Examples of Syntax Figures
Ellipse:Omission of a term previously stated or suggested in the sentence or context.
Example: They are undisciplined, but I believe my students will pass. (My students are undisciplined, but I believe my students will pass).
Zeugma:Type of ellipse that omits a previously expressed term.
Example: Adults went to work, children to school. (Adults went to work, children were to school).
Asyndeton: Construction figure characterized by the omission of coordinating conjunctions.
Examples: “Your race wants to leave, fight, suffer, win, come back”. - Cecília Meireles. (Your race wants to leave and fight and suffer and win and come back).
Polysyndeton: It is characterized by the emphatic repetition of the connectives.
Example: “And under the rhythmic waves/and under the clouds and the winds/and under the bridges and under the sarcasm/and under the slime and under the vomit. - Euclid da Cunha.
Pleonasm: Repetition of ideas in order to emphasize them. It differs from vicious pleonasm, considered a language addiction.
Example: He rolled up his sleeves and faced the situation head on. (“Facing it head-on” is a redundancy).
Silepsis:Also known as ideological agreement. It can refer to gender, number and person.
Example: Everyone in this country is important in combating violence. (The verb “we are” is not agreeing with the subject “all”, however, the verb is agreeing with the idea implicit in it, since the speaker is included among those who are important).
Hyperbate:It is characterized by the exchange of the direct order of the terms of the clause.
Example: “The placid shores of a heroic people heard the resounding cry from Ipiranga”. (The placid banks of the Ipiranga heard the resounding cry of a heroic people).
Anaphora: It is characterized by the repetition of the same word or expression at the beginning of sentences or in consecutive verses.
Examples: "It was such a high star! / It was such a cold star! / It was a star all alone / Shining at the end of the day." - Manuel Bandeira. (It was such a high, cold star, alone shining at the end of the day).