Word Order

Word Order

    A.    Verb + Object

The verb and the object of the verb normally go together. We do not usually put other words between them:

	Verb	+	Object
I	like		children	very much (not: I like very much children)
Did you	see		your friends	yesterday?
Ann often	plays		tennis.

Study these examples. Notice how the verb and the object go together each time:

·         Do you clean the house every weekend? (not: Do you clean every weekend the house?)

·         Everybody enjoyed the party very much. (not: Everybody enjoyed very much the party)

·         Our guide spoke English fluently.  (not: Our guide spoke fluently English)

·         I not only lost all my money, but also lost my passport. (not: ..also lost my passport)

·         At the end of the street you’ll see a supermarket on your left. (not: .. see on your left a supermarket)

   B.     Place and Time

Usually the verb and the place go together: go home; live in a city; walk to work; etc.

If the verb has an object, the place comes after the verb + object: take somebody home; meet a friend in the street; etc.

Time (when? / How often? / How long?) normally goes after place.

	Place	Time
Tom walks	to work	every morning. (not:..walks every morning to work.
She has been	in Canada	since April.
We arrived	at the airport	early.

Study these examples. Notice how time goes after place:

·         I’m going to Paris on Monday. (not: I’m going on Monday to Paris)

·         They have lived in the same house for a long time.

·         Don’t be late. Make sure you’re here by 8 o’clock.

·         Sarah gave me a lift home after the party.

·         You really shouldn’t go to bed so late.

If is often possible to put time at the beginning of the sentence:

·         On Monday I’m going to Paris.

·         Every morning Tom walks to work.

Sometime words (for example: always/never/often) usually go with  the verb in the middle of the sentence.

   C.    Adverb with the verb

1.      Some adverb (for example: always, also, probably) go with the verb in the middle of a sentence.

·         Tom always goes to work by car.

·         We were feeling very tired and we were also hungry.

·         Your car has probably been stolen.

2.       Study these rules for the position of adverbs in the middle of a sentence. (They are only general rules, so there are exceptions.)

                             i.            If the verb is one word (goes/fell/cooked,etc), the adverb usually goes before the verb:

	Adverb	Verb
Tom	always	goes	to work by car.
I	almost	fell	as I was going down the stairs.

·         I cleaned the house and also cooked the dinner. (not: cooked also)

·         Lucy hardly ever watches television and rarely reads newspapers.

Note that these adverbs (always/often/also, etc) go before have to:

·         We always have to wait a long time for the bus. ( not: we have always to wait)

                           ii.            Adverbs go after am/is/are/was/were:

·         We were feeling very tired and we were also hungry.

·         Why are you always late? You’re never on time.

·         The traffic isn’t usually as bad as it was this morning.

                         iii.            If the verb is two or more words (can remember /  doesn’t smoke / has been stolen / etc), the adverb goes after the first verb (can/doesn’t,has):

	Verb 1	Adverb	Verb 2
I	can	never	remember	his name.
Ann	doesn’t	usually	smoke.
	Are you	definitely	going	to the party tomorrow?
Your car	has	probably	been	stolen.

·         My parents have always lived in London.

·         Jack can’t cook. He can’t even boil an egg.

·         The house was only built a year ago and it is already falling down.

Note that probably goes before the negative. So we say:

·         I probably won’t see you.

·         I will probably not see you. (not: I won’t probably..)

3.      we also use all and both in these positions:

·         We all felt ill after the meal. (not: we felt all ill..)

·         My parents are both teacher. (not: my parents both are teacher)

·         Sarah and Jane have both applied for the job.

·         We are all going out  this evening.

4.      Sometimes we use is/will/did instead of repeating part of a sentence. Note the position of always/never in these sentence:

·         He always says he won’t be late but he always is. (= he is always late)

·         I’ve never done it and I never will. (= I will never do it)