The correct order of words in a sentence in English is a painful topic for many, especially those who are just starting to learn the intricacies of translation. foreign language. But, be that as it may, the topic must be mastered well, since competent speech is an integral part of a pleasant impression of a person. Let's look at the order of words in an English sentence and the features of its construction, and also give vivid examples for better assimilation of information. Go ahead for new knowledge!

Before we proceed to the main block of information, we immediately note that today we will consider the construction rules only standard offers. Today we will not talk about the intricacies of composing complex inversions, exclamations and elliptical constructions, but will talk exclusively about standard sentences. They are a kind of skeleton, the basis for composing other types of sentences. So, let's get down to the rules for constructing a standard sentence.

The purpose of sentences is to express a comprehensive idea. To achieve this goal, you need to use the parts of the sentence in the right composition, which allows you to make the thought complete. For a sentence to be logical, it must have two main components in the form and predicate. In a standard sentence, the subjects come first, then the predicates.

How to determine the subjects? Everything is simple if you remember that they can be expressed not only by nouns, but also by pronouns. Mother, apple, cat, tail, flower, phone, cake can be used as nouns; I, we, you, they, he, she, it can be used as pronouns. The predicates are expressed (to write, to sleep, to enjoy, to read, to bake) and, as we have already said, occupy the second place in the sentence (the subjects come first).

For a better understanding, here are some examples:

• The bird is singing => The bird is singing.
• The child is smiling => The child is smiling.
• The pear will ripen => The pear will ripen.

On a note! Predicates allow you to understand what is happening, has happened or will happen to a subject or object. Moreover, they can consist of two parts - the main and auxiliary verbs. Exactly auxiliary allows you to determine the time in which the action takes place, and this, in turn, allows you to correctly translate sentences from one language to another.

In addition to the main members of the sentence, there are also additional, so-called minor members, which include => additions, definitions, . There are two types of additions - direct and indirect. Their sequence in a sentence is that the direct object comes first, followed by the indirect object.

• They saw a cat with her => They saw a cat with her.
• The grandmother is baking a cake to the children => Grandmother bakes a cake for the children.

Other English topics: Subject in English: complete grammatical information and examples

When we talk about a definition, we need to remember that it stands next to subjects or objects and is used to describe their characteristics. Answers the questions “which?”, “whose?”.

• I look at this marvelous picture => I look at this wonderful picture.
• Her gray rabbit lies on the carpet =>

If we are talking about a circumstance, then the peculiarities of the context should be taken into account, since the circumstance can be placed both at the end and at the beginning of the sentence.

• Her gray rabbit lies on the carpet => Her gray rabbit lies on the carpet.
• Tomorrow she will be listening to the music => Tomorrow she will listen to music.
• I will come to you the next day => I will come to you the next day.
• Her friend behaves indifferently => Her friend behaves vaguely.

Structure English offers

The English language offers forward and backward word order. We see the first option in affirmative and negative sentences, the second – when you need to make up a question.

Reference: Sentences in English are different from sentences in Russian. In the Russian language we observe free word order => Galya took ''Gala'', ''Gala'' took Galya, took ''Gala'' Galya. Regardless of the order of words in a sentence, the meaning does not change, which cannot be said about English language => Galya was taking Gala - the only correct translation in English.

Fixed word order in a sentence is a feature of the English language. Here one member of the sentence clearly follows the other. For children, this feature of the English language can be a kind of stick in the wheels, because in the Russian language everything is different.

Remember: English words cannot “jump” from one place to another. The conservatism of the order of words in a sentence explains the conservatism in the behavior of the British, their penchant for order and regularity.

Word order in an English sentence: affirmation, negation, question

Here the scheme is simple, subject + predicate + object. But! There are cases when a circumstance as an addition is put in first place (we have already looked at examples). Please also note that the main verb can be accompanied by an auxiliary verb. But in this case it is easier than in the case of an addition, because the auxiliary verb is an integral part of the predicate. The result is direct word order. Below table will help you understand the material easier.

Word order in an affirmative sentence

Circumstance	Subject	Predicate	Addition	Circumstance
Tomorrow	she	will learn	Spanish vocabulary.	———
Tomorrow she will learn Spanish vocabulary.
———	Her elder brother	will visit	her	in five weeks.
Her older brother will visit her in five weeks.
Next year	I	will come	here again.
Next year I will come here again.

Note that modifiers can be added to subjects.

Word order in a negative sentence

Circumstance	Subject	Auxiliary verb+not	Basic verb	Addition	Circumstance
Last week	he	did not	study	English.
He didn't study English last week.
———	Her little friend	will not	come	to me	in several days.
Her little friend won't come to me for a few days.
Next month	I	will not	do	my exercises.	————
Next month I won't do my exercises.

Other English topics: Question words in English

The given sentences are negative, but they also have standard word order. To express negation and turn an affirmative sentence into a negative one, we use the particle not .

Reference: In sentences negative character The Auxiliary verb will always be present, since it is to it that the particle is added not. Particle to main verb not cannot adjoin.

Word order in a question sentence

The Auxiliary verb always comes first. For comparison: in Russian we can guess only by intonation that we were asked a question. In English there is no need to listen to intonation, because if there is not the proposal will be negative in any case.

Reference: interrogative sentence characterized by reverse word order. What does it mean? Subjects and predicates are swapped. But... since we have already talked about conservatism, remember that only the auxiliary verb, that is, only part of the predicate, should be put in first place. Further, the formation of sentences will proceed in the standard way - theBasic verb should be placed only after Auxiliaryverb.

This is interesting! In interrogative sentences, the circumstance is never put first. It will come at the end of the sentence. Those who build a question with a circumstance at the beginning of an interrogative sentence make a mistake. Remember this!

Let's sum it up

The construction of sentences in English has its own rules and nuances. First you need to remember that all English sentences have a standard verbal order. Reverse word order is unique to interrogative sentences. In this case, it is not the main verb that comes first, but its auxiliary part. The main verb comes only after the subject.

Considerable attention should be paid to additions. If we are talking about circumstances, then they can appear either at the beginning or at the end of sentences. But! If we are talking about questions, then remember that in these cases the adverbial clause is the last member of the sentence, not the first.

Knowing the order of words in an English sentence, you will quickly learn how to correctly compose correct sentences of an affirmative, negative and interrogative nature. Good luck and patience! Remember: patience, perseverance and work are the basis of ideal success! Good luck!

In English, as in Russian, there are five categories of sentences, the rules of construction of which must be accurately known in order to successfully communicate in the language.

1. Simple sentence - complex sentence
2. Declarative sentence - interrogative sentence - exclamatory sentence

Simple sentence in English

Simple sentences are those sentences in which there is only one actor (subject) and one action (predicate). With simple sentences, things are not so simple. You need to know the fixed word order - unfortunately, in English it is strict and it is highly undesirable to deviate from it.

Applies to English offer a basic rule consisting of two points:

1. The subject comes first, the predicate comes second, and then comes everything else.

Schematically, this can be depicted as follows:

Table 1. Word order in an English sentence

SUBJECT	PREDICATE	REST OF THE PROPOSAL
		to work every day.

The following note should be made about this table: You can put a definition BEFORE the subject. And second: this scheme is used for affirmative English sentences, i.e. those with a period at the end.

2. An English sentence ALWAYS has a predicate, i.e. verb!

Even if you don’t hear this verb in the Russian translation of this sentence. For example: There are many wolves in the forest. (there is not a single verb here, although this sentence can be remade for a convenient translation: “There are many wolves in the forest.” This version already has a verb - there are). - There are many wolves in the forest.

Difficult sentence

We call a complex sentence a sentence made up of several simple sentences. As a rule, there are no difficulties with complex sentences, unless it is a complex sentence (that is, a sentence with a subordinate clause).

If you have already graduated from school a long time ago, then the term “subordinate clauses” most likely will not mean anything to you. Therefore, let’s refresh your memory: there are simple sentences (in which there is one predicate/verb), and there are complex sentences (they consist of several simple ones). In turn, complex sentences are divided into compound sentences (in them you can put the conjunction “and” between several simple sentences) and complex sentences (in them from one simple sentence to another you can ask the question “which? why? where? when? under what condition?” how?, etc.”) And subordinate clauses are precisely those simple ones to which we give a question. They are also called dependent in another way. The structure of a complex sentence looks like this:

As can be seen from the diagram, various conjunctions serve as a link between the main and dependent clauses: where, when, which, whose, because, if, etc.

This all seems so distant and incomprehensible, but in fact we use complex sentences much more often than we ourselves notice. So, the following are often used as unions:

Who used in relation to persons (=who):

I'll call George, who is good at computers.

Which refers to inanimate objects, animals, and also to the main clause in general (=which):

Don’t buy the lipstick which we saw yesterday.

She has already finished the report which will allow her a pay rise.

That refers to both animate and inanimate objects (=which):

The man that we met yesterday is my ex.

The car that Tim bought used to be mine.

Table 2. English words connectors of complex sentences

It is important to use correct punctuation (punctuation) in complex sentences.

The structure of complex sentences generally follows two possible patterns.

Main clause + conjunction + Subordinate clause

Subordinate clause + , + Main clause

Alan couldn’t come to the meeting as he was ill.

Things get more complicated if the subordinate clause begins with who, which, or where. Sometimes a comma is needed, sometimes not - it depends on how IMPORTANT this subordinate clause is for the meaning, whether emphasis is placed on it.

Main clause + conjunction + Significant subordinate clause

The driver didn’t remember the place where he had left the car.

The subordinate clause EXPLAINS the word place. Without this subordinate clause, the sentence will lose meaning, so it is meaningful. This means that there is no need for a comma in front of it - it cannot be separated in any way from the main sentence.

Main clause + , + Minor subordinate clause

The driver didn’t remember the parking lot in his neighborhood, where only expensive cars are parked.

The main sentence already contains specification - in his neighborhood. Therefore, the subordinate clause is DESCRIPTIVE, it does not provide important information. This means that it can be separated from the main clause by a comma.

Also, subordinate clauses can interrupt the main thing, “intervene” into it. In this case, we highlight or not highlight with commas on both sides.

The driver didn’t remember the place where he had left the car well.

The driver didn’t remember the parking lot in his neighborhood, where only expensive cars are parked, well.

How to make sentences in English

Declarative sentence

Classification into narrative, interrogative and exclamation sentences made by relying on punctuation marks. At the end of declarative sentences we put a period, at the end of interrogative sentences we put a question mark, at the end of exclamatory sentences we put an exclamation mark. However, they differ not only in punctuation, but also in word order. In declarative sentences, the word order is direct - we talked about them above.

Interrogative sentence

So, there are 2 basic types of questions: general and. To the first we answer “yes” or “no”, and to the second we answer something specific, special (depending on what is asked in the question itself). Remember that the word order in any English sentence is FIXED, and this also applies to questions.

0 place- QUESTION WORD

• What - what? Which?
• Who - who?
• Who(m) - to whom? by whom?
• Where - where? Where?
• When - when?
• Why - why?
• How - how?
• How much (many) - how much?
• Which - which?
• What - which one?
• Whose - whose?

1 place- AUXILIARY

• is/are/am
• do / does / did
• will / would / shall
• have / has
• can/could
• may/might
• ought
• should

2nd place- SUBJECT

3rd place- BASIC (SEMINAL) VERB

4th place- REST OF THE WORDS

There are also several comments to this structure:

NOTE 1. How to choose an auxiliary verb? Very simply: the auxiliary verb is the one that appears first in the original sentence. For example:

• Danny is a worker ---> is
• Anna will drive ---> will
• They have finished the report ---> have

Therefore, to ask a question, you just need to rearrange the subject and predicate.

What to do if there is no auxiliary verb? For example: We visited the museum. Here we only have the main verb - visited. Therefore, when there is no visible auxiliary verb, it is do / does / did, depending on the tense. In our case it is did, since the verb is in .

NOTE 2. The main (semantic) verb, when you ask a question, is pure, that is, without any endings, in the initial form.

NOTE 3. How to understand 0 place? This position in the question is called so because there are question words only in special questions, but not in general ones. It is by the question word that you determine what to answer. For example:

Mother gave her son a tasty medicine yesterday because he was ill.

• Who? -Mother
• Whom? -son
• Whose son? - her
• What? - medicine
• What medicine? - tasty
• When? - yesterday
• Why? - because he was ill

In general questions (those to which you answer “yes” or “no”) there is no question word, that is, an auxiliary verb comes immediately.

Exclamatory sentence

As a rule, exclamatory sentences begin with what (what the..., which...) or how (how...). Here, too, you need to be careful with the word order.

What..!

Table 3. Word order of English exclamatory sentences

How..!

In exclamations, it is customary to put either an adjective or an adverb after how.

How sweet! - How nice!

How lovely! - How funny!

Sometimes you can find a more detailed construction: How + adjective/adverb + subject + predicate.

How interesting it was to hear her story!

How wonderful it is to see you!

In this article we will touch on a topic that worries many - how to correctly compose this or that English sentence, or, in other words, what sequence of words to choose in order to get a grammatically correct sentence construction and a beautiful, logical and understandable statement for others. Here, first of all, it is worth paying attention to the nature of the sentence according to the purpose of the statement, namely, whether it is declarative, interrogative, motivating or exclamatory. Let us consider certain types of such statements.

Word order in narrative statements

Note: for ease of perception of the material in the examples below, the members of the sentence will be highlighted in color: the subject will be red, the predicate will be blue, the direct object will be brown, etc.

In an ordinary (declarative) sentence subject usually placed immediately before predicate . This type of sentence construction is called direct word order and is fixed for the construction of narrative statements in English. A direct object (if present) follows immediately after the predicate:

John is traveling .	John is traveling.
He is writing an article.	He is writing an article.
The man who stayed at our hotel last night is writing a book.	The man who stayed at our hotel last night is writing a book.

Please note that under the subject there is not just a single word, but sometimes a whole phrase or construction containing an infinitive, or a subordinate clause.

A strong wish to stay was following me.	A strong desire to stay haunted me.
Reading at least one book a week keeps your mind fit.	Reading at least one book a week keeps your mind fit.
The woman who lives next door has telephoned you.	The woman who lives next door called you.

If a sentence contains some other parts of it - an indirect object, circumstances expressed by adverbs or certain phrases - then these members of the sentence usually also occupy certain places in the statement.

Position indirect object in an English sentence . Indirect addition follows direct object , if it is preceded by a preposition (for example, the preposition to), and precedes a direct object if there is no preposition.

Jane gave that interesting book to her brother.	Jane gave that interesting book to her brother.
Jane gave her brother an interesting book.	Jane gave her brother an interesting book.

What's the difference, you ask. Take a closer look at the information conveyed by each of the sentences - the most important and new information is transferred to the end of the sentence, that is, for the first statement it was important who Jane gave the book to, while for the second it was what exactly she gave to her brother.

Position of circumstance. Circumstances occur in an English sentence in three different places:

a) before the subject, for example:

Tomorrow I am leaving my native town.	Tomorrow I will leave my hometown.
At the end of the week we go fishing.	At the end of the week we go fishing.
Because of your laziness you have a lot of problems.	Because of your laziness, you have a lot of problems.

This position is characteristic mainly of circumstances of time, place, cause and condition.

b1) after addition, for example:

We play tennis on Saturdays.	We play tennis on Saturdays.
The tourists are leaving our town tomorrow .	Tourists are leaving our city tomorrow.
Mary told me the truth the day before yesterday.	Mary told me the truth the day before yesterday.

b2) with intransitive verbs immediately after the verb, for example:

I am jogging in the park.	I'm running in the park.
The petrol cost is increasing rapidly.	The cost of gasoline is rising rapidly.
The sun is shining brightly.	The sun is shining brightly.

Position b1) and b2) are acceptable for almost all types of circumstances, except for those discussed in paragraph c).

c) in the middle of the predicate group, that is, between the auxiliary and semantic verb. This position is typical for circumstances expressed by adverbs denoting the regularity or time of execution (perfection) of an action. Moreover, if the predicate is expressed by only one verb, the position of the adverb is preserved - it will stand before the usual semantic verb, but if the verb can act as an auxiliary (and somewhere nearby the nominal part of such a predicate is found), then the adverb will appear after it. Examples:

Tom has already seen this film.	Tom has already seen this film.
Sue doesn't usually help me.	Sue doesn't usually help me.
Helen often visits her granny.	Helen often visits her grandmother.
Jack is often late.	Jack is often late.

The question quite naturally arises: “What if several circumstances should be used in a sentence?” To begin with, it should be noted that such situations most often occur with circumstances of time, place and manner of action (usually only with two types from this list). As a rule, it is preferable to use the adverbial first course of action , then - places , and only then - time . It’s easy to remember this combination, because it partly resembles the name of a famous TV show, only in a slightly modified form - “How? Where? When?". In this case, more precise time parameters are placed before more generalized ones. Examples:

They left their house quickly in the morning.	They left their house hastily in the morning.
Jane met Paul in the street last week.	Jane met Paul on the street last week.
Terry is going to say good bye to all his friends at the station at 6 o’clock tomorrow .	Terry is going to say goodbye to all his friends at the station at 6 o'clock tomorrow.

However, this rule is advisory rather than mandatory. In live English speech, circumstances may be arranged in a different order, since the speaker may have different speech intentions and, using unusual word position and phrasal stress, try, for example, to highlight a certain part of the utterance. But at the stage of learning English, you should take this order of circumstances into account in order to avoid future doubts about correct structure offers.

Introductory words are most often placed at the beginning of a sentence, expressing the attitude of the author of the statement to the entire sentence, for example:

Perhaps the group has already reached the destination of the trip.	The group may have already reached their destination.
Surely the teacher will ask you.	Surely the teacher will ask you.

However, the author of the statement can sometimes put the introductory word in another place, for example, inside a complex predicate, to give special significance and emotional emphasis to any part of the sentence, for example:

For greater clarity, below is sentence construction scheme(narrative) with examples:

Circumstance or introductory word	Subject	Predicate	Addition			Circumstance
			indirect	direct	indirect with preposition	course of action	places	time
	1) We	gave	Jane	her present.
	2) We	gave		this present	to Jane.
	3) We	gave	Jane	her present		with great pleasure.
4) At the party	we	gave	Jane	a present.
5) Surely	we	gave	Jane	Apresent			on the stage	at the end of the party.

Translation of the sentences given in the table (to avoid misunderstandings) in order:

1) We gave Jane her gift.

2) We gave this gift to Jane.

3) We gave Jane her gift with great pleasure.

4) At the party we gave Janepresent.

5) Of course, we gave Jane a gift on stage at the end of the party.

Position of definitions. Wherever you find definitions: in the subject group, in the complement group, and even in the adverbial group, within which there is a noun that can be characterized. Definitions can be expressed by various parts of speech, but the most common, of course, is the adjective, which occupies a position before the noun it modifies. And here the question arises: “What if there are several adjectives? In what order should I put them?” . This order and possible examples are presented in the following table:

general characteristics	size data	age parameters	color	manufacturer/origin	material	essence telial

Translation of examples:

1) a large old Scottish yacht;

2) rare old red oriental carpet;

3) new purple leather jacket.

Using these simple rules will help you construct affirmative sentences correctly in English. The above examples were based on simple sentences, but the same word order is preserved in complex sentences and will be correct for both the main and subordinate clauses. Examples:

Jim left the place where he had been living for five years.	Jim left the place where he lived for 5 years.
The poor baby is ill so we need some medicine.	The poor baby is sick, so we need some medicine.

All that remains is to find out the order of words in interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences.

Word order in English questions

The question differs from an affirmative sentence in the position of the subject and predicate; the remaining members of the sentence in the question occupy the same positions as in affirmative sentence. Let's compare:

affirmative sentence	interrogative sentence
You can be my friend. / You can be my friend.	Can you be my friend? / Can you be my friend?

If in an affirmative sentence the subject precedes the predicate, then in a question it appears inside the “predicate frame”, consisting of at least two elements.

First of all, you should understand that in English there are five basic types of questions and each has its own word order. But don't give up. In reality, all types of questions start from the structure of the same type - the general question. Let's start with it:

Word order in a general question. Such a question does not contain a question word and requires the answer: “Yes” or “No”. The first position in such a sentence is occupied by the auxiliary verb, followed by the subject, then the semantic verb or the nominal part of the predicate and all other members of the sentence. Examples:

Do you like playing golf?	Do you like playing golf?
Has Jane been to Alaska?	Has Jane been to Alaska?

Word order in a special question distinguished by the presence question word , which is put before the structure characteristic of the general question. For example:

Why do you like traveling?	Why do you love to travel?
When did you go to Mexico?	When did you go to Mexico?

Word order in alternative question completely coincides with that in the general question:

Will you join us or Jenny?	Will you join us or Jenny?
Has Paul has been to Montreal or Quebec?	Was Paul in Montreal or Quebec?

Word order in questions to the subject is determined by the fact that the question word here is the subject - it comes first and there is no need to use a special auxiliary verb to form a question, unless it is required to construct the tense form of the predicate. The question word is immediately followed by the entire predicate:

Who likes playing golf?	Who loves to play golf?
Who will help you?	Who will help you?

Word order in a dividing question is a simple sequence of an auxiliary verb (with or without negation) and a subject expressed by a personal pronoun, for example:

Paul likes playing computer games, doesn't he?	Paul loves playing computer games, doesn't he?
Jane won't help you, will she?	Jane won't help you, will she?

Below is the structure of questions in English in a simple diagram format with examples:

	information preceding the question (for separation)	question word	auxiliary	subject	semantic verb	other members of the sentence
general question			1) Do	you	live	in London?
specialist. question		2) How long	have	you	been living	in London?
altern. question			3) Do	you	live	in London or in Edinburgh?
question to subject				4) Who	lives	in London?
chapter. question	5) You live in London		don't	you?

1) Do you live in London?

2) How long have you lived in London?

3) Do you live in London or Edinburgh?

4) Who lives in London?

5) You live in London, don't you?

Word order in imperative sentences

Imperative sentences are characterized by the absence of a subject and the position of the predicate in the imperative mood at the beginning of the sentence. Examples:

Take an umbrella!	Take an umbrella!
Don 't tell me this story again!	Don't tell me that story again!

Word order in exclamatory sentences

In addition to the fact that almost any sentence can be made exclamatory due to its particularly emotional pronunciation, in English there is a special group of sentences that are constantly exclamatory. They begin with the words What or How, associated with a specific noun or adjective/adverb, respectively. Such sentences are used to express strong emotions, such as admiration, for some reason and after designs with What or How the subject and predicate follow (although sometimes they are omitted). Examples:

What a fun y puppy!	What a funny puppy!
What an awful taste you have!	What terrible taste you have!
How long you can sleep!	How long can you sleep!
How beautiful you are looking today!	How beautiful you look today!

As you can see, word order in English is not so complex topic, and our rules will help you accurately construct any sentence.

The order of words in a sentence plays a more important role in English than in Russian. This is explained by the fact that in the Russian language there are a huge number of prefixes, suffixes, endings that indicate the functions of each word in a sentence and the relationships between them, so the position of words is more or less free.

In English, the relationship between words and their role is expressed through their order in the sentence. Therefore, it is necessary to know the place of each member (component) in the sentence, not to confuse them and not to change places (especially the subject and object), since this changes the meaning of the sentence.

• Russian language
• Jane watched this film last Sunday.
• Jane watched this film last Sunday. (rearranging the subject and object does not change the meaning of the sentence)

• English language
• Jane watched this movie last Sunday. – Jane watched this film last Sunday.
• This movie watched Jane last Sunday. – This film followed Jane last Sunday.

English sentences can be with direct And indirect word order.

Direct word order

Direct Word Order(direct word order) in English is used in declarative sentences (affirmative or negative). In literal word order, the main thing is that the subject comes before the predicate part.

At direct word order, basically, the following order of sentence members is observed:

1. 1. The Subject - subject (Who? What?)
2. 2. The Predicate – predicate (What does it do? What state is it in? Who or what is it?)
3. 3. Object – addition (Whom? To whom? By whom?)
4. 4. Adverbial Modifier – circumstance (When? Where? How?)

• I sent you a letter yesterday.– I sent you a letter yesterday.
• They won't go with us to the party tomorrow. They won't go to the party with us tomorrow.

• Didn’t you go to the cinema yesterday?– Didn’t you go to the cinema yesterday?
• Would you bring me some tea, please?– Could you bring me some tea, please?
• Is Francis working in his room at the moment?– Francis is working in his office now?

However, if the predicate is expressed by a verb to be(to be) or to have(to have), then they come before the subject. In modern English the semantic verb to have more often used with an auxiliary verb do.

• Have you a pen?- Do you have a pen?
• Do you have a pen?- Do you have a pen?
• Is she at home now?– Is she at home now?

Indirect word order also used in sentences starting with there(constructions), where there acts as an introduction or formal subject.

• There is nothing funny in what I say.“There’s nothing funny in what I say.”
• There worked a lot of people for that plant.“A lot of people worked at that factory.
• There plays Jane with her son in the garden.– Jane is playing in the garden with her son.

Indirect word order used in sentences starting with the word here(Here). But if the subject is expressed by a pronoun, then it is used direct word order.

• Here is your teddy.- Here's your bear.
• Here comes my sister Monica.- Here comes my sister Monica.
• Here is the house where Jack lives.– This is the house where Jack lives.

• Here he is!- Here he is!
• Here we go!- Let's start! Go!

Indirect word order used in the second part of complex sentences after so(as well as neither(also not). In this case, the dependent clause uses the same auxiliary verb as the main clause.

• Jack didn’t know how to repair that broken car, neither did we .“Jack didn’t know how to fix that broken car, and we didn’t know either.”
• Most of French are good at cooking and so are you, right?– Most French cook well, and you are one of them, aren’t you?

Indirect word order also used in simple exclamatory sentences expressing a wish.

• Be it so!- Let it be so!
• May you never be sad!- May you never be sad!
• May all your wishes come true!– I wish that all your wishes come true!

Also indirect word order used for expressiveness and emphasizing a certain part of a sentence. It depends not on the structure of the sentence itself, but more on author's wishes. This often happens when a circumstance is placed at the beginning of a sentence.

• Silently and attentively did the man listen to the priest.– The man listened silently and attentively to the preacher.
• In the dark wood with no paths stood and shouted two boys.– In a dark forest, without a single path, two boys stood and shouted.

Indirect word order can be used if there are adverbials at the beginning of the sentence in vain(in vain) never(never), little(not at all), expressing a negative meaning, as well as words only(only), hardly(hardly), no sooner(immediately after), etc. In this case, you should use an auxiliary verb do, if the predicate is not expressed by an auxiliary or modal verb.

• In vain we were trying to find Mary in the wood.“We tried in vain to find Mary in the forest.
• Never before have I seen such a beautiful park.“I have never seen such a beautiful park before.”
• Little does he think that he doesn’t need our help.“He doesn’t think he needs our help at all.”

Indirect word order used after words so(So), thus(Thus), now(now, then), then(then, after), which come at the beginning of a sentence. If the subject is expressed by a pronoun, then use direct word order.

• Now was the time to attack.“It was time to attack.”
• Thus spoke Mr. Jameson standing near the door.- So spoke Mr. Jameson, standing at the door.

• So he spent his holidays in Paris.- So he spent his holiday in Paris.

Indirect word order can be used after adverbs indicating direction, for example, in, out, down, away, up, if they come at the beginning of a sentence.

• Away wounded children.- The children ran away.
• Down fell Peter.– Peter fell backwards.
• Up flew Kate's baloon.– Kate’s ball flew up.

If the subject is expressed by a pronoun, then use direct word order.

• I fell down.- I fell.
• It flew away.- It flew away.

Indirect word order also used in conditional sentences without conjunctions, if the predicate is expressed by verbs was, were, had, could or should. In this case, the sentences sound more emotional.

• Even was Ann starving, she would never ask for money. Even if Anne was starving, she would never ask for money.
• I would have felt better, had I stayed at home instead of going to school.“I would feel better if I stayed at home instead of going to school.”
• Jack wouldn't take a taxi at night to go home, could he stay at our place.“Jack wouldn’t have called a taxi in the evening to go home if he had stayed with us.”

Place of an object in a sentence

• He will call you soon.- He'll call you soon.
• I bought these flowers for you.– I bought these flowers for you.
• My mom likes to give some advice.– My mother likes to give advice.

However, in exclamatory sentences a direct object can appear at the beginning of a sentence. In this case it is used direct word order.

• What a nice day we have today!– What a wonderful day we have today!
• What a lady I met yesterday!– What a beautiful lady I met yesterday!

Sometimes a direct object can be placed at the end of a sentence when it is separated from the predicate by other members of the sentence (for example, by a circumstance). This is done in order to emphasize or highlight the addition in a special way.

• Matt saw in the morning paper his own article. Matt saw his own article in the morning newspaper.
• She took from her bag and gave John a big chocolate bar.“She took it out of her bag and gave John a large chocolate bar.
• I had in my head a lot of disturbing and unpleasant thoughts.“I had a lot of disturbing and unpleasant thoughts spinning in my head.

The indirect prepositional object can sometimes be found at the beginning of sentences also for greater emphasis. This is typical for spoken English.

• In God we trust.- In god we trust.
• To Kate I send all my letters.– I send all my letters to Kate.
• For Mark it wasn’t a big problem.– For Mark it was not a big problem.

Sometimes after indirect prepositional object can be used at the beginning of a sentence inversion or indirect word order (predicate before subject), often in fiction.

• For this lady were written all my poems.– All my poems were written for this lady.
• To this circumstance may be attributed to the fact that I have never met that man.“The fact that I have never met this person may be related to these circumstances.”

Place of definition in a sentence

• The only way possible is to tell the truth.– The only possible way is to tell the truth.
• This story is the most interesting thing imaginable.– This story is the most interesting thing that could be invented.
• The only person visible was the soldier near the castle’s gates.– The only person who could be seen was the soldier at the castle gate.

In some set expressions, the adjective definitions always come after the noun.

• wealth untold- untold riches
• from times immemorial- since time immemorial
• a poet laureate– Poet Laureate
• generations unborn- future generations
• court martial– court-martial
• sum total- total amount
• four years running- four years in a row
• the first person singular– first person singular
• the second person plural– second person plural

Definitions proper in meaning " actually, as such" And present in meaning " present” come after the noun they refer to.

• This book tells us about art proper.– This book tells us about art as such.
• All the people present clapped when the actor appeared on the stage.– Everyone present clapped when the actor appeared on stage.

Definitions expressed as a cardinal number, indicating the series number or place of the item, always come after a noun. In this case, articles are not used.

• The poem I like is on page ten.– The verse that I like is on page ten.
• I am looking for room three zero five.- I'm looking for room number 305.
• To go to the center you should take train four.– To go to the center, you need to take the fourth tram.

Definitions expressed by adjectives come after indefinite and negative pronouns in a sentence.

• I want to eat something sweet.– I want to eat something sweet.
• There is nothing funny in my words.- There is nothing funny in my words.
• You never do anything useful.-You never do anything useful.

Often definitions expressed by an adjective, especially if there are several of them, are placed after the word they refer to in order to emphasize and highlight them. Such definitions are separated from the word being defined by a comma.

• Jack tired and pale, fell on the sofa.– Jack, tired and pale, collapsed on the sofa.
• There stood a girl, small, cute and cheerful.“There was a girl standing there, small, sweet and joyful.
• I looked in her eyes, large, blue and beautiful.“I looked into her eyes, big, blue and beautiful.

Place of circumstance in a sentence

• “Leave me alone!” Janice shouted loudly.- "Leave me alone!" - Janice shouted loudly.

If the predicate is expressed by a transitive verb, then such a circumstance is placed after the direct object.

• Kate read the contract attentively and then signed it.– Kate read the contract carefully and then signed it.

If the predicate has a prepositional object, then circumstance of the course of action is put between them (after the predicate and before the prepositional object).

• Charles asked politely for a cup of tea and some sugar.– Charles politely asked for a cup of tea and some sugar.

Circumstance of degree always comes before the predicate. If this is a compound predicate, then the adverbial adverb is placed after the auxiliary verb.

• We completely agree with you.– We completely agree with you.
• I am quite tired at the moment.– I feel quite tired now.
• We have almost finished our homework.– We have almost finished our homework.

Circumstance of degree enough(enough) comes after the adjective it refers to. If a circumstance refers to a noun, then it can appear either before or after it.

• My sister is clever enough but really lazy.– My sister is quite smart, but very lazy.
• I have enough money, don't worry.- I have enough money, don’t worry.
• We have time enough to rest a bit.– We have enough time to rest.

// 13 Comments

English grammar may often seem strange. So many rules for writing sentences and almost as many exceptions to those rules can drive even native speakers crazy. Although, in general, to a greater extent, English sentences are built according to a similar structure. Follow our simple tips that will surely help you put words into sentences much easier.

1. Observe the order of words in a sentence. As a rule, in the case of an affirmative it is a subject, a predicate, an object, and for an interrogative: an interrogative pronoun (who, what, why), an auxiliary verb (to be, do, have), a subject, a predicate, secondary members.

• Jane crossed the street. – Jane crossed the street.

Google shortcode

In this sentence, the subject is Jane, the predicate is crossed, and the object is the street. To make it easy for you to remember this simple scheme, try to compose several sentences of this kind, and make the subject someone you know, thus trying to say in English what actions he performs.

2. The members of a sentence are not always represented by one word. The subject, predicate or object is sometimes expressed in more than one word, so look at the structure of the sentence rather than each word individually to find the meaning.

• People who eat a lot get fatter and fatter. -People who eat a lot become fatter and fatter.

In this sentence the subject is “people who eat a lot.” We call a subject consisting of several words a “subject phrase.” Therefore, when translating sentences into Russian, try to find the subject and predicate - this will make it easier to understand its meaning.

3. There are two types of additions in English. Sometimes a sentence contains two complements at once: direct (direct), if it has a direct connection with the subject (what?), and indirect (to whom?), if its connection with the subject is weaker.

• He bought some sweets for his children. – he bought some sweets for his children.

In this sentence, “sweets” (what?) is a direct object, and “his children” (to whom?) is an indirect object and is usually accompanied by a preposition and completes the sentence.

• He bought his children some sweets.

In this sentence, the direct and indirect objects have swapped places. If the indirect object is used first, it no longer needs a preposition.

4. But not all proposals are so simple. As in Russian, English also has Compound sentences, consisting of two or more simple sentences, each of which is constructed according to a specified pattern. The clauses that make up a complex sentence are joined to each other by a conjunction.

• I bought a dress and my friend bought a skirt. – I bought a dress, and my friend bought a skirt.

Here is an example of a complex sentence consisting of two simple ones, each of which is constructed according to the scheme: subject + predicate + object.

5. Learn exceptions to the rules. There are many different sentence structures in which sentences are constructed slightly differently. Learn to compose not only narrative, but also interrogative, exclamatory sentences, etc. – the English language is full of surprises and secrets, which need to be studied consistently and constantly, then the desired result will be achieved.