Deviations from Basic SVO Word Order

English sentence structures that reflect non-SVO word orders include questions, sentences
containing relative clauses, and sentences with infinitives, participles, and gerunds, to name a
few. An understanding of the ways in which such structures exhibit non-SVO word orders can
provide teachers with important insights into the challenges confronting deaf students in
reading comprehension and written expression.

Yes/No Questions

Certain English questions alter the basic SVO word order pattern or introduce new elements
into the sentence structure. In a YES-NO question, a "helping verb" such as be, have, will,
can, should, etc., moves to the left of the subject as illustrated in these statement/question
pairs.

The students (S) are reading (V) some books (O).

Are (V) the students (S) reading (V) some books (O)?

The students (S) will read (V) some books (O).

Will (V) the students (S) read (V) some books (O)?

In these cases, a complex verb phrase (for example, are reading) splits. With the helping verb
to the left of the subject, the resulting word order becomes VSVO.

When a simple statement that does not contain a helping verb is expressed as a YES -NO
question, the helping verbdo shows up to the left of the subject, as illustrated in the following
pair.

The students (S) study (V) physics (O).

Do (V) the students (S) study (V) physics (O).

WH-Questions

In the case of a WH-question, there are two operations that alter the basic SVO word order. As
in a YES/NO question, a helping verb or do moves to the left of the subject. Additionally, the
questioned phrase, for example, an object, appears at the beginning of the sentence in the
form of a WH-phrase. These operations are illustrated in the following statement/question pair:

The students (S) bought (V) some books (O).

What (O) did (V) the students (S) buy (V)?

In the question What did the students buy?, the WH-phrase what represents the object
position after the verbbuy. In such a question the object of the verb appears to be missing
because English grammar requires it to "move" to the beginning of the sentence. This is clear
from the fact that in a possible answer to this question, such as The students bought some
books, some books is the object of the verb bought and therefore occurs after bought. So
this statement/question pair illustrates that the normal SVO order of the statement changes to
the order OVSV in the related question. For more details about WH -questions see the SEA Site
module WH-Questions.

Noun Clauses/That Clauses

A noun clause, or that clause, in a sentence can give the impression that basic SVO word
order is altered. In one respect, SVO order in such sentences is disturbed, but in another
respect it isn't. In the following sentences, the noun clauses are highlighted :

The students (S) thought (V) that they had met us (O).

That we knew them (S) surprised (V) the students (O).

In the first sentence, the entire noun clause, that they had met us, serves as the OBJECT of
the verb thought. And in the second sentence, the entire noun clause, that we knew them,
serves as the SUBJECT of the verb surprised. So both sentences actually reflect the basic
SVO English word order.

However, because each of those noun clauses itself contains a subject, verb, and object, the
sentences superficially appear to deviate from SVO word order. The first appears to have
SVSVO order, and the second appears to have SVOVO word order. (Note that the
word that serves only to introduce these noun clauses and is not itself a subject or an object.)

The students (S) thought (V) that they (S) had met (V) us (O).

That we (S) knew (V) them (O) surprised (V) the students (O).

Relative Clauses

A relative clause is another English structure in which basic SVO word order can be altered. A
relative clause is a structure that provides descriptive information about a noun phrase in a
sentence. In the first example below, the second independent sentence ( The student lost that
book.) provides descriptive information about a book in the first sentence. The second
example uses a relative clause, rather than a second independent sentence, to provide
descriptive information. In the second example, the relative clause, which the student lost,
occurs immediately after the noun phrase a book and provides descriptive information about a
book.

The teacher (S) found (V) a book (O). The student (S) lost (V) that book (O).

The teacher (S) found (V) a book (O) which (O) the student (S) lost (V).

In the example containing the relative clause, the main clause, The teacher found a book,
exhibits the basic SVO pattern of sentence elements. However, the relative clause, which the
student lost, exhibits OSV word order. As with English WH-questions, a WH-phrase in a
relative clause must appear at the beginning of the clause. For this reas on, relative clauses
often exhibit non-SVO word order. In the above example, which refers to a book in the main
clause and represents the object of the verb lost within the relative clause. For more details
about relative clauses see the SEA site module Relative Clauses.

Infinitive Clauses

Infinitive clauses in English are structures that contain the word to followed by a verb, for
example, to study, to develop, to be repaired, and so on. Sentences containing infinitive
clauses also deviate from the basic SVO word order. The sentences below illustrate this fact.

The professor (S) decided (V) to write (V) a book (O).

The instructor (S) persuaded (V) Mary (O) to take (V) that course (O).

The students (S) asked (V) the teacher (O) what (O) to read (V).

Infinitive clauses differ from regular clauses in that the infinitive generally does not have an
explicit subject of its own. In the first example above, the subject of the infinitive to write is
missing but is understood to be the professor, which is the explicit subject of the main
verb decided. In other words, the professor did the deciding, and the professor will also do
the writing, so we say that the professor is the understood, or logical, subject of the
infinitive to write. In the second example above, the understood subject of the infinitive to
take is the object of the main clause, Mary.

The third example above contains the infinitive clause what to read, which begins with the WH-
word what. In this case, what serves as the object of the infinitive to read but must appear at
the beginning of the clause in the same way that WH-phrases must appear at the beginning of
WH-questions and relative clauses. In this particular sentence, the understood subject of to
read is the subject of the main clause, the students. For more details about the interpretation
of infinitive clauses see the SEA site module Logical Subjects of Infinitives.
So because infinitive clauses generally do not have explicit subjects and because a WH -word in
an infinitive clause occurs at the beginning of the clause, sentences containing infinitive
clauses exhibit various deviations from basic SVO word order. As indicated, the example
sentences above have the following different word orders for their major grammatical
components: SVVO, SVOVO, and SVOOV.

Participial Clauses

Participial clauses in English are structures which contain a verb with an -ing ending and which
express an additional action related to a subject or object in the main clause of the sentence.
As with infinitives, participles also have understood, or logical, subjects. Therefore, sentences
containing participial clauses deviate from basic SVO word order in various ways, as illustrated
in the following examples.

Finishing (V) the book (O), the student (S) completed (V) the assignment (O).

The student (S) dropped (V) the course (O), deciding (V) to take (V) it (O) next year instead of
this year.

In the first example, the participle finishing begins the sentence and is followed by its
object, the book. The main clause, the student finished the assignment, exhibits normal
SVO order. In such a sentence, the understood subject of finishing is the main clause
subject the student. That is, the sentence is interpreted to mean that the student finished the
book and the student completed the assignment. But without an explicit subject, the non-SVO
order of the participial clause creates a sentence exhibiting VOSVO order.

In the second example, the participial clause deciding to take it next year instead of this
year follows the main clause. In this sentence, which exhibits a SVOVO order, the student is
the subject of dropped and the understood subject of the participle deciding. For discussion of
other kinds of participles see the SEA site modules Passive Voice and -ED/-ING Participles of
Emotional Response Verbs.

Gerund Clauses

A gerund is also a verb that has an -ing ending; it looks identical to a participle. However, the
gerund clause has a different function from the participial clause. The gerund clause is a whole
clause that, itself, serves as a subject or object within a sentence. The following sentence
contains the gerund clause taking that course.

The students (S) enjoyed (V) taking that course (O).

In this sentence, taking that course serves as the object of the verb enjoyed. Yet the gerund
clause itself consists of a verb (gerund) with its own object, that course. So, despite the fact
that this gerund clause is the O in an SVO structure, internally it has the structure VO. Thus,
superficially the above sentence reflects the order SVVO :

The students (S) enjoyed (V) taking (V) that course (O).

In the following two examples, the gerund clause serves as the subject of the sentence:

Taking that course (S) improved (V) the students' skills (O).

Taking that course (S) was (V) helpful (A). (A = ADJECTIVE)

Superficially these sentences exhibit VOSVO and VOSVA orders.

With respect to interpretation, the gerund, like an infinitive or a participle, has an understood,
logical subject. InThe students enjoyed taking that course, the understood subject of taking
is the students, which is the explicit subject of the main verb enjoyed.

In Taking that course improved the students' skills, the understood subject of taking is the
students, which occurs later in the sentence. In Taking that course was helpful, there is no
explicit sentence element to serve as the understood subject of taking. In this kind of sentence,
the subject of taking is determined from the context in which the sentence occurs. Depending
on the situation, the person taking that course might be the speaker of the sentence, the
hearer, or someone else being referred to in a conversation.

EXAMPLES OF SENTENCE PATTERN

Abbreviations for important components in a sentence.

Subject (S) Verb (V) Object (O)

Complement (C) Adverbial (A) Direct Object (DO)

Indirect Object (IO)

There are basically five sentence patterns in English Grammar. They are
e.g.
SV Subject + Verb

SVO Subject + Verb + Object

SVIODO Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object

SVC Subject + Verb + Complement

SVOC Subject + Verb + Object + Complement

Note : Adjunct or Adverbial could be added to all these five patterns.

e.g.
Subject Verb Object Examples - (SVO)

S+V+O

I / finished / the work

I / like / puppies

David / scolded / the boy

We / received / the parcel

 She / sings / a song

They / did / a lot of work

He / resembles / her father

Many students / witnessed / the play

The police / arrested / the thief

I / want / one of these books

I / love / England

Peter / secured / admission

A huntsman / pursued / a wild animal

Many critics / criticised / the play

My mother / is teaching / French

She / is / intelligent

Subject Verb Adverbial Examples - (SVA)

S+V+A

He / came / to the party

They / came / suddenly

It / is going / away

The train / arrived / late

They / will come / later

 It / rained / last night

She / worked / in a second-hand bookshop

They / went / to the market

He / reads / slowly

The noise / feded / away

Subject Verb Complement Examples - (SVC)

S+V+C

They / are / players

Her father / is / a doctor

I / am / an Indian

The class / became / noisy

Her eyes / are / beautiful

Mother Teresa / is / India’s gift to the world

Our headmaster sideline / was / a lending library

The leaves / turn / yellow

Her dreams / have come / true

They / worked / hard

The tea / is getting / cold

It / was / a very pleasant talk

Adverbial Subject Verb Examples - (ASV)

A+S+V

Soon / we / wake up

Nicely / he / replied

fondly / she / asked

Yesterday / I / came

Tomorrow / she / leaves

Subject Verb Object Complement Examples - (SVOC)

S+V+O+C

They / made / him / captain

They / named / him / Robert

They / elected / him / president

They / elected / him / speaker

They / made / him / the Mayor

They / made / David / Chairman of the Rotary club

The news / made / his name / popular

She / made / him / happy

She / learnt / music / last year

She / got / her shoes / wet

 She / recognised / him / as a genius

He / panted / the wall / white

England / declared / me / a jew

He / made / his son / a doctor

Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object Examples - (SVIODO)

S+V+IO+DO

We / wish / you / Happy new year

The principal / gave / him / the medal

He / gave / her / a watch

She / sold / him / her house

Paul / gave / his wife / a gift

The Headmaster / showed / her / the result

He / sent / us / some foreign stamps

The doctor / gave / her / medicine

Sarah / sent / Paul / a gift

She / offered / me / a firm hand shake

They / sold / him / pictures

Subject Verb Object Complement Adverbial Examples - (SVOCA)

S+V+O+C+A
 She / made / her views / clear / at the outset

The company / appointed / him / clerck / last week

They / named / their baby / Sarah / in the church

They / took / the child, / unconscious / to the hospital

She / made / his intentions / clear / now

She / had made / his life / a success / long back

I / lost / my purse / with money / in the bus

The governor / has sworn / him / chief minister / yesterday

Subject Verb Object Adverbial Examples - (SVOA)

S+V+O+A

The boy / kicks / the ball / with force

She / made / a new dress / yesterday

The kidnapper / locked / the child / in a lonely house

He / threw / the chair / out

She / invited / the guests / to get in

They / played / the match / in broad daylight

The thieves / broke open / the lockers / in the bank

I / shall meet / you / at the railway station

 You / will understand / the truth / one day

She / lost / her father / last week

She / shot / the tiger / at once

You / will understand / the truth / one day

He / wrote / a letter / from Paris

They / want / money / immediately

He / got / his shoes / wet

They / had / their lunch / in the late hours

He / felt / a hand / on his shoulder

Subject Verb Object Adverbial Adverbial Examples - (SVOAA)

S+V+O+A+A

I / met / Sarah / at the theatre / yesterday

He / practised / pistol shooting / in the firing range / in London

Everyone / relished / the dinner / in the hotel / yesterday

She / enjoyed / the music recital immensly / yesterday

They / pushed / the bus / from behind / to make it move

I / will close / the shop / early / today

The rider / brought / the news / typed / at night

He / left / the book / on the table / at once

Subject Verb Complement Adverbial Examples - (SVCA)

S+V+C+A

The child / fell / asleep / soon

You / seem / tried / to day

It / is / dark / everywhere

She / became / wise / thereafter

They / reached / home / late

The train / left / the station / on time

She / got / well / soon

He / became / popular / at once

I / am / a programmer / in this company

She / acts / well / at all times

My father / is / an engineer / in India

He / got / well / slowly

I / am / the principal / here

Dr.David / is / famous / in his locality

David / is / a doctor / at Paris

She / was made / the Mayor / last week

Mr.Obama / was elected / the President / last month

Adverbial Subject Verb Object Examples - (ASVO)

A+S+V+O

Everyday / she / was / late

In broad daylight, / she / fell / unconscious

Often / Akbar / got / mad

This year / she / is / the captain

During day time / he / is / an honest man

Adverbial Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object Examples - (ASVIODO)

A+S+V+IO+DO

Last night / She / gave / him / food

Last week / he / gave / his son / new shirts

Every day / she / teaches / them / science

Everywhere / people / gave / the President / a welcome

During lunch / I / served / him / ice-cream

Adverbial Subject Verb Object Complement Adverbial Examples - (ASVOCA)

A+S+V+O+C+A

In the end, / the judge / declared /

the culprit / innocent, / after the
trial
 Yesterday / the man / murdered / a
woman / in rags, / mercilessly

In ancient times / people / shot /

deer / dead / in the forest

Last month / they / christened / the

child, / John / in the Chruch

Next Sunday / we / will paint / the

car / red / in the meeting

Every day / she / noticed / the poor,

/ half dead / in the street corners

Adverbial Adverbial Subject Verb Complement Examples - (AASVC)

A+A+S+V+C

In the prayer hall, / during whorship / they / are / silent

Every day, / in the hostel, / she / is / asleep

Next month, / in Bombay, / they / have / a meeting

Every week, / in her garden / she / is / at work

Last week, / in Paris, / she / worked / as a professor

Verb Object Examples - (VO)

V+O

Perdon / me.

Call / him.

Try / it.
Identifying English Word Order Patterns
In each sentence below, words or phrases that represent major sentence elements appear
randomly in different colors. These sentence elements include SUBJECTS (S), VERBS (V), and
OBJECTS (O). For each sentence, identify the superficial word order pattern that it exhibits.
Some sentences will exhibit basic SVO word orders; others will exhibit alternative word orders
depending on the extent to which basic SVO order has been disturbed by the movement of
elements, the interruption of elements, or the lack of explicit subjects for some structures.

For each sentence, write down its word order pattern, for example, SVOSVO, OSV, VSSVO,
etc. Then click on "ANSWER" to see the correct pattern.

Label any VERB-ing element as a V, despite its actual function as a finite verb, infinitive,
participle, or gerund. Label a verb along with any accompanying "helping verbs" as V (for
example, will go = V). Also label as V any helping verb that occurs alone before a SUBJECT,
as in questions.

1. The site visitor reloaded the document.

2. Having reloaded the document, the site visitor updated the cache.

3. Web developers can use style sheets for developing attractive presentations.

4. The e-mail message which you sent finally arrived yesterday.

5. Can we open a second browser window?

6. When you click a link, you will see another document.

7. Clicking a link will reveal another document.

8. The system administrator decided to create a newsgroup for discussing local issues.

9. Which URL did the administrator say that the programmer should omit?

10. Most e-mail systems have address books which store and organize e-mail addresses.

Answer

1. ANSWER: SVO The site visitor (S) reloaded (V) the document (O).

2. ANSWER: VOSVO Having reloaded (V) the document (O), the site visitor (S) updated (V) the
cache (O).

3. ANSWER: SVOVO Web developers (S) can use (V) style sheets (O) for developing (V)
attractive presentations (O).

4. ANSWER: SOSVV The e-mail message (S) which (O) you (S) sent (V) ____ finally arrived
(V) yesterday.

5. ANSWER: VSVO Can (V) we (S) open (V) a second browser window (O)?

6. ANSWER: SVOSVO When you (S) click (V) a link (O), you (S) will see (V) another document
(O).

7. ANSWER: VOVO Clicking (V) a link (O) will reveal (V) another document (O).

8. ANSWER: SVVOVO The system administrator (S) decided (V) to create (V) a newsgroup (O)
for discussing (V) local issues (O).
9. ANSWER: OVSVSV Which URL (O) did (V) the administrator (S) say (V ) that the
programmer (S) should omit (V) ____?

10. ANSWER: SVOSVVO Most e-mail systems (S) have (V) address books (O) which (S) store
(V) and organize (V) e-mail addresses (O).

Identify the pattern of the following sentence :

She will com

1.

a) SV b) SVO c) SVC d) SVOC Answer

She became
2.

a) SVCA b) SVO c) SVA d) SVC Answer

One of the bo
3.

a) SVC b) SVOA c) SVCA d) SV Answer

I wish you Ha
4.

a) SV b) SV IO DO c) SVC d)SVOC Answer

It is dark eve
5.

a) SVC b) SVCA c) SVA d) SVOA Answer

I am a progra
6.

a) SVC b) SVCA c) SVA d) SVOA Answer

He always dr
7.

a) SAVA b) SVCA c) SVOA d) SVOAA Answer

He gave the
8.

a) SVO b) SV DO A c) SV DO IO d) SV IO DO Answer

The sun shin

9.

a) SO b) SV c) SA d) S DO Answer
 I met his frien
10.

a) SVOA b) ASV c) SVC d) SVOC Answer

They gave m
11.

a) SV IO DO b) SVOA c) SV IO d) SCVA Answer

They gave a
12.

a) SVAC b) SVOA c) SV IO DO d) SV DO IO Answer

He iorns his
13.

a) SVC b) SVOA c) SVCA d) SVO Answer

This morning
14.

a) SVO IO b) AASVO c) ASVO d)SVCA Answer

Site here
15.

a) VA b) OA c) VO d) V IO Answer

My grand fath
16.

a) SVC b) SV IO DO c) SV IO d) SVOA Answer

Marry cooks
17.

a) SVC b) SVA c) SVO d) AVS Answer

I gave her a d
18.

a) SVA b) SV IO A c) SV DO IO d) SV IO DO Answer

The cock is o
19.

a) SVA b) SVC c) SAC d) SV Answer

Ricky is the t
20.

a) SVC b) ASV c) SVA d) SVOC Answer

 ANSWER

She will com

1.

a) SV b) SVO c) SVC d) SVOC Answer

She became
2.

a) SVCA b) SVO c) SVA d) SVC Answer

One of the bo
3.

a) SVC b) SVOA c) SVCA d) SV Answer

I wish you Ha
4.

a) SV b) SV IO DO c) SVC d)SVOC Answer

It is dark eve
5.

a) SVC b) SVCA c) SVA d) SVOA Answer

I am a progra
6.

a) SVC b) SVCA c) SVA d) SVOA Answer

He always dr
7.

a) SAVA b) SVCA c) SVOA d) SVOAA Answer

He gave the
8.

a) SVO b) SV DO A c) SV DO IO d) SV IO DO Answer

The sun shin

9.

a) SO b) SV c) SA d) S DO Answer

I met his frien

10.

a) SVOA b) ASV c) SVC d) SVOC Answer

They gave m
11.

a) SV IO DO b) SVOA c) SV IO d) SCVA Answer

 They gave a
12.

a) SVAC b) SVOA c) SV IO DO d) SV DO IO Answer

He iorns his
13.

a) SVC b) SVOA c) SVCA d) SVO Answer

This morning
14.

a) SVO IO b) AASVO c) ASVO d)SVCA Answer

Site here
15.

a) VA b) OA c) VO d) V IO Answer

My grand fath
16.

a) SVC b) SV IO DO c) SV IO d) SVOA Answer

Marry cooks
17.

a) SVC b) SVA c) SVO d) AVS Answer

I gave her a d
18.

a) SVA b) SV IO A c) SV DO IO d) SV IO DO Answer

The cock is o
19.

a) SVA b) SVC c) SAC d) SV Answer

Ricky is the t
20.

a) SVC b) ASV c) SVA d) SVOC Answer