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, 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
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.
- 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).