WORD ORDER

Universitas Esa Unggul

Intermediate Grammar
Nyoman Putra Antara

WORD ORDER is important: it’s what makes your sentences make sense! So, proper word order
is an essential part of writing and speaking—when we put words in the wrong order, the result
is a confusing, unclear, and an incorrect sentence.
I. Examples of Word Order

Here are some examples of words put into the correct and incorrect order:

I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters at home. CORRECT

2 brothers and 2 sisters have I at home. INCORRECT

I am in middle school. CORRECT

In middle school I am. INCORRECT

How are you today? CORRECT

You are how today? INCORRECT

As you can see, it’s usually easy to see whether or not your words are in the correct
order. When words are out of order, they stand out, and usually change the meaning of
a sentence or make it hard to understand.

II. Types of Word Order

In English, we follow one main pattern for normal sentences and one main pattern for
sentences that ask a question.

a. Standard Word Order

A sentence’s standard word order is Subject + Verb + Object (SVO). Remember, the
subject is what a sentence is about; so, it comes first.
 For example:

The dog (subject) + eats (verb) + popcorn (object).

The subject comes first in a sentence because it makes our meaning clear when
writing and speaking. Then, the verb comes after the subject, and the object comes
after the verb; and that’s the most common word order. Otherwise, a sentence
doesn’t make sense, like this:

Eats popcorn the dog. (verb + object + subject)

Popcorn the dog eats. (object + subject + verb)

b. Questions

When asking a question, we follow the order auxiliary verb/modal auxiliary +

subject + verb (ASV). Auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliaries share meaning or
function, many which are forms of the verb “to be.” Auxiliary verbs can change form,
but modal auxiliaries don’t. Here’s a chart to help you:
 As said, questions follow the form ASV; or, if they have an object, ASVO. Here are
some examples:

Can he cook? “Can” (auxiliary) “he” (subject) “cook” (verb)

Does your dog like popcorn? “Does” (A) “your dog” (S) “like” (V) “popcorn” (O)

Are you burning the popcorn? “Are” (A) “you” (S) “burning” (V) “popcorn” (O)

III. Parts of Word Order

While almost sentences need to follow the basic SVO word order, we add other words,
like indirect objects and modifiers, to make them more detailed.

a. Indirect Objects

When we add an indirect object, a sentence will follow a slightly different order.
Indirect objects always come between the verb and the object, following the pattern
SVIO, like this:

I fed the dog some popcorn.

This sentence has “I” (subject) “fed” (verb) “dog” (indirect object) “popcorn”
(direct object).
b. Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases also have special positions in sentences. When we use the
prepositions like “to” or “for,” then the indirect object becomes part of a
prepositional phrase, and follows the order SVOP, like this:

I fed some popcorn to the dog.

Other prepositional phrases, determining time and location, can go at either the
beginning or the end of a sentence:

He ate popcorn at the fair. -Or- At the fair he ate popcorn.

In the morning I will go home. I will go home in the morning.

c. Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, adding things like time,
manner, degree; and often end in -ly, like “slowly,” “recently,” “nearly,” and so on.
As a rule, an adverb (or any modifier) should be as close as possible to the thing it is
modifying. But, adverbs are special because they can usually be placed in more than
one spot in the sentence and are still correct. So, there are rules about their
placement, but also many exceptions.

In general, when modifying an adjective or adverb, an adverb should go before the

word it modifies:

The dog was extremely hungry. CORRECT adverb modifies “hungry”

Extremely, the dog was hungry. INCORRECT misplaced adverb

The extremely dog was hungry. INCORRECT misplaced adverb

The dog was hungry extremely. INCORRECT misplaced adverb

As you can see, the word “extremely” only makes sense just before the adjective
“hungry.” In this situation, the adverb can only go in one place.

When modifying a verb, an adverb should generally go right after the word it
modifies, as in the first sentence below. BUT, these other uses are also correct,
though they may not be the best:

The dog ran quickly to the fair. CORRECT * BEST POSITION

Quickly the dog ran to the fair. CORRECT

The dog quickly ran to the fair. CORRECT

The dog ran to the fair quickly. CORRECT

For adverbs expressing frequency (how often something happens) the adverb goes
directly after the subject:

The dog always eats popcorn.

He never runs slowly.

I rarely see him.

Adverbs expressing time (when something happens) can go at either the beginning
or of the end of the sentence, depending what’s important about the sentence. If
the time isn’t very important, then it goes at the beginning of the sentence, but if
you want to emphasize the time, then the adverb goes at the end of the sentence:

Now the dog wants popcorn. Emphasis on “the dog wants popcorn”

The dog wants popcorn now. Emphasis on “now”

IV. How to Avoid Mistakes with Word Order

Aside from following the proper SVO pattern, it’s important to write and speak in the
way that is the least confusing and the most clear. If you make mistakes with your word
order, then your sentences won’t make sense. Basically, if a sentence is hard to
understand, then it isn’t correct. Here are a few key things to remember:

- The subject is what a sentence is about, so it should come first.

- A modifier (like an adverb) should generally go as close as possible to the thing it is
modifying.
- Indirect objects can change the word order from SVO to SVIO.
- Prepositional phrases have special positions in sentences.

Finally, here’s an easy tip: when writing, always reread your sentences out loud to make
sure that the words are in the proper order—it is usually pretty easy to hear! If a
sentence is clear, then you should only need to read it once to understand it.

V. Word Order (Neutral, Positive, and Negative)

a. Neutral Word Order

Most sentences have a subject, and then something that is said about the subject,
which is usually the rest of the sentence. This divides the sentence into the subject
and the predicate.

• John (subject) bought the tickets on Saturday (predicate).

• The wall (subject) was torn down (predicate).

• My elderly mother (subject) is rather deaf (predicate).

 Most sentences put the information that they carry in this order. This is neutral
word order. When this neutral order is changed, the meaning of a sentence also
changes.

• The cat killed the dog.

• The dog killed the cat.

• The child watched the rabbit.

• The rabbit watched the child.

b. Positive Word Order

For the beginning, remember this simple rule:

subject verb(s) object

I Speak English

I can speak English

c. Negative Word Order

The word order in negative sentences is the same as in affirmative sentences. Note,
however, that in negative sentences we usually need an auxiliary verb:

Subject verbs indirect object direct object place time

I will not tell You the story at school tomorrow.

VI. Word Order in Simple Sentences

Simple sentences are those which have only one clause. They are extremely common in
all forms of written and spoken English. Simple sentences have a normal word order
which varies according to whether the sentence is:

A Statement,

• I saw you at the theatre on Saturday night.

• I didn’t see you at the theatre on Saturday night.

A Question,

• Did I see you at the theatre on Saturday night?

• Didn’t I see you at the theatre on Saturday night?

A Command.

• You should buy a ticket now.

• You shouldn’t buy a ticket yet.

• Buy a ticket now.

• Don’t buy a ticket now.

Word order also varies according to whether the sentence is negative or positive.
VII. Focusing

When we want to focus the attention of a reader or a listener on a particular word or

phrase, we can use variations on neutral order, such as putting the subject last, splitting
the clause into two, or repeating some part of the sentence. Some variations on the
theme of neutral word order.

• We used to call him ‘Fuzzy’.

• ‘Fuzzy’, we used to call him.

• Didn’t we use to call him ‘Fuzzy’?

• ‘Fuzzy’ was what we used to call him.

• It was ‘Fuzzy’ we used to call him.

VIII. Indirect Objects

Lastly, there are certain sentences that have an indirect object couples with a direct
object. Regardless of this, the sentence stays true to the SVO word order. In such cases,
we follow the SVOI or the SVIO word order. A key point to remember is that if the
indirect object is a noun or a pronoun we follow the SVIO order. On the other hand, if
the indirect object is preceded by a ‘to’, then we follow the SVOI word order. We can
understand this with the help of the following examples:

She gave her mother the present. ( SVIO)

She gave the present to her mother. (SVOI)