While semantics focuses on the defi nition of specifi c words, syntax is the way
in which words are arranged to form phrases and sentences. For example, in the
English language the subject is usually placed before the verb, and the object after
the verb. Other languages have different rules of syntax, including reading from
right to left. You encode by translating your thoughts into words. Syntax changes
the meaning of the same set of words. For example, the declarative statement “I am
going tomorrow” uses syntax to signal that someone is leaving the next day. If you
change the word arrangement to “Am I going tomorrow?” the statement becomes
a question and acquires a different meaning