Basic Sentence Syntax

What is sentence syntax? (English)

Syntax is the rules that govern how words are ordered to form sentences. English relies heavily on word order to signal meaning — moving a word changes or breaks the meaning.

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English word order: SVO

The default English sentence structure is Subject → Verb → Object.

Subject	Verb	Object
Maria	eats	rice.
The dog	bit	the man.
She	called	her boss.

Changing the order changes meaning in English:

• The dog bit the man. ≠ The man bit the dog.

English SVO examples

Sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Maria eats rice.	Maria	eats	rice
The engineer fixed the bug.	The engineer	fixed	the bug
She called her boss.	She	called	her boss
They read the report.	They	read	the report
The cat chased the mouse.	The cat	chased	the mouse
He sent a message.	He	sent	a message
We deployed the update.	We	deployed	the update
The team approved the plan.	The team	approved	the plan
She opened the door.	She	opened	the door
I finished the task.	I	finished	the task

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How Spanish handles syntax differently

Spanish is also SVO — but more flexible

Spanish defaults to SVO, but allows more reordering because verb endings already encode who is doing the action. The verb itself tells you the subject, so moving words around doesn’t create ambiguity the same way.

Spanish order	English equivalent
María come arroz. (SVO)	Maria eats rice.
Come arroz María. (VSO)	Maria eats rice. (emphasis on “eats”)
Arroz come María. (OVS)	Maria eats rice. (emphasis on “rice”)

All three say the same thing in Spanish. In English, only one is natural.

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Subject can be dropped (pro-drop)

Because verb endings encode the subject, the subject pronoun is often omitted.

With subject	Without subject	English
Yo como arroz.	Como arroz.	I eat rice.
Ella trabaja aquí.	Trabaja aquí.	She works here.
Nosotros salimos tarde.	Salimos tarde.	We left late.
Ellos llegan mañana.	Llegan mañana.	They arrive tomorrow.
Tú hablas muy bien.	Hablas muy bien.	You speak very well.

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Adjective placement (recap)

Unlike English, most Spanish adjectives come after the noun.

English (adj before noun)	Spanish (adj after noun)
a big house	una casa grande
a red car	un coche rojo
a new phone	un teléfono nuevo
an interesting idea	una idea interesante
a difficult problem	un problema difícil
a long day	un día largo
a fast runner	un corredor rápido
a cold coffee	un café frío
a small city	una ciudad pequeña
an important meeting	una reunión importante

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Object pronouns come before the verb

English: I see him.
Spanish: Lo veo. (literally: “him I see”)

Spanish	Word-by-word	English
Lo veo.	him I-see	I see him.
Te llamo.	you I-call	I call you.
La compré.	it(f) I-bought	I bought it.
Nos invitaron.	us they-invited	They invited us.
Le dije la verdad.	to-him I-said the truth	I told him the truth.

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Sentences with two verbs

When a sentence has a modal + main verb, the main verb stays as an infinitive.

Spanish	Word-by-word	English
Quiero comer.	I-want to-eat	I want to eat.
Puedo ayudarte.	I-can help-you	I can help you.
Tengo que salir.	I-have to to-leave	I have to leave.
Voy a llamar.	I-go to to-call	I’m going to call.
Debo estudiar.	I-should to-study	I should study.

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Common mistakes

• ❌ Forcing SVO when it sounds unnatural → ✅ Spanish allows VSO for emphasis; follow what sounds natural
• ❌ Always including the subject pronoun → ✅ drop it when context is clear
• ❌ Placing adjectives before nouns (English habit) → ✅ una casa grande, not una grande casa
• ❌ Placing object pronouns after the verb → ✅ Lo veo, not Veo lo

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Summary

• Spanish defaults to SVO like English, but word order is more flexible
• Verb endings encode the subject — the pronoun is often dropped
• Adjectives go after the noun (unlike English)
• Object pronouns go before the conjugated verb

See also: Questions — how word order changes for questions.
See also: Negation — where to place no.