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syntax

One of the hardest things about learning a new language is figuring out the syntax, or the basic rules for the way that words and phrases should be arranged in a sentence in order for it to make sense.

Syntax isn't necessarily something you think about when you're speaking, but the order of words in a sentence can make a huge difference to its meaning. If you aren't convinced, try telling a waiter that you'd like "a slice of dessert for cake." And then, as the waiter stands there looking confused, try explaining that you don't think "important is very syntax."

DEFINITIONS OF: syntax

1

n studies of the rules for forming admissible sentences

Types:
generative grammar
(linguistics) a type of grammar that describes syntax in terms of a set of logical rules that can generate all and only the infinite number of grammatical sentences in a language and assigns them all the correct structural description
Type of:
grammar
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)

n the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences

Synonyms:
phrase structure, sentence structure
Type of:
structure
the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations

n a systematic orderly arrangement

Type of:
scheme, system
a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole
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USAGE EXAMPLES