Word order in English language subordinated to a clear scheme (in the picture)... Substitute words there instead of squares and get the correct word order. The scheme is simple and you can figure it out in just 15 minutes. For a better understanding, there are examples of English sentences with translation into Russian.

Word order in an English sentence, construction scheme.

The standard English sentence is structured according to such a scheme:

The sentence depicted in the figure is called declarative or, which is the same, affirmative. An affirmative sentence is when someone has done something and we talk about it.

At the first place there is a subject in the sentence - this is the one who performs the action. In the diagram and in the examples, the subject is highlighted in red. The subject can be a noun (mom, cat, apple, work, etc.) or a pronoun (me, you, he, etc.). The subject may also contain several adjectives used as definitions (fast cat, red apple, etc.).

In second place the predicate always stands. The predicate is actually the action itself. In the diagram and in the examples, the predicate is highlighted in blue. It is expressed by the verb (go, look, think, etc.)

After the predicate there is one or more add-ons. Addition, this is again a noun or pronoun.

And at the end of the sentence are the circumstances of place and time. They show where and when the action took place. As a rule, words that answer the question "Where?" Come first, and then words that answer the question "When?"

Examples of affirmative sentences:

What if there is no subject?

In the Russian language, statements are quite common in which either the subject, or the predicate, or both are missing. For example:

In English, the predicate is required. And in such cases, the verb to be (is) is used as a predicate. For example:

They are students.
They are students.

That is, instead of "They are students," the British say "They are students", instead of "This tree" they say "This is a tree." Here "are" and "is" are forms of the verb to be. This verb, unlike most others English verbs, changes by faces. You can see all forms of the verb to be.

If both the subject and the predicate are absent in a Russian sentence, then when translated into English, “It is” is put at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

Cold.
It is cold.

The order of adjectives.

It happens that the supplement contains a large number of adjectives. For example:

I bought a large, beautiful and very comfortable sofa.

Here is the standard word order for adjectives in an English sentence:

1) adjectives describing your impression of the subject (good, beautiful, excellent ...)

2) size (large, small ...)

3) age (new, old ...)

5) origin (Italian, German ...)

6) the material from which it is made (metal, leather ...)

7) what is it intended for (office, computer ...)

For example:

Words that have a special place in a sentence.

If the sentence contains words:

Shows the frequency of the action (often, never, sometimes, always ...)

Then these words must be placed before the semantic verb or after the verb to be or, in the case of a compound verb, after the first verb. For example:

He often goes to the gym.
He often goes to the gym.

He is often tired after work.
He is often tired after work.(be tired - to be tired)

You must never do it again.
You will never do that again.

Word order in negative and interrogative English sentences.

I talked about the affirmative proposals. Everything is simple with them. But in order to at least somehow speak English, you need to be able to form negative statements and ask questions. In a negative English sentence, the word order is almost the same, but the questions are built according to a slightly different scheme.

Here is a graphic showing all three types of sentences:

Is it possible to build such an understandable system that would allow you to easily build sentences in English and quickly understand all temporary forms? Let's get a look.

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First, you need to figure out what generally accepted standards exist, and how you can not get lost in the apparent complexity of learning English.

If you look in more detail at the structure of a sentence in English, it becomes obvious that in order to quickly learn to express yourself succinctly and clearly, you just need to practice recognizing the subject (who is doing?) And the predicate (what is doing?) In the English sentence.

In most cases, in sentences, the subject comes before the predicate. The only exceptions are interrogative sentences. But in any case, you need to start simple. Thus, it will be possible to easily learn how to make sentences in English.

Simplicity is the key to success

Let's start with the simplest. This will be the base from which you will need to build on in the future. Understanding it will greatly simplify the work of automating the construction of sentences in our head on the fly.

It is worth knowing that English sentences, unlike Russian ones, are distinguished by simplicity, conciseness and brevity. Perhaps this is due to the English mentality, but now it is not about that.

Long and very complex sentences in English can still be found. They are found in legal texts or in fiction, i.e. where appropriate. However, in live communication, long sentences are extremely rare. But to start, you need to start from the simple.

Let's find out what a simple sentence is in English. Any sentence is built in order to describe the real life situation as clearly as possible.

In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to use words to describe the current situation and connect them so that the meaning is conveyed as succinctly as possible. If it turns out to convey the meaning correctly, then in the head of the person to whom the information is transmitted, an image of the same picture will turn out.

In Russian, words are connected using endings. However, in English the situation is completely different, there is no change in the set of endings.

On the one hand, this simplifies the process of memorizing and learning, and on the other, it requires maximum clarity in the construction of a sentence and the correct use of prepositions.

Golden Rule

So, let's define the first and most important rule - direct word order! First, it says who does, then what does. Any variations are available in Russian, for example:

• The boy is fishing.
• A boy is catching a fish.
• The boy catches a fish.
• A boy is fishing.

In English, there is always only one word order - "A boy is catching some fish".
Remember this golden rule to start with when learning English. Everything is tied to verbs (simple predicates). They, of course, will stand in some form of one of the English times (from here you can immediately understand how to use the tenses), three moods and two pledges. For beginners, for now, the main thing is to understand the basics:

In English, the structure of a sentence always follows a certain structure:

• Subject (who / what?),
• verb (what does it do?),
• object (who / what? addition),
• place (where?),
• time (when?).

For example: “I like to walk with my dog ​​in the park in the evening”.

• like to walk;
• with my dog;
• in the park;
• in the evening.

Time

Many people who begin to learn the language have their heads spinning from the infinite variety of temporal forms. If we take all of them into account, then it turns out 16. This is explained by the fact that the time system is clearly different from the one used in the Russian language. Of course, there are common points, but the main trump card of the system of English times is strict order, consistency, obedience to the laws of grammar and logic.

But times are not so terrible as they are portrayed. If you master at least six of the most consumed ones, you can feel confident in almost any communication situation - this is Present Simple, Past simple, Future simple, Present Continuous, Past Continuous, and Present perfect.
Example:

• I go to work every day. - Present Simple (what happens regularly).
• I went to work yesterday. - Past Simple (statement of fact in the past).
• I will go to work tomorrow. - Future Simple (statement of fact in the future).
• I am going to work now. - Present Continuous (what is happening now).
• I was going to work when you called me. - Past Continuous (what happened at a certain point in time in the past).
• I have already gone to work. - Present Perfect (it is not known when the action took place, but there is its result in the present).

What is most important is the need to remember that each group of tenses has similar characteristics and norms for the formation of a semantic verb, as well as principles of use, and this is the key to the rapid assimilation of all tenses.

Once you can draw parallels and feel the difference, you can use all times without much difficulty. Therefore, to begin with, just try to remember how the English sentences of the Simple group are built, starting with Present (present). It is extremely convenient to learn and memorize grammatical tenses by placing them in a table.

Human readable tenses are found in all textbooks used at EnglishDom.

So, don't be afraid of any complications. It all starts simple, and all ingenious is simple too. Having understood the basic principles of constructing a sentence, you can further attach and train all tenses, moods and voices.

The main thing is not to grab onto everything at once. Only after you have fully assimilated one rule for yourself, move to another. Repeat what you learned sometimes so you don't forget. But what should never be forgotten is basic principles constructing English sentence... So, it's always easy to get started - train your skills on simple sentences, then, as you understand, complicate them.

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In any language, the order of words in a sentence helps to logically express a thought, and also performs a grammatical and often expressive function. Knowing this, you can correctly translate someone else's speech, build your own statements, put logical stress etc. From this article you will learn what it is and what determines the order of words in a sentence in English.

General information

First, let's get acquainted with the basic principles that we will rely on when considering this topic.

The word order in the English sentence is fixed. This means that each of its members is in a certain place. And if he moves, then also according to the rules.

In an affirmative statement, the subject always comes first, then the predicate. For example: She likes sandwiches. The subject can be expressed not only by a pronoun, but also by a noun, including with dependent words.

People dance in the street.

A happy boy smiled.

Please note that an English sentence cannot do without a subject. It contains even those statements that in the Russian language could be called impersonal and indefinitely personal.

Hot - It's hot.

He is cold - He is cold.

Schematic image

The word order in an English sentence can be represented as such a standard scheme: subject + predicate + minor terms (what? Who? + Where? Where? + When?).

If you look closely at the examples below, you will see exactly this sequence. One or the other minor sentence may be absent, but order is preserved.

A woman visits her mother in a hospital on Sunday.

I made a cake last night.

The men in white clothes traveled to China in August.

The word order in a sentence in English is such that the main members take a fixed position. The minor ones can move, but they do it according to certain rules.

Where is the add-on

This member of the proposal can be direct and indirect. The first type answers the questions: "What?" and "Whom?" The second type of additions answers various questions: "To whom?", "For whom?" "With whom?", "With what?", "About what?", "About whom?" etc. For example, in the sentence You gave me a book the direct object is book, and the indirect object is me.

If there are such members, then the word order in the English sentence may change slightly. In the above example, indirect complement comes first and then direct. But they can also change places if the preposition to is used. Then the sentence will look like this: You gave a book to me.

What is the position of the circumstance

This member of the proposal is quite mobile. He can have three fixed positions based on which question he answers.

1. The circumstance of place ("Where?") Can be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

In the cinema I met Jack.

I met Jack in the cinema.

2. The circumstance of time ("When?") Can take the same two positions: the end and the beginning.

I met him yesterday.

Yesterday I met him.

3. The circumstance of the course of action ("How?") Is usually put after the direct object, but before the indirect one.

You play tennis very well.

She smiled happily at him.

This situation changes only in rare cases, to create an expressive effect. Then the circumstance of the course of action is put first in the sentence.

Interrogative and negative sentences occupy an important place in the English language. They will be discussed further.

How to ask a question

The word order in the English interrogative sentence has its own nuances. And it depends on the type of question: general, special, alternative, dividing and a question to the subject. Let's dwell on each of them in more detail.

1. The question to the subject is the simplest, since the word order does not change in it. All you have to do is replace the subject with the appropriate question word. For example:

He is happy - Who is happy?

They went swimming - Who went swimming?

The only tricky thing about this type of sentence is not to confuse it with a special question. After all, they are similar only at first glance.

2. Special question also uses interrogative words. But he is asked to any member of the sentence, except for the subject. And the word order in such a sentence is reversed. First, the predicate (more precisely, its part expressed auxiliary verb), then the subject.

Where do you go?

What are you doing?

3. The general question also has a reverse word order. This is a fairly common occurrence in interrogative sentences in English. In this case, special types of verbs are put in the first place: auxiliary (do, does, did, is, are, was, were, will, etc.) or modal (can, may, must, should, etc.)

Do you like reading?

Is this a pen red?

Will he come today?

Can you run fast?

In cases where to be acts as a semantic verb, it is not required to add an auxiliary to it:

Was she at home last night?

Will you be happy?

4. The alternate question assumes reverse word order. Starts out the same as general question, but at the end a structure with the word or (or) is added:

Do you like winter or summer?

5. Separated question consists of two parts: the sentence itself (unchanged) and the "tail" (translated into Russian "isn't it?"). If the first part of the question is affirmative, then the second must be negative (and vice versa):

You live here, don’t you?

He isn’t your brother, is he?

Thus, it is the type of question that determines the word order in the interrogative sentences. In English, each variety has its own characteristics.

There is one more type of sentences left - negative ones. Let's see what word order is used in them.

How to formulate denial

Everything is quite simple here: the negative particle not is added to the auxiliary and modal verbs we already know. And the resulting forms are: do not (don't), does not (doesn't), am not, is not (isn't), are not (aren't), was not (wasn't), were not (weren't), will not (won't), would not (wouldn't), cannot (can't), must not (mustn't), etc.

Word order in negative sentences straight. An auxiliary (modal) verb with a not particle is placed before the predicate.

She isn't sad.

They can't understand.

He mustn’t worry.

Many factors affect the word order in an English sentence, but it has only two varieties - direct and indirect. Each part of the proposal has its own place.