verb+object.
Compound_complex_sentence:
Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was different, they decided,
because of the common goal that had brought everyone together.
Structure:
Four clauses, dependent and independent.
Syntax_Variations_and_Distinctions:
Syntax has changed some over the development of English through
the centuries, noted author Jean Atichison. "The proverb Whoever
loved that loved not at first sight? indicates that English negatives
could once be placed after main verbs."
And not all people speak English in exactly the same way. Social
dialects learned by people with common backgrounds—such as a
social class, profession, age group, or ethnic group—also may influence
the speakers' syntax. Think of the differences between teenagers'
slang and more fluid word order and grammar vs. research scientists'
technical vocabulary and manner of speaking to each other. Social
dialects are also called social varieties.
Beyond_Syntax:
Following proper syntax doesn't guarantee that a sentence will have
meaning, though. Linguist Noam Chomsky created the sentence
"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," which is syntactically and
grammatically correct because it has the words in the correct order
and verbs that agree with subjects, but it's still nonsense. With it,
Chomsky showed that rules governing syntax are distinct from
meanings that words convey.
The distinction between grammar and syntax has been somewhat
disrupted by recent research in lexicogrammar, which takes the words
into account in grammar rules: For example, some verbs always take
direct objects.