Word Order in English

Word Order in English

Look at these sentences;

1.He is going

2.Is he going

In the above two sentences, simply by changing the order of the words in the sense or the meaning is altered.

The first is the statement of fact. The second, on the other hand, demands an answer; in other words it is a question.

This difference is brought about simply by change in word order.

e.g., 1. çÉÞçÏÞ øÞÎX §KæÜ?

2.øÞÎX çÉÞçÏÞ §KæÜ?

In these sentences inspite of the change in word order, there is absolutely no change in the meaning. This is because of the inflection 'çÉÞçÏÞ".

The two basic word order in English are: 1.He is going (SV)

2.Is he going (VS)

That is, the basic word order for statements is (SV) and the basic word order for questions is (VS). The extensions of the basic SV word order are:

Subject-Verb-Object (SVO)

Subject-Verb-Compliment (SVC)

Subject-Verb-Adverbial (SVA)

Subject-Verb-Direct Object-Indirect Object (SVOO)

Subject-Verb-Object-Object Compliment (SVOC)

Examples:

• He told me a lie (SVO)
• Pande became a pilot (SVC)
• Birds fly in the sky (SVA)
• I shall send a message to her (SVOO)
• George has given me his address (SVOO)
• We held him in great esteem (SVOC)

-Anjoe-

3/10/2011