Once, my daughter and I chose a bottle of wine from a retail establishment outside Cleveland, Ohio. On our register receipt, in addition to the purchase amount and regular taxes, there was a line labeled "sin tax."
I wasn't sure how I felt about the tax nomenclature then (and I'm not sure how I feel about it now) but you gotta love the homonym.
Syntax is a special case in writing, given that it naturally reflects a quality particular to you as a writer (i.e. your unique voice and style) and is a vital nitty-gritty, in-the-weeds editing concentration.
In our real lives, when we say "oh, that sounds just like him" or "she would never say that," our opinion is formed in large part by what we intuitively know about syntax.
Not to be confused with extra charges tacked onto a bottle of wine in certain states (ahem), syntax affects a wide range of elements, from pacing to emphasis, characterization to nuance. When we edit with the syntax lens, we focus on the arrangement of words and the effect different arrangements produce in mood/tone, description, and flow.
Here's a simple comparison:
Cindy missed the whole dinner because she arrived late.
Because she arrived late, Cindy missed the whole dinner.
The words in each are the same, but the syntax in the first example emphasizes Cindy's lateness, implying personal responsibility and negative judgment of Cindy. On the other hand, the syntax of the second sentence gives Cindy an "out," because the tardiness is emphasized in a way that suggests Cindy was not herself to blame.
Try another.
He loaned his little sister rent money, expecting nothing in return.
Expecting nothing in return, he loaned his little sister rent money.
Same words, very different impressions of the sibling relationship and dynamic.
Check out your phrases and sentences. Are the words in the "right" order to convey your intention?
Try rearranging the words! Breaking our sentences apart is a strategy that does double duty by varying your sentence structure for readability. And it does triple duty by sifting out unintended grammatical errors.
