In order to build even the simplest sentence in English, you need to know the word order in the language. This seemingly simple but very important topic is the starting point in learning English grammar.

Subject + predicate + direct object

In an ordinary affirmative sentence, the subject is placed immediately before the predicate (verb). The direct object, when present, comes immediately after the verb. For example:

• They bought a car. — They bought a car.
• We can't do that. - We can't do that.
• The girl in a blue dress was playing the piano. — The girl in the blue dress was playing the piano.

Predicate

Note that by subject here we mean not only the main noun or pronoun, but also the adjectives or descriptive phrases that refer to it. The rest of the sentence, which does not refer to the subject, is called the predicate. For example:

• The girl in a blue dress was playing the piano.

Indirect additions and circumstances

If there are any other parts in the sentence - indirect objects or circumstances - they usually occupy a strictly defined place.

Position of indirect complement

after direct object if it contains the preposition to.

An indirect addition is put before by direct object when to is absent. For example:

• The teacher gave dictionaries to the pupils. The teacher handed out dictionaries to the students.
• The teacher gave them dictionaries. The teacher gave them dictionaries.

Position of circumstance

The circumstance can be placed in three places:

Before the subject (usually these are circumstances of time)

• In the morning he was reading a book. — He was reading a book in the morning.

After the addition (here you can put almost any adverb or adverbial phrase):

• He was reading a book at the library. — He was reading a book in the library.

Between the auxiliary and the main verb (as a rule, these are short adverbs):

• He has already read this book. He has already read the book.

Normally, in standard English, no other words are placed between the subject and the predicate, or between the predicate and the object. But there are a few exceptions. Here are the most important ones:

Adverbs of frequency of action and indirect objects without the preposition to

• I sometimes drink coffee in the morning. - I Sometimes I drink coffee in the morning.
• He showed the driver his bus pass. - He showed to the driver your bus pass.

If you follow these simple rules, you will be able to avoid misplaced words in an English sentence. The examples given are intentionally simple - but the same rules can be applied to more . For example:

• The woman,, never went to sleep before - A woman [who often felt lonely] never went to bed [without calling her sister].

Stylistic change in word order

Of course, there are exceptions to the rules, and writers or speakers often use non-standard word order for special effect. But if we now focus on exceptions, we digress from the main principles, and the problem of word order in a sentence can seem very complicated.

So here are a few more examples: you should know that such sentences exist, but do not try to use them unless absolutely necessary until you master the principles of ordinary word order (remember that you need to learn to walk first, and then run!):

• Never before had he felt so miserable. He had never felt so miserable before.

If the sentence begins with never or never before, the subject and verb are often inverted, i.e. change places. Don't use inversion when never follows the subject!

• Hardly had I finished cleaning the house, my friend called. I had hardly finished cleaning the house when my friend called.

(When a sentence begins with hardly, the subject and verb must always be inverted.)

• Had they known, they "d never have done that." - If they knew this, they would never have done that.

(The inversion is used in hypothetical condition structures when the if is omitted.)

• Whatever you can tell me, I know already. “Whatever you tell me, I already know it.

Here's the extended addendum, Whatever you can tell me, placed at the beginning of a sentence for artistic reasons: this sentence structure is not necessary, it's just .

Now, having mastered the rules for constructing simple sentences, you can move on to more complex sentences with subordinate structures.

How do you feel about non-standard word order in English? Difficult, don't you understand? Share in the comments!

In order to express your thoughts in English, it is not enough just to learn a list of words. These words must be placed correctly in the sentence. Knowing the structure of an English sentence is simply necessary, because each member of the sentence has a specific place, and this order cannot be violated. Therefore, let's look at how sentences are built in English in order to avoid misunderstandings and mistakes in speech and writing.

To build a sentence in English, you need to know its members. As in Russian, the English members of the sentence are divided into main and secondary. Let's consider each type separately:

1. The main members of the sentence are the members of the sentence, thanks to which the grammatical center is formed. In simple words, without them, the proposal will not make sense. The main members are the subject and the predicate.

• The subject, as a rule, is expressed by a noun or a pronoun. The noun is used in the common case, i.e. in its standard dictionary form in singular and plural:

Note that the article may change to a definite article or not at all, depending on the subject / person implied.

If we talk about pronouns, then personal pronouns in the nominative case are usually used here. Table of all pronouns of this group:

And also some indefinite and negative pronouns, for example:

The subject usually comes at the beginning of the sentence before the predicate.

• The predicate is expressed by the verb. This part of speech is the key when making a sentence in English, because it shows at what time the action happened, is happening or will happen. There can be two verbs in the predicate:
• An auxiliary verb is a verb that is used to express time. As such, it does not have such a meaning in itself and is not translated into Russian in any way. However, his presence is necessary if the temporary form requires it. For example:

• The main or semantic verb is a verb that expresses the action performed by the subject:

1. Secondary members of the sentence - members that explain the main or other minor members. Without them, the sentence will still make sense, since the minor members are not the grammatical center of the sentence. The secondary ones are:

• A definition that answers the question "what?" and "whose?". It can be expressed in almost any part of speech. Consider only the most popular cases:
• Adjectives:

• Communion:

• Participle turnover:

• Numerals:

• Personal pronouns in the objective case:

The definition expressed by the participial turnover usually comes after these members of the sentence:

• Indirect - an addition that answers all other case questions:

• Circumstance denotes place, cause, time, manner of action, and the like. The circumstance is related to the predicate, but it can be used both at the beginning and at the end of the sentence. The first option is perhaps less common. The circumstance most often expressed is:

adverb

or a noun with a preposition:

How sentences are built in English: the structure of an English sentence

Having studied all the members of the sentence, you can proceed to the construction of the sentences themselves in English. Building a sentence in English is quite easy because, as mentioned earlier, it is done in a fixed order. What does this mean? For example, in Russian we can freely change the order of the members of a sentence. The meaning will be preserved, because the sentence will not lose its logic. The English language is stricter. So, if a sentence begins with a subject, it cannot be rearranged with a predicate. An example for clarity:

As you can see, a whole 5 possible variants of expressing the same thought in Russian are opposed by only one phrase in English.

However, it is worth paying attention to the fact that there are 3 types of English sentences, namely affirmative, negative and interrogative. Each has its own version of the construction of the English sentence.

How to build affirmative sentences in English

Making an affirmative sentence requires direct word order. Direct order means that the subject comes first in the sentence, then the predicate, after the object and circumstance. Scheme for clarity:

Sometimes circumstance can start a sentence.

Examples:

• I forgot to do the English exercises. — I forgot to do my English exercises.
• Yesterday I bought a Lego construction set to my nephew. Yesterday I bought my nephew a Lego set.
• We'll go home after training. We will go home after practice.
• He is trying to find this spelling rule. He is trying to find this spelling rule.
• I have no idea how to learn to play the guitar. — I have no idea how to learn to play the guitar.

How negative sentences are built in English

English sentences in negation also have direct word order. The only difference is that to write a negative sentence, you must use the negative particle not (not). Such sentences always have an auxiliary verb, so the particle is placed after it.

Examples:

• I do not know how to draw up a contract. I don't know how to make a contract.
• We don't study at the university. We don't go to university.
• Jane will not be there. Jane won't be there.
• He is not working at the moment. - It's not working at the moment.
• I haven't done sport exercises today yet. I haven't done sports today yet.
• I was not aware of the situation in Paris. I didn't know about the situation in Paris.

How to write a sentence containing a question

Unlike the other two types, interrogative sentences in English must use reverse word order. In the reverse order, the part of the predicate, namely the auxiliary verb, comes first, and after it comes the subject. The semantic verb and the secondary members of the sentence remain in their places. Accordingly, the use of an auxiliary verb in questions is also a necessity. Scheme:

Examples:

• Do you like this album? — Do you like this album?
• Did they go fishing the day before yesterday? Did they go fishing the day before yesterday?
• Have you been to Moscow? - Have you been to Moscow?
• Are you listening to me? - You are listening to me?

If sentences contain a question word, it is used at the very beginning:

But in order to make a sentence with a disjunctive question, you will have to deviate from the standard scheme. Such a question is built using an affirmative or negative sentence in the first part and a short question in the second:

That's all. We hope you have learned how to write sentences in English. In fact, English sentences are like a constructor, you just have to pick up its correct parts. To consolidate the material, do exercises on the topic. And most importantly - communicate with native speakers, because no exercises will give you as much knowledge as people who speak this language.

And now we will analyze with examples the basics of making simple sentences to express the past, present and future tenses.

Building sentences in the Simple group

affirmative sentences

Let's start with Present Simple. All affirmative sentences are built according to the following scheme:

1. "I" in this example is the subject. Do not confuse it with the object, since the subject performs the action, and it is performed on the object. Moreover, in Russian, the order of words is not important to us, because it is already clear who performs the action. We can freely say: "I eat the cake." But in English, it’s not possible to build a sentence like this, because the one who performs the action must be in the first place, otherwise they will simply laugh at you when you say: “The cake eats me.” Even through the passive voice, such a phrase will sound very strange.
2. In second place should be the predicate, which expresses the action itself. In Russian, there are often sentences with an incomplete grammatical basis, where there is no subject or predicate, or both are absent. In the latter case, we are dealing with an impersonal sentence: "Dark." In English, there must always be a subject and a verb. So, if there is no verb in the Russian sentence, then in English it will definitely appear. Let's take for example a one-part sentence in which there is no predicate: "The phone is on the table." To translate it correctly, we need to use the verb "to be", which will connect the subject with the predicate. As a result, the phrase will literally be translated as: "The phone is on the table."
3. Secondary members of the sentence lined up in third place according to a certain rule: first there is a direct object (answers the question “who?”, “What?”, “Who?”), then indirect (answers the same questions, but with the prepositions “with whom ?”, “to whom?”, etc.). This rule is not always observed and is not strict.

As in Russian, English verbs change depending on the person. The main changes occur in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), where the suffix "s" or "es" is added to the predicate. As a result, we get the sentence: "He goes to school."

Negative sentences

In addition to the affirmation, there is also a negation, the scheme of which is as follows:

In this scheme, all the same components are found, except for the linking verb "do" and the particle "not", which is equivalent to the negative particle "not" in Russian. What is an auxiliary verb and why is it needed? Unlike Russian, where we simply put the “not” particle before the verb, in English, the “not” particle must be preceded by an auxiliary verb. It is different for each tense, and in the case of Present Simple, it will take the form of either “do” or “does”, depending on the number and person of the subject. Example: "She does not go to school".

Interrogative sentences

So, we have considered the affirmation, negation, and we are left with a question, the formation of which also requires an auxiliary verb:

So, we have analyzed with you the basic principles for constructing various types of sentences in Present Simple. Past Simple and Future Simple are built in a similar way, the main differences will be in the form of the auxiliary verb.

Building sentences in the Future Simple

Statement

The scheme for constructing a statement in a simple future tense (Future Simple) is as follows:

The auxiliary verb will indicates that the action takes place in the future tense, and the phrase would be translated as: "I will go to school."

Negation

Negation is built using the particle "not" already known to us and the auxiliary verb "will".

Question

Any question begins with an auxiliary verb, so when building a question, simply put will in first place.

past simple

Statement

When constructing a statement in the past tense of the Simple group, there is a small feature: the suffix "ed" is added to the verb.

I deliberately omitted the school example because it uses an irregular verb. Most verbs form the simple past tense by adding the suffix "ed" to the stem (cook - cooked), but there are about 470 verbs, according to the Oxford Dictionary, that form the past tense according to their canons. Our verb “go” also falls into their number, which will change the form to “went”: “I went to school”.

Negation

The negative in the simple past tense is constructed similarly to the Present Simple, with the only difference being that the form of the auxiliary verb "do" acquires the past "did".

Question

The question is also built by analogy with Present Simple. We only change the form of the auxiliary verb to the past.

So we studied the construction of sentences in the entire Simple group. The main thing is to remember the schemes for all three types (statement, denial and question), do not forget about how the word forms of verbs in the 3rd person singular change and memorize the main irregular verbs in order to achieve automatism in speech.

Building sentences in the Continuous group

In the Continuous group, there is always an auxiliary verb “to be”, the change in the form of which will tell us when the action is happening: yesterday, now or tomorrow. In this group, there is also always a participle I, similar to the real participle in Russian. The participle itself is built by adding the suffix "ing" to the verb (go - going).

Statement

We will not deviate from the structure and consider the formation of time in the Present Continuous.

The forms of the verb "to be" video change depending on the person, and here the matter is not limited to changes only in the 3rd person singular. Forms are easy to remember.

In the past tense, the auxiliary verb changes its form to "was" or were "depending on the person and number.

The scheme for constructing a sentence in the Past Continuous will be as follows:

The future tense in this group is formed without any changes, just put the future tense verb “will” before the auxiliary “to be”:

Denial and question

The construction of the negation and the question occurs according to the general scheme for constructing sentences: when negating, we put “not” after the auxiliary verb, and when we ask, we put the auxiliary verb in the first place.

To build the past form, you need to change the form of the auxiliary verb to "had".

To build the future form, we additionally put “will”.

Denial and question

Negation and the question are built in the classical way: the particle not after had (when negating), had in the first place (when asked).

Denial and question

These sentences are given only for the sake of an example, in practice you will hardly find yourself in a situation where you will need to express yourself in Perfect Continuous. It will be much easier and faster to build a phrase from the Simple and Continuous groups.

Simplified table of formation of all types of sentences in all tenses

For those who come across tenses for the first time, this article may seem a little chaotic, so as a result I offer you a ready-made table with the formation of sentences in all tenses, so that it is easier for you to see the whole picture. You can use it as a cheat sheet in the initial stages of studying temporary structures. The table is taken from the Peekaboo resource.

Word order in English subject to clear diagram (pictured). Substitute the words instead of the 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 built on such a scheme:

The sentence shown in the figure is called narrative or, which is the same, affirmative. An affirmative sentence is when someone has done something and we are talking about it.

At the first place The subject of a sentence 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 (mother, cat, apple, work, etc.) or a pronoun (I, you, he, etc.). The subject can also contain several adjectives used as a definition (fast cat, red apple, etc.).

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

After the predicate one or more additions. An object is again a noun or a pronoun.

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

Examples of affirmative sentences:

What if there is no subject?

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

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

They are students.
They are students.

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

If both the subject and the predicate are missing in the Russian sentence, then when translating 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 addition 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 that describe your impression of the subject (good, beautiful, excellent ...)

2) size (big, small…)

3) age (new, old…)

5) origin (Italian, German…)

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

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

For example:

Words that have a special place in a sentence.

If the sentence contains the words:

Showing 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 this again.

Word order in negative and interrogative English sentences.

I talked about affirmative sentences. Everything is simple with them. But in order to somehow speak English, you need to be able to build 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 pattern.

Here is a picture showing all three types of sentences: