Syntax: Considering
Where a Word Goes in a Sentence and Why
We know how to think about words (keep in mind our discussion of morphology – a word is made up of component parts that contribute to its overall meaning), but now we have to consider where words go in a sentence. Take some time to look at a sentence written in English and analyze it. Consider the following sentence: The black coffee tasted good. In this construction, the only place for the word the to appear is at the beginning of the sentence; furthermore, it must be close to the word it is referring to. We also know that the word black is a descriptor, and it must be placed in front of the word that it is describing. These are very simple examples, but they reinforce then notion that, in order for a sentence to be understandable, someone has to be able to break it down and look at (a) how a word functions individually and (b) how it relates to the words around it. ELLs may need help with this.
We know how to think about words (keep in mind our discussion of morphology – a word is made up of component parts that contribute to its overall meaning), but now we have to consider where words go in a sentence. Take some time to look at a sentence written in English and analyze it. Consider the following sentence: The black coffee tasted good. In this construction, the only place for the word the to appear is at the beginning of the sentence; furthermore, it must be close to the word it is referring to. We also know that the word black is a descriptor, and it must be placed in front of the word that it is describing. These are very simple examples, but they reinforce then notion that, in order for a sentence to be understandable, someone has to be able to break it down and look at (a) how a word functions individually and (b) how it relates to the words around it. ELLs may need help with this.