Word Order
Learn Word Order in English and practice putting words in the right place in simple sentences, questions, and negatives.
English basic statements usually follow this order: subject, verb, object. The subject comes first, the verb comes next, and the object comes after the verb. This order is common in short simple sentences.
An adjective usually comes before a noun. It gives more information about the noun. In English, the adjective does not come after the noun in basic noun groups.
| Rule |
|---|
| Put the adjective before the noun ๐ข. |
| Keep the noun after the adjective ๐ต. |
| Use the same position with one or more simple adjectives ๐ก. |
Adverbs can appear in different places in a sentence. Many adverbs of frequency come before the main verb. With the verb be, the adverb usually comes after be.
| Rule |
|---|
| Put many adverbs before the main verb ๐ข. |
| Put adverbs of frequency after be ๐ต. |
| Put some adverbs at the end of the sentence for extra information ๐ก. |
With the verb be, the order in a statement is subject and be. A complement comes after be. The complement can be a noun, an adjective, or a place.
| Rule |
|---|
| Put the subject before be ๐ข. |
| Put a noun after be when it names the subject ๐ต. |
| Put an adjective or place after be when it describes the subject ๐ก. |
In yes or no questions, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. The main verb usually comes after the subject. This change is called inversion.
| Rule |
|---|
| Put the auxiliary verb before the subject ๐ข. |
| Put the subject after the auxiliary verb ๐ต. |
| Keep the main verb after the subject ๐ก. |
In wh- questions, the wh- word comes first. Then the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. After that, the main verb or the rest of the sentence follows.
| Rule |
|---|
| Put the wh word first ๐ข. |
| Put the auxiliary verb before the subject ๐ต. |
| Put the subject before the main verb ๐ก. |
In negative sentences, not comes after an auxiliary verb or after be. In simple present and simple past with other verbs, do or did carries not. The main verb stays after not in its base form when do or did is used.
| Rule |
|---|
| Put not after be ๐ข. |
| Put not after an auxiliary verb ๐ต. |
| Use do or did before not with many main verbs ๐ก. |
You can now place common sentence parts in the correct order in simple English. You can build basic statements with subject, verb, and object. You can also place adjectives, adverbs, be, question words, auxiliaries, and not in the correct positions.