*Sentence structure in English*
*WORD ORDER*
Word order is very important in English; but it is not complicated, and can
be reduced to a few basic rules or principles.
► 1.1 In a normal (declarative) sentence, the *subject* of a sentence comes
directly in front of the*verb*. The *direct object *(when there is one)
comes directly after it:
Examples: *The man wrote a letter.*
* * *People who live in glasshouses* *shouldn't throw stones.*
*The president laughed.*
► 1.2. Note that by *the subject, *we mean not just a single word, but the
subject noun or pronoun plus descriptive phrases that go with it. The rest
of the sentence - i.e. the part that is not the subject - is called the
predicate.
Example: *People who live in glasshouses* *shouldn't throw stones.*
► 1.3. If a sentence has any *other parts *to it - indirect objects, adverbs
or adverb phrases - these *usually* come in the following places:
1.3.1 The position of the indirect object
The indirect object follows the *direct object* when it is formed with
the preposition to:
The indirect object comes in front of the direct object if to is omitted
Example: The doctor gave *some medicine* to the child.
or: The doctor gave the child *some medicine*.
1.3.2. Adverbs or adverb phrases can come in three possible places:
- Before the subject (Notably with common adverbs or adverb phrases)
Example: *Yesterday the man* *wrote a letter.*
- After the object (Virtually any adverb or adverb phrase can be placed
here)
Example: *The man wrote a letter on his computer in the train.*
- In the middle of the verb group. (Notably with short common adverbs)
Example *The man* *has already written* * his letter*
► 1.4 In standard English, **nothing *usually* comes between the subject and
the verb, or between the verb and the object.
There are a few exceptions. The most important of these are *adverbs of
frequency* and *indirect objects without to*.
Example: *The man* *often* *wrote his mother* *a letter.
**I* *sometimes* give* my dog* *a bone.*
If you always apply these few simple rules, you will not make too many word
order problems in English. The examples above are deliberately simple - but
the rules can be applied even to complex sentences, with subordinate and
coordinated clauses.
*The director, [who often told his staff (to work* *harder)**,] never
left the office before [he had checked his e-mail.]*
*1.5 QUESTIONS:*
Remember this simple and common English phrase:
*How* *do you do?*
The structure of almost every simple question in English is based on this
same model:
(*Question word)* - Auxiliary or modal - subject - main verb - (plus the
rest of the sentence):
Examples
What did Tom Cruise do?
Did Arnold Schwarzenegger learn English quickly?
How quickly did Arnold Schwarzenegger learn English ?
Has the representative from that German company sent us his invoice yet?
2: Exceptions
Of course, there are exceptions to many rules, and writers and speakers
sometimes use different or unusual word order for special effects. But if we
concentrate on the exceptions, we may forget the main principles, and the
question of word order may start to seem very complex! So here are just a
few examples: you should realise that they exist, but not try to use them
unless either they are essential in the context, or else you have fully
mastered normal word order patterns. (Don't try to run before you can walk!)
A few examples:
- Never before had I seen such a magnificent exhibition.
(After never or never before, subject and verb can be - and usually are
- inverted).
- Hardly had I left the house, than it started to rain.
(When a sentence starts with hardly, subject and verb must be
inverted.).
- Had I known, I'd never have gone there.
(Inversion occurs in unfulfilled hypothetical conditional structures
when if is omitted.. See the page on conditional
clauses<http://linguapress.com/grammar/conditionals.htm> for
more details)
- The book that you gave me I'd read already.
(The long object, The book that you gave me, is placed at the start of
the sentence for reasons of style: this unusual sentence structure is not
necessary, just stylistic).
3: Going further: other issues of word order.
Specific word order issues are also considered on other pages:
- Word order in relative
clauses<http://linguapress.com/grammar/relative-clauses.htm>
- Word order with phrasal or prepositional
verbs<http://linguapress.com/grammar/prepositional-verbs.htm>
- Determining the order of
adjectives<http://linguapress.com/grammar/adjective-order.htm>
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