Grade 7 Spanish
Señora de Flores

Word Order in Spanish
Sentences
• The order words are put in in
Spanish sentences can be confusing, but it is really more flexible than
English.
• The chart below shows examples of some common ways of ordering words. Note that in many sentences the subject can be omitted if it can be understood from the context.

Type Order Example Comment
Statement
Statement
Statement
Question
Subject, verb Roberto estudia.
(Robert is studying.)
Subject, verb, object
Subject, object pronoun , verb
Roberto compró el libro.
(Robert bought the book.)
Roberto lo compró.
(Roberto bought it.)
Question word , verb, subject
¿Dónde está el libro?
(Where is the book?)
This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm.
This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm.
This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm.
Object pronouns precede conjugated verbs; they can be attached at the end of infinitives and present participles .
This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm.

Exclamati on
Exclamatory word, adjective, verb, subject
¡Qué linda es Roberta!
(How beautiful Roberta is!)
Statement Verb, noun Sufren los niños.
(The children are suffering.)
This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Many exclamations omit one or more of these sentence parts.
Placing the verb ahead of the noun can have the effect of placing more emphasis on the verb. In the sample sentence, the emphasis is more on the suffering than who is suffering.

Statement Object, verb, noun
El libro lo escribió Juan.
(John wrote the book.)
Placing the object at the beginning of the sentence can have the effect of placing more emphasis on the object. In the sample sentence, the emphasis is on what was written, not who wrote it. The pronoun lo , although redundant, is customary in this sentence construction.
Statement Adverb, verb, noun
Siempre hablan los niños.
(The children are always talking.)
In general, Spanish adverbs are kept close to the verbs they modify. If an adverb starts a sentence, the verb frequently follows

Phrase Noun, adjective la casa azul y cara (the expensive blue house)
Descriptive adjectives, especially ones that describe something objectively, usually are placed after the nouns they modify.
Phrase Adjective, noun
Otras casas (other houses); mi querida amiga (my dear friend)
Phrase Preposition ,
Comma nd noun
Verb, subject pronoun en la caja
Estudia tú.
(in the box)
(Study.)
Adjectives of number and other nondescriptive adjectives usually precede the noun. Often, so do adjectives being used to describe something subjectively, such as to impart an emotional quality to it.
Note that Spanish sentences can never end in a preposition, as is commonly done in English.
Pronouns are often unnecessary in commands; when used, they nearly always immediately follow the verb.

Select the correct translation
1. The cat is big and black.
a. El gato es grande y negro.
b. El negro gato y grande.
c. El miau miau gordo negro.
d. No comprendo.

Select the correct translation
2. I have two blue pencils.
a. Yo tener dos azul lapiz.
b. Yo tengo dos azul lapiz.
c. Yo tengo dos lapices azules.

Select the correct translation
3. Julio talks in class every day.
a. Julio hablar en la clase cada dia.
b. Julio hable en la clase cada dia.
c. Julio hablas en la clase cada dia.
d. Julio habla en la clase cada dia.

Select the correct translation
4. Crystal and I go to dance rehearsal.
a. Crystal y yo ir al ensayo de baile.
b. Crystal y yo voy al ensayo de baile.
c. Crystal y yo vais al ensayo de baile.
d. Crystal y yo vamos al ensayo de baile.

Select the correct translation
5. Davin is tall and intelligent.
a. Davin esta alto y inteligente.
b. Davin es alto y inteligente.
c. Davin esta alto e inteligente.
d. Davin es alto e inteligente.

Resources
• http://spanish.about.com/od/sentenc estructure/a/word-order-inspanish.htm