science

Verb–subject–object word order

Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object word order rather than just read about it. In short: In linguistic typology, a verb–subject–object (VSO) language has its most typical sentences arrange their elements in that order, as in Ate Sam apples (Sam ate apples). VSO is the third-most common word order among the world's languages, after SOV (as in Hindi and Japanese) and SVO (as in English and Mandarin Chinese).

Key takeaways

Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object word order to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Verb–subject–object word order from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In linguistic typology, a verb–subject–object (VSO) language has its most typical sentences arrange their elements in that order, as in Ate Sam apples (Sam ate apples). VSO is the third-most common word order among the world's languages, after SOV (as in Hindi and Japanese) and SVO (as in English and Mandarin Chinese).

Incidence

Language families in which all or many of their members are VSO include the following:

the Insular Celtic languages (including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Breton) the Afroasiatic languages (including Berber, Assyrian, Egyptian, Classical and Modern Standard Arabic, Biblical Hebrew, and Geʽez) the Austronesian languages (including Tagalog, Visayan, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Kadazan Dusun, Hawaiian, Māori, and Tongan). the Salishan languages many Mesoamerican languages, such as the Mayan languages and Oto-Manguean languages many Nilotic languages (including Nandi and Maasai) Many languages, such as Greek, have relatively free word order, where VSO is one of many possible orders. Other languages, such as Spanish and Romanian, allow rather free subject-verb inversion. However, the most basic, common, and unmarked form in these languages is SVO, so they are classified as SVO languages.

Examples

Semitic languages Standard Arabic is an example of a language that uses VSO:

^* Arabic script is written right-to-left Another Semitic language, Biblical Hebrew, uses VSO, as in Genesis 1:1, which is seen here, and many other places in the Tanakh:

^**et is a particle marking the direct object of the verb. ^** The Hebrew script is written from right to left.

Celtic languages In Welsh, some tenses use simple verbs, which are found at the beginning of the sentence and are followed by the subject and any objects. An example is the preterite:

Other tenses may use compound verbs in which the conjugated form of usually bod (to be) precedes the subject and other verb-nouns come after the subject. Objects then follow the final verb-noun. Here is the usual method of forming the present tense:

In Irish, phrases also use VSO:

In Irish, in forming a question, the same order is used (with an interrogative particle in front):

The typological classification of Breton syntax is problematic. It has been claimed that Breton has an underlying VSO character, but it appears at first sight that V2 is the most frequent pattern. That arises as a result of a process usually involving the subject noun phrase being fronted. It has been suggested that the fronting has arisen from a development in which clefting and fronting, which are very common in Celtic languages, became completely pervasive. A very similar development is seen in literary Middle Welsh but did not continue into Modern Welsh.

Austronesian languages In Samoan, as in other Polynesian languages, the default word order is VSO, in which verbs and copulas are found at the beginning of a sentence. However, the object of the predicate can be emphasized by using a VOS order.

Inversion to VSO There is some tendency in many languages to switch constructions for emphasis. Particularly, sentences in English poetry are sometimes written in VSO, and Early Modern English explicitly reflects the tacit VSO order that is found in Modern English by suppressing the imperative's now-understood subject. For example, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" contrasts with modern "Gather rosebuds while you may". Arabic sentences use either SVO or VSO, depending on whether the subject or the verb is more important. Sociolinguistic factors also influence sentence structure: colloquial varieties of Arabic generally prefer SVO, but VSO is more common in Standard Arabic. Non-VSO languages that use VSO in questions include English and many other Germanic languages such as German and Dutch, as well as French, Finnish, Maká, and Emilian. In languages with V2 word order, such as most Germanic languages except for Modern English, as well as Ingush and Oʼodham, the verb is always the second element in a main clause. The subject precedes the verb by default, but if another word or phrase is put at the front of the clause, the subject is moved to the position immediately after the verb. For example, the German sentence Ich esse oft Rinderbraten (I often eat roast beef) is in the standard SVO word order, with the adverb oft (often) immediately after the verb. However, if that adverb is moved to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis, the subject ich (I) is moved to the third position, which places the sentence in VSO order: Oft esse ich Rinderbraten.

See also Polish notation Category:Verb–subject–object languages

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Verb–subject–object word order

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object word order

In research: Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object 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: Verb–subject–object word order is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Verb–subject–object languages, Word order, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object word order in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object word order out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Verb–subject–object word order in simple terms?

Why does Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object 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 Verb–subject–object word order.