Word Order

Learn the correct order of words in English sentences

What is Word Order?

Word order in English is more fixed than in many other languages. The basic pattern is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), and changing this order can make sentences confusing or incorrect.

Basic Sentence Structure (SVO)

Subject + Verb + Object:

I (S) eat (V) apples (O).
She (S) likes (V) coffee (O).
They (S) are watching (V) TV (O).
The cat (S) caught (V) the mouse (O).

With additional information (Time/Place):

I eat apples every day. (time)
She studies English at school. (place)
They went to the park yesterday. (time)
He works in London on weekdays. (place + time)

Adjective Position

Before nouns:

A red car (NOT a car red)
A beautiful house
The old man

After linking verbs (be, seem, look, etc.):

The car is red.
She looks tired.
It seems difficult.

Multiple adjectives (opinion → size → age → color → origin → material):

A beautiful big old red Italian leather bag
A nice small new blue car
An expensive large antique wooden table

Adverb Position

Adverbs of frequency (usually, always, often, never):

Before main verb: I always eat breakfast.
After BE: She is never late.
After first auxiliary: He has often visited Paris.

Adverbs of manner (how something is done):

Usually after the verb/object: She speaks fluently.
He drives carefully.
They danced beautifully.

Adverbs of time (when):

Usually at the end: I'll call you tomorrow.
Or at the beginning: Yesterday, I went shopping.

Adverbs of place (where):

After verb/object: He lives here.
I saw him there.

Question Word Order

Inversion (auxiliary before subject):

Statement: You are tired. → Question: Are you tired?
Statement: She can swim. → Question: Can she swim?
Statement: They have left. → Question: Have they left?

With question words:

Where do you live?
What are you doing?
When did they arrive?

Time-Place-Manner (TPM) Order

When you have multiple adverbs: Manner → Place → Time

She drove carefully (manner) to work (place) this morning (time).
They played happily in the garden yesterday.
He spoke loudly at the meeting last week.

Negative Sentences

NOT comes after auxiliary:

I am not tired.
She does not like coffee.
They have not finished.
We will not go.

Common Mistakes

❌ I like very much coffee. → ✅ I like coffee very much.
❌ She speaks English good. → ✅ She speaks English well. (adverb)
❌ Yesterday I have seen him. → ✅ I saw him yesterday. / Yesterday, I saw him.
❌ Always I eat breakfast. → ✅ I always eat breakfast.
❌ A car red → ✅ A red car.
❌ I don't know what do you want. → ✅ I don't know what you want. (statement order in indirect question)

Practice Tips

🎯 SVO is king: Start with Subject-Verb-Object. This is your foundation. Add extras (time, place) at the end.
📝 Adjective before noun: In English, adjectives ALWAYS come before nouns: "red car" NOT "car red."
⏰ Frequency adverbs: Place before main verb, after BE: "I always go" / "She is never late."
🌍 TPM for adverbs: When in doubt, use Manner-Place-Time order: "carefully to school yesterday."
❓ Questions invert: Auxiliary comes before subject in questions: "Are you...?" "Do you...?" "Can she...?"