Although variations are possible [> 1.6], the basic word order in a sentence that is not a question or a command is usually
Subject group verb group (predicate)
subject verb object adverbials [usually optional > 7.1 ]
manner place time[>7.19.1 7.22]
/ bought
The children ran
The taxi driver shouted at
We ate
The car stopped
A young girl walked
with long
black hair
a hat me angrily our meal in silence suddenly |
home |
confidently across the room |
yesterday
Word order: definitions of key terms
A subject is normally a noun, pronoun or noun phrase, it usually goes before the verb The verb must 'agree' with the subject, so the subject dictates the form of the verb (e g / wait John waits I am you are I have the new edition has) This 'agreement' between subject and verb is often called concord An object is normally a noun, pronoun or noun phrase, it usually goes after the verb in the active It can become the subject of a verb in the passive [> 12.1-2]
subject active They passive He |
Predicate
drove him away in a police car was driven away in a police car
A sentence does not always require an object It can just be
- subject + verb We all laughed
- subject + verb + adverb We laughed loudly Some verbs do not take an object [> 1.9-10]
Making the parts of a sentence longer
We can lengthen a subject or object by adding a clause or a phrase
- lengthening the subject The man ran away The man who stole the money ran away
- lengthening the object / bought a raincoat I bought a raincoat with a warm lining
1 The sentence