The Syntax Page

Syntax is the name given to way in which words are put together to form phrases and sentences which convey sense and meaning.

The syntax of the English language is usually quite straightforward and we shall be analysing sentences to break them up into their component parts.

Look at the sentence:   Paris abducted Helen.

"Paris" is called the subject of the sentence. The subject  performs the action of the verb.
The subject is a noun or pronoun and it comes in before the verb in the sentence.

"abducted" is the verb in this sentence. In the syntax of the English language, the verb follows the subject.

"Helen" is called the direct object  in the sentence. The direct object receives the action of the verb or is affected by the verb.
The direct object is a noun or a pronoun and in English it comes after the verb.

 

At this stage we are only interested in identifying the subject, verb and direct object in a sentence. So, before you go any further, make sure that you understand the information in the box above. Just to check that you understand, look at the following sentences and identify in each one the subject, verb and direct object. You might find it easier to analyse the sentences by completing a table like the one illustrated below.


Before you start, remember these three things:

  1. The subject is one word, either a noun or a pronoun.
  2. The verb can be a string of words but the string does not contain any adverbs.
  3. The direct object is one word, either a noun or a pronoun.

Now try the following exercise

Exercise 1 Look at the following sentences and identify the subject, verb and direct object in each one. Two have been done as an example.

subject
verb
object
 Kronos  ate  children
 Spartans  were attacking  Persians
  1. Kronos ate his children
  2. The courageous Spartans were bravely attacking the invading Persians.
  3. The young prince gave the apple to Aphrodite.
  4. Paris met Helen at Sparta.
  5. He took her to Troy with him.
  6. The king of the Greeks assembled a huge fleet.
  7. The Trojans had been expecting a smaller army.
  8. After ten years of bitter fighting, the Greeks were still besieging the strongly defended city.
  9. On the beach, the Greeks had left a huge wooden horse.
  10. The Trojans dragged it into the city.

Check you answere here.