science

Object–subject–verb word order

Object–subject–verb word order is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Object–subject–verb word order rather than just read about it. In short: In linguistic typology, the object–subject–verb (OSV) or object–agent–verb (OAV) word order is a structure where the object of a sentence precedes both the subject and the verb. Although this word order is rarely found as the default in most languages, it does occur as the unmarked or neutral order in a few Amazonian languages, including Xavante and Apurinã.

Key takeaways

Object–subject–verb word order belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Object–subject–verb word order to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Object–subject–verb word order from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In linguistic typology, the object–subject–verb (OSV) or object–agent–verb (OAV) word order is a structure where the object of a sentence precedes both the subject and the verb. Although this word order is rarely found as the default in most languages, it does occur as the unmarked or neutral order in a few Amazonian languages, including Xavante and Apurinã. In many other languages, OSV can be used in marked sentences to convey emphasis or focus, often as a stylistic device rather than a normative structure. OSV constructions appear in languages as diverse as Chinese, Finnish, and British Sign Language, typically to emphasize or topicalize the object. Examples of OSV structures can also be found in certain contexts within English, Hebrew, and other languages through the use of syntactic inversion for emphasis or rhetorical effect. The OSV order is also culturally recognizable through its use by the character Yoda in Star Wars. An example of this word order in English would be "Apples Sam ate" (meaning, Sam ate apples).

Incidence

Unmarked word order

Natural languages OSV is rarely used in unmarked sentences, which use a normal word order without emphasis. Most languages that use OSV as their default word order come from the Amazon basin, such as Xavante, Jamamadi, Apurinã, Warao, Kayabí and Nadëb. The Mizo language of Bangladesh also uses OSV in unmarked sentences. Here is an example from Apurinã:

British Sign Language (BSL) normally uses topic–comment structure, but its default word order when topic–comment structure is not used is OSV.

Marked word order

Various languages allow OSV word order but only in marked sentences, which emphasise part or all of the sentence.

Chinese Passive constructions in Chinese languages follow an OSV (OAV) pattern through the use of various particles, such as 被 (bèi) in Mandarin, 畀 (bei2) in Cantonese, and 予 (hō͘) in Hokkien.

Mandarin:

Cantonese:

Hokkien:

English In English, object-subject-verb order is atypical but can be used for contrastive focus, as in: That car we bought at least five years ago. The other one we only bought last year.

Finnish Finnish has a remarkably flexible word order and so emphasis on the object is often marked simply by putting it first in the sentence. The word by word translation in example (1) would be "you I love!" and expresses a contrast to maybe loving someone else.

This word order is totally natural and quite often used for emphasis. Example (2) expresses the contrast of refusing to eat something else (like something more healthy).

Hebrew In Modern Hebrew, OSV is often used instead of the normal SVO to emphasise the object. "אני אוהב אותה" would mean "I love her", but "אותה אני אוהב" would mean "It is she whom I love". Possibly an influence of Germanic (via Yiddish), as Jewish English uses a similar construction ("You, I like, kid") much more than many other varieties of English and often with the "it is" left implicit.

Hungarian In Hungarian, OSV emphasises the subject: A szócikket én szerkesztettem = The article I edited (It was I, not somebody else, who edited the article).

Korean and Japanese Korean and Japanese have SOV by default, but since they are topic-prominent languages, they often seem to be OSV when the object is topicalized. Here is an example in Korean:

An almost identical syntax is possible in Japanese:

Malayalam OSV is one of the permissible word orders in Malayalam, the other being SOV. Here is an example of this occurring in Malayalam:

Portuguese OSV is possible in Portuguese to emphasize the object.

Turkish OSV is used in Turkish to emphasize the subject:

See also Yoda conditions - a style of writing conditionals in computer programming languages

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Object–subject–verb word order

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Object–subject–verb word order claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Object–subject–verb word order before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Object–subject–verb word order ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Object–subject–verb word order

In research: Object–subject–verb word order appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Object–subject–verb word order in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Object–subject–verb word order is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Object–subject–verb languages, Word order, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Object–subject–verb word order outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Object–subject–verb word order in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Object–subject–verb word order means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Object–subject–verb word order out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Object–subject–verb word order in simple terms?

Why does Object–subject–verb word order matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Object–subject–verb word order?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Object–subject–verb word order.