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Word Order in Positive and Negative Sentences
| subject | verbs | indirect object | direct object | place | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | will tell | you | the story | at home | in the evening. |
| I | will not tell | you | the story | at home | in the evening. |
Word Order in Subordinate Clauses
(subordinate clause – Glied-, Nebensatz)
Oxford dictionary:
Definition of subordinate clause in English:
A clause, typically introduced by a conjunction, that forms part of and is dependent on a main clause (e.g. ‘when it rang’ in ‘she answered the phone when it rang’).
A group of words that has both a subject and a verb but (unlike an independent clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. Also known as a dependent clause. Contrast with coordinate clause.
Subordinate clauses are usually attached to main clauses or embedded in matrix clauses. (See Examples and Observations, below.
| conjunction | subject | verb(s) | indirect object | direct object | place | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | will tell | you | the story | at home | in the evening … | |
| because | I | don’t have | time | now. |
Adverb of Manner, Place and Time
Usually at the end of the sentence:
| subject | verb(s) | indirect object | direct object | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | will tell | you | the story | tomorrow. |
Or at the beginning, if you don’t want to put emphasis on the time:
| time | subject | verb(s) | indirect object | direct object |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomorrow | I | will tell | you | the story. |
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency are put directly before the main verb. If ‘be’ is the main verb and there is no auxiliary verb, adverbs of frequency are put behind ‘be’. Is there an auxiliary verb, however, adverbs of frequency are put before ‘be’.
| subject | auxiliary/be | adverb | main verb | object, place or time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | often | go swimming | in the evenings. | |
| He | doesn’t | always | play | tennis. |
| We | are | usually | here in summer. | |
| I | have | never | been | abroad. |
Word Order in Questions
In questions, the word order is the same as in affirmative sentences, but you have to put the auxiliary verb or the main verb “be”, before the subject. Interrogatives are put at the beginning of the sentences:
| interrogative | auxiliary verb | subject | other verbs | indirect object | direct object | place | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What | would | you | like to tell | me | |||
| Did | you | have | a party | in your flat | yesterday? | ||
| When | were | you | here? |
| interrogative | verb(s) | object |
|---|---|---|
| Who | asked | you? |
Article on basis of Word Order in English Sentences (ego4u.com).
YouTube Playlist “Sentences and Word Order”:
Weblinks:
Word Order in English Sentences
Word order and sentence structure in English
subordinate clause
The Subordinate Clause
Expressions of place and time in sentences – Word order
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