Word Orders

Word order is the sequence of words in a sentence, especially as governed by grammatical rules and as affecting meaning. Here are some examples of different word orders (written in English, ignoring its usual grammar rules).

SVO (Subject, Verb, Object)
The word order in 42% of all known languages, including English.

Examples

 * The dog jumped over the rock.
 * The girl put on her lingerie before going to bed.

SOV (Subject, Object, Verb)
The most common word order in any language, being used in 45% of known languages.

Examples

 * The dog, the rock it jumped over.
 * The girl, her lingerie she put on before going to bed.

VSO (Verb, Subject, Object)
Used in 9% of known languages, most notably Filipino, one of the official languages of the Philippines.

Examples

 * Jumped the dog over the rock.
 * Put on the girl her lingerie before going to bed.

VOS (Verb, Object, Subject)
Used in 3% of known languages, most notably Malagasy, the national language of Madagascar.

Examples

 * Jumped over the rock was by the dog.
 * Put on her lingerie the girl before going to bed.

OVS (Object, Verb, Subject)
Used in 1% of known languages.

Examples

 * The rock was jumped over by the dog.
 * Her lingerie was put on by the girl before she went to bed.

OSV (Object, Subject, Verb)
The rarest word order in any language, being used in less than 1% of known languages.

Examples

 * The rock the dog jumped over.
 * Her lingerie the girl put on before going to bed.