Sentence Deconstruction

A sentence deconstruction is a means of syntax analysis whereby the sentence is deconstructed into its clauses. Then the clauses are analyzed in regards to their connection to the other clauses withing the sentence. Afterward, the clauses are deconstructed into their phrases, and their phrases are analyzed with regards to the other phrases within the clause. Finally, the phrases are deconstructed into their words, and the words are analyzed with regards to the other words within the phrase. Let’s deconstruct the following sentence:

The man climbed up the very steep hill because he wanted to see the view from the top.

Introduction

A sentence starts with a capital and ends with a period. The elements of a sentence include clauses. Some clauses are independent while others are subordinate clauses. The independent clause is the main element of the sentence. The subordinate clauses serve to modify other elements.

Clauses serve as an independent clause or a subordinate clause. An independent clause can make sense by itself.  A dependent clause serves to add or modify an element of another clause.

All clauses must have a subject and a predicate.  The subject of the clause is the actor. The predicate of the clause is the action. Although clauses can have multiple subjects and multiple predicates, they must all work together.

The predicate of a clause is always a conjugated verb. All other elements that serve to modify the predicate of the clause are also part of the predicate. All other elements of the clause are the subject of the clause.

How to Deconstruct a Sentence

Follow this procedure to deconstruct the sentence:

  1. All sentences and clauses must contain a conjugated verb. Thus, to begin a syntactic analysis, count the conjugated verbs in the entire clause.
  2. Next, identify the subject of each conjugated verb.
    • A conjugated verb may have multiple subjects. For example, in the clause,  “Jack and Jill went up the hill”, the conjugated verb (the predicate) is went. Both Jack and Jill preform the action. Thus, the clause contains a plural subject.
    • A clause may have multiple conjugated verbs. “Jack fell down and broke his crown”. Jack, a singular noun preforms two actions, fell and broke. No comma is needed in this phrase because it is a simple sentence.
    • The full sentence –“Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after”– is a compound sentence because it contains two subjects and two predicates. Thus, it contains two independent clauses. Jack is the subject of the verb, fell, while Jill is the subject of the verb, went running. Since the sentence is a compound sentence, the comma is needed to separate the two independent clauses.
  3. Next, identify each clause in the sentence. A clause must contain a subject and a predicate.
  4. Next, determine the purpose of  each clause. If the clause serves to modify something in another clause, then the clause is a subordinate clause. If the clause can make sense by itself, then it is an independent clause.
  5. Once you have identified all the clauses and determined their purpose, identify each phrase in each clause to determine its purpose. If the phrase modifies a noun or pronoun in the clause, then the phrase is an adjective phrase. If the phrase modifies a verb, then the phrase is an adverbial phrase.
    • A good practice is to keep the modifier close to the word it modifies. However, this is not always the best choice. Reading and rereading a sentence will be the best way to determine where to place the modifiers
    • If the phrase is necessary to the meaning of the clause, then commas should not separate the phrase. For example, the clause, The street with the stoplight will be your destination, contains an adverbial phrase that modifies the noun, street.  The sentence, the street will be your destination, is incomplete since it says nothing about the street. However, the clause, Main Street is your destination, will make sense. One could also write, Main Street, with its diverse shops and restraints, is your destination. The phrase, with its diverse shops and restaurants, modifies the noun, Main Street. Since the phrase, with its diverse shops and restaurants, is superfluous, it should be separated by commas.
  6. Next, pay attention to transitional words and phrases. They are important to make the text flow and to help with pace. Adverbs such as however, in addition, therefore, thus, accordingly, help with the flow of sentences. Furthermore, many premise and conclusion indicators provide clarity to the sentence by indicating whether the following content is a supporting premise or a conclusion.
    1. Premise indicators include words such as since, because. For example, since premise indicators indicate that the sentence is a premise to support a conclusion, they are called premise indicators. In other words, premise indicators indicate that the following content will be a premise, and therefore, they are called premise indicators.
    2. Conclusion indicators include words such as therefore, thus, accordingly.  Conclusion indicators indicate that the following text is a conclusion. Therefore, they are called conclusion indicators.
  7. Identify any conjunctions and relative pronouns. Relative pronouns relate a subordinate clause to another clause. The subordinate clause modifies a noun in another clause.
  8. Identify any other conjunctions. If the conjunction is a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or or, then the clause it connects is an independent clause. If the conjunction is a subordinating conjunction, then the clause modifies either a noun or verb in another clause.

After having completely deconstructed the sentence, you will have a deeper understanding of the purpose and meaning of the sentence. If you have written the sentence, yourself, then you can reconstruct the sentence to improve its purpose and meaning. If someone else has written the sentence, you will have a better understanding of the quality of the sentence.