在一些作品以及演讲中，圆周句(periodic sentence)经常会出现，与其相对的是松散句(loose sentence)。圆周句的特点是将所有背景，次要的概念都放在前面，而最重要的想说的话放在句尾，而形成欲扬先抑或欲抑先扬的效果。
如： if you have not yet appreciated the truth that money is everything, you soon will.--h.belloc 或者：
it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.--"pride and prejudice", jane austen
以上两句话都是前半句让人本来以为要说多正经的事情呢，嗷嗷唱高调，后面的半句啪擦就摔下来了。
如果在口语中能适度使用圆周句式，能够使语言显得更加的幽默或者是有气势。比如:
"so i’ll say this – there are many words to describe john mccain’s attempt to pass off his embrace of george bush’s policies as bipartisan and new. but change is not one of them."--remarks of senator barack obama: final primary night, st. paul, mn/june 03, 2008. 最后那句话多么的坚定有气势阿，奥巴马太帅了。
再比如："……illegal diamonds gives rise to death and bleeding of thousands of innocent people in africa, let’s ignore it, no more."--rephrased from "blood diamonds."最后一句的警醒，振聋发聩。
其实这种句式在中文中仍然可以使用，只不过用不好的话会让人既没有心理准备又令人不知所云。