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See the structure of any English sentence

You know every word and the sentence still will not open. First the structure, then the meaning: InterStand draws the trunk on the sentence in green, underlines the words that open each clause, and explains each part in the language you choose.

Pre-analyzed example sentences

Each sentence was analyzed once with the same pipeline the product uses and is shown as it came out, source named beside it. Pick one; nothing is sent when you switch. Your own text is analyzed in the free web reader or the Chrome extension.

Paper · Vaswani et al., “Attention Is All You Need”

We propose a new simple network architecture, the Transformer, based solely on attention mechanisms, dispensing with recurrence and convolutions entirely.

Each part, with its gloss

whoWeWe
proposespropose a new simple network architecturepropose a new simple network architecture
what is the namethe Transformerthe Transformer
based onbased solely on attention mechanismsbased solely on attention mechanisms
dispensing withdispensing with recurrence and convolutions entirelydispensing with recurrence and convolutions entirely

What this sentence leaves

We propose a new simple network architecture · based solely on attention mechanisms · dispensing with recurrence and convolutions entirelyWe propose a new simple network architecture called the Transformer, based solely on attention mechanisms and dispensing with recurrence and convolutions entirely

Memory chainbased → solely on attention mechanisms · dispensing → with recurrence and convolutions entirely

What the marks mean

  • Green ground: the trunk, the words you carry away after one reading. Read these first.
  • Underline: a cue word that opens a clause or a phrase (if, which, although, under, provided that).
  • Bold: an anchor, a content word to hold on to.
  • Green underline: the verb or the link that joins the anchors.
  • Rows: each part of the sentence with its English words and a short gloss in the language you choose; a dark label marks a core part.

How to analyze your own sentence

  1. Select the sentence where you read it

    In the Chrome extension, select any sentence on a web page and choose the sentence action. In the web reader, paste text or open a PDF or Word file and press the analysis button.

  2. InterStand draws the structure on the original

    The trunk is highlighted in green, cue words are underlined, anchors are bold. The sentence stays where it is; you never copy it into a chat window.

  3. Read each part, then ask

    Every part gets a row: its English words and a short gloss in the language you choose. Ask a follow-up about any part, and the sentence is kept in your learning history to review later.

Use it on your own text

Analyze your own sentence

Paste text or open a PDF in the free web reader. Nothing to install.

Open the web reader

Use it on any web page

Select a sentence where you read it and see its structure right there.

Add to Chrome

Who uses it

Readers who know every word and still lose the sentence: people reading papers and textbooks in English for a degree, people preparing for the reading sections of IELTS, TOEFL or GRE, and professionals reading contracts, regulations and guidance documents.

Structure first, translation second

A translation gives you the answer and takes the sentence away. Seeing the trunk, the cues and the anchors shows how the sentence works, so the next one gets easier. The notation is the same every time, on every page.

InterStand is a reading comprehension tool, not a translator: the gloss is there to check your reading, in the language you choose.

Works in the language you choose

Questions, labels and glosses are written in the language you choose: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish or Portuguese. The sentence itself stays in English.

Free uses, privacy, limits

Every new account gets 10 free uses a month for its first 3 months, no card required. The web reader also carries sample articles that are already analyzed and cost nothing to read.

Only the sentence you select, with a little context around it, is sent for analysis, and only when you ask for it. Sentences of more than about 120 words are split first. English sentences only, for now.

Paid plans add more uses each month. See plans

Questions

How do I analyze the structure of an English sentence?

Find the verb of the main clause first, then the subject that goes with it: that pair is the trunk. Every other part hangs off the trunk through a cue word such as which, although, if or under. InterStand does this on the original text: green for the trunk, an underline for each cue, bold for the anchors, and a row per part with a gloss in the language you choose.

Can it explain a sentence in my own language?

Yes. The questions, labels and glosses are written in the language you choose from the eight the site speaks. The English sentence is never rewritten.

What is the trunk of a sentence, and why is it highlighted?

The trunk is the shortest run of words that still says what the sentence says: usually the subject, the main verb and what the verb needs. Reading the trunk first is what fluent readers do without thinking; the green ground makes it visible until you can see it yourself.

Is the sentence structure analyzer free?

The examples on this page are free to read. Analyzing your own text uses an InterStand account: every new account has 10 free uses a month for its first 3 months, and paid plans add more.

Does it work on any website, and on PDFs?

The Chrome extension works on text you can select on a web page. The web reader takes pasted text, PDF and Word files. A scanned PDF without a text layer cannot be analyzed.

Is it a grammar checker or a translator?

Neither. It does not correct your writing, and it does not replace the sentence with a translation. It shows how a sentence you are reading is built, and explains each part in the language you choose.

English Sentence Structure Analyzer & Explainer | InterStand