The Sentence Structure

Word order in English sentences:

verb + object

Jill reads a newspaper every day

subject verb object

The verb (reads) and the object (a newspaper) are usually together:

- Jill reads a newspaper every day. (not ‘Jill reads every day a newspaper. ’)

subject	verb	+object
You	speak	English	very well.
I	watched	television	all evening.
We	invented	a lot of people	to the party.
My brother	phoned	the police	immediately.

— I like Italian food very much. (not ‘I like very much Italian food.’)

— Ann borrowed some money from the bank. (not ‘Ann borrowed from the bank some money.’)

— I opened the door very quietly. (not ‘I opened very quietly the door.’)

— George usually wears a black hat. (not ‘George wears usually a black hat.’)

— Why do you always make the same mistake? (not ‘Why do you make always the same mistake?’)

— place and time

	Place (where?)	time (when? how long? how often?)
George walks	to work	every morning
We arrived	at the airport	at 7 o’clock.
Are you going	to the party	tonight?
They’ve lived	in the same house	for 20 years.
I usually go	to bed	early.

place is usually before time:

— They go to school every day. (not ‘They go every day to school.’)

— I went to the bank yesterday afternoon. (not ‘I went yesterday afternoon to the bank.’)

— Jack’s brother has been in hospital since June. (not ‘... since June in hospital.’)