Schemes: Syntax Terms

Anaphora

repeats the first word in succeeding phrases or clauses. ex. “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans…”

Parallelism

use of the same general structure to provide links. ex. “The manor—designed for beauty and grace, built for durability and strength, and located for privacy and safety—was the ideal home for those three children.

Antimetabole

repetition of words in an inverted order. ex. “eat to live, not live to eat.”

Negative definition

Technique that defines by explaining what some is not; it is generally followed up with and actual definition of what something is. ex. “our business in this world is not to succeed, but to continue to fail, in good spirits”

Antithesis

parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas. ex. “that’s one small step for man, one giant step for mankind”

Polysyndeton

figure that links clauses with a repeated conjunction. ex. “They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked”

Asyndeton 

leaves out conjunctions in a list or between clauses. ex. “He was tall, dark, handsome.

Conditional

use of the “if…then” clause. ex. “If fighting spills beyond Syria’s borders, [then] these weapons could threaten allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel.” 

Declarative

give information/explains what’s going on (strong verb) ex. “Boston offers a subway system that is easy to navigate”

Exclamatory

provides emotion/emphasis ex. “I can’t believe that I have been accepted to Harvard!”

Imperative

makes a command (often “you” is implied) ex. "Stop talking during the exam”

Interrogative

asks a question, thereby placing responsibility on the audience. ex. “Do you think him capable of such a crime?”

Hortative sentence

urges or strongly encourages ex. “you might want to consider coming to the program orientation to meet other freshman.”