Different languages arrange the words in a sentence in different ways. This is also called the syntax of the language.
In English, the common/typical word order is Subject + Verb + Other. (SVO)
Different languages use different word order. English speakers may be familiar with this concept through the way "Yoda" speaks in Star Wars. As 0.5.0_t.he_3E.A2, has pointed out.
p.s. it is worthwhile checking out the comment by 0.5.0_t.he_3E.A2, and the mnemonics they mention. And even perhaps upvote their comment ;P ! i.e. here and here
Yoda most often constructs his sentences in "OSV" order.
i.e. His sentences start with the Object of the sentence. Then the Subject of the sentence. And the last part is Verb, the doing word/action/statement.
So Yoda says :
"Much to learn, you still have."
While in English we would often more naturally say this as :
"You still have a lot to learn."
![]( A Verb is a doing, action word.
For quite a number of writers, they describe this "O" as the "Object" of the sentence. Though there appears to be an increasing trend to now describe this as "Other". Please feel free to discuss this.
This is a reference I have been wishing to find for some time now. And have finally chosen to start to collate it myself. Focussing on languages taught by Duolingo. Please also feel free to discuss nuances of any of these broad classifications.
Here is my table in construction. Last edited 19 Oct, 2020.
Note: This is in "standard/common/current" usage in "academic" type text, and not in poetry ... " Please note, most living languages will ... change the order in some instances, to aid emphasis and poetic potency and understanding.
SVO | VSO | SOV | OVS | other | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arabic (MSA) | 2 | VSO | |||
Brazilian Portuguese | SVO | ||||
Czech | SVO | ||||
Danish | SVO | ||||
Dutch | SVO | ||||
English | SVO | ||||
Esperanto | case | ||||
French | SVO | ||||
German | SVO | OVS | |||
Greek | SVO | 2 | case | ||
Hawaiian | VSO | flexible | |||
Hebrew | SVO | ||||
High Valyrian | SOV | ||||
Hindi | SOV | ||||
Indonesian | SVO | ||||
Irish | VSO | ||||
Italian | SVO | ||||
Japanese | SOV | ||||
Korean | SOV | ||||
Latin | 2 | 2 | SOV | 2 | flexible |
Mandarin Chinese | SVO | ||||
Norwegian Bokmål | SVO | ||||
Polish | SVO | ||||
Romanian | SVO | ||||
Russian | SVO | flexible | |||
Scottish Gaelic | VSO | ||||
Spanish | SVO | ||||
Swahili | SVO | flexible | |||
Swedish | SVO | variations | |||
Turkish | SOV | ||||
Ukrainian | SVO | ||||
Vietnamese | SVO | ||||
Welsh | VSO |
The "2" is to express that this is also a common word order used for this language.
###Other resources:
p.s. I will continue to expand and revise the data in this post, as I do for other reference posts of mine.
n.b. soon to be edited again to incorporate some great language relevant input from comments below. Thank you for you patience. I am not paid for this, but passionate about language learning, and the wonders of this global community.
... though I am rewarded by your appropriate enthusiasm and participation in such grammar focused discussions. Also, I am rewarded by how you are kind and supportive of others.