Syntactic Patterning

1. Syntactic Patterning Formal Language

2. Coordination: Clauses are in equal status, is signalled by coordinating conjunctions. • I.e.: The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents. • http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text-obama.html?pagewanted=all Subordination: One clause is subordinate to another, if it depends on it. The dependent clause is called a subordinate clause and the independent clause is called the main clause. Subordinate clauses are usually introduced by subordinators (= subordinate conjunctions) such as after, because, before, if, so that, that, when, while, etc. For example: Although we are faced with fear and adversity, we will continue to hope. After the long wait for freedom and equality, we will rise up and be heard. Coordination/subordination

3. Passive voice verbs are used in writing much more often than in speech, and they are used in some types of writing much more often than in others. Passives are used more in journalism (newspapers, magazines) than in fiction (novels, stories), but most journalists and fiction writers use far more active than passive sentences. However, passives are very common in all types of scientific and technical writing. Scientific articles often contain more passive than active sentences. • In a passive sentence, the subject does not perform the action in the sentence. In fact, the action is performed on it.Examples:Anita was driven to the theatre.(In this example, "Anita" is the subject of the sentence - subject of the verb "was". However, she did not perform the action of the verb "to drive". The action was done to her; she was the recipient of the action.)Nowadays, kites are protected.("kites" - passive subject, i.e., the action is being done to them)The olives are stoned and crushed in this area. ("olives" - passive subject, i.e., the actions are being done to them)In a passive sentence, the person or thing doing the action is usually preceded by the word "by".Examples:Anita was driven to the theatre by Carla.Nowadays, kites are protected by law.The olives are stoned and crushed in this area by my son. Passive Sentences

4. The process of turning a verb into a noun. In relation to formal language this allows speakers to conceal information or create a more passive tone that is rather evasive, essentially removing themselves from the subject, and emphasising the responsibility on the noun. I.e. They decided too close down the school. Becomes The decision has been made to close down the school. Emphasis is taken off of they to decision. The decision essentially becomes responsible This is seen in many political speeches and government documents. Nominalisation

5. Antithesis: A kind of parallelism that use opposing phrases or clauses next to each other in order to show different ideas. Its role is to help place emphasis or create impact on the reader. • I.e It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. This can be seen in political speeches and literary texts. Parallelism and listing: Very similar to antithesis however the parallelism uses similar sounds, words and grammatical constructions. I.e. The sun sets, The sun rises. This also involves the coordinated phrases or lists of words that are similar to each other. i.e. Signed, sealed and delivered. Its effect is to help link ideas to present information in an economical way. It is also used to convey a lot of information in a compact way. Antithesis, parallelism, and listing