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MEETING 1
WORD ORDER (PART 1)

A. Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the students are able to arrange words in a sentence
orderly. Besides, the learning objectives of this chapter are to:
1.1. Understand the word order in declarative sentence.
1.2. Understand the word order in interrogative sentence.
1.3. Understand the word order in imperative clause.
1.4. Understand the word order in exclamatory sentence.

B. Material Description
Learning Objective 1.1:
Word Order in Declarative Sentence
Sentence is a group of words with at least a subject and a predicate which
expresses a complete thought. For example: She cries. This sentence consist of a
subject (She) and a predicate (Cry). This is the simplest pattern of sentence. Whereas
declarative sentence is a sentence which makes a statement or states a fact and ends
with a period. They can be positive or negative. For example:
 The use of e-commerce technology and websites is still underdeveloped.
 Business applications that use information technology and computer
networks are increasing.
 The government does not allow the export of encryption technology
(cryptography).
 The farmers do not have post-harvest handling technology.
Word order refers to how words are arranged in a sentence. The common word order
in declarative sentence is Subject (S) – Predicate (P) – Object (O). For more complete
word order of declarative sentence, we can add place or time.

Example: He makes educational application.

This is the example of common word order in declarative sentence. The sentence
consists of Subject (He) – Predicate (Makes) – Object (Educational Application).

Example: She bought 1 terabyte external memory in a computer store last week.

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This is the example of more complete word order in declarative sentence. The
sentence consists of Subject (She) – Predicate (Bought) – Object (1 terabyte external
memory) – Place (In a computer store) – Time (Last week).

Declarative sentence can be positive and negative. The word order of positive and
negative declarative sentence is explained as follows:
1. Word Order in Positive Sentence.
Positive sentence has verbal and nominal sentences. The standard word
order for positive verbal sentece is:
Subject – Verb – Object.
To determine the proper order of words, we need to understand what the subject,
the verb, and the object are.
 Subject is usually a noun (person, place, or thing) or pronoun (I, you, we, they,
she, he, it)
 Verb is the action.
 Object is usually a noun (person, place, or thing) or pronoun (me, you, us, them,
her, him). The word or group of words influenced by the verb.
The order of words is very important in communication in English because it can
influence the meaning of what we say. For example:
The sentence “The cat crossed the road” and “The road crossed the cat” take two
different meanings because the subject and object are inverted.
The more complete word order in positive verbal sentence can be formed
by adding adverb (place, time, manner, and etc). The pattern is:
Subject – Verb – Object – Adverb.
Examples:
 The web designer can make change the web pages anytime.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : The web designer
Verb : can make
Direct object : change
Indirect object : the web pages
Adverb of time : anytime
 Tim Berner-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Tim Berner-Lee
Verb : invented

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Object : the World Wide Web

Adverb of time : in 1989
 Lee wrote the first web browser in 1990 in Switzerland.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Lee
Verb : wrote
Object : the first web browser
Adverb of time : in 1990
Adverb of place : in Switzerland
 Software companies developed programs quickly.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Software companies
Verb : developed
Object : programs
Adverb of manner : quickly
The standard word order for positive nominal sentence is:
Subject – Auxiliary Verb – Object/Complement.
The auxiliary verbs are is, am, are, was, were, and etc. The complement can be a
noun, adjective, or adverb. For example: She is a progammer. The sentence consist of
Subject (she), Auxiliary verb (is), and Complement (a programmer). The more complete
word order in positive nominal sentence can be formed by adding adverb (place, time,
manner, and etc). The pattern is:
Subject – Auxiliary Verb – Object/Complement – Adverb

Examples:
 Lee’s first computer is still on display in London.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Lee’s first computer
Auxiliay Verb : is
Complement : on display
Adverb of place : in London
 The World Wide Web is another popular way of sharing information on the
internet
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : The World Wide Web
Auxiliay Verb : is

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Complement : popular way

Adverb of place : on the internet
 They are popular web designers right now.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : They
Auxiliay Verb : are
Complement : popular web designers
Adverb of time : right now
 Amazon.com is the largest internet company in the world.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Amazon.com
Auxiliay Verb : is
Complement : the largest internet company
Adverb of place : in the world

2. Word Order in Negative Sentences

Negative sentence also has verbal and nominal sentences. The standard word
order for negative verbal sentece is:
Subject – Auxiliary Verb – not – Verb – Object.
For example: She does not have a new PC. The sentence consists of Subject (She)
– Auxiliary (does) – not – Verb (have) – Object (a new PC). The more complete word
order in negative verbal sentence can be formed by adding adverb (place, time,
manner, and etc). The pattern is:
Subject – Auxiliary Verb – not – Verb – Object – Adverb
Examples:
 The web designer can not make change the web pages anytime.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : The web designer
Auxiliary + not : can not
Verb : make
Direct object : change
Indirect object : the web pages
Adverb of time : anytime
 Tim Berner-Lee did not invent the World Wide Web in 1985.
The sentence above consists of:

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Subject : Tim Berner-Lee

Auxiliary + not : did not
Verb : invented
Object : the World Wide Web
Adverb of time : in 1989
 Lee did not write the first web browser in 1990 in Switzerland.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Lee
Auxiliary + not : did not
Verb : wrote
Object : the first web browser
Adverb of time : in 1990
Adverb of place : in Switzerland
 Software companies did not develop programs quickly.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Software companies
Auxiliary + not : did not
Verb : developed
Object : programs
Adverb of manner: quickly
The standard word order for negative nominal sentence is:
Subject – Auxiliary Verb – not – Object/Complement.
The auxiliary verbs are is, am, are, was, were, and etc. The complement can be a
noun, adjective, or adverb. For example: She is not a progammer. The sentence
consist of Subject (she), Auxiliary verb (is), not, and Complement (a programmer). The
more complete word order in negative nominal sentence can be formed by adding
adverb (place, time, manner, and etc). The pattern is:
Subject – Auxiliary Verb – not – Object/Complement – Adverb

Examples:
 Lee’s first computer is not on display in London.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Lee’s first computer
Auxiliary Verb + not : is not
Complement : on display
Adverb of place : in London

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 The World Wide Web is not another popular way of sharing information on
the internet
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : The World Wide Web
Auxiliary Verb + not : is not
Complement : popular way
Adverb of place : on the internet
 They are not popular web designers right now.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : They
Auxiliary Verb + not : are not
Complement : popular web designers
Adverb of time : right now
 Amazon.com is not the largest internet company in the world.
The sentence above consists of:
Subject : Amazon.com
Auxiliary Verb + not : is not
Complement : the largest internet company
Adverb of place : in the world

Learning Objective 1.2:

Word Order in Interrogative Sentence
Interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks a question and ends with a
question mark. The function of interrogative sentence is to ask a direct question.
Interrogative sentences help us to gather information in conversation with others. An
interrogative sentence must have a subject and a verb. The word order of interrogative
sentence is commonly inverted. The verb is usually put before the subject. For example:
Which one is your flashdisk?
In this sentence, the word flashdisk is the subject and is is the verb. The subject comes
after the verb in a direct question. So, the common word order of interrogative sentence
is:
Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main Verb/Complement ?

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For example:
Are you a web designer?
The sentence consists of Auxiliary verb (Are) – Subject (You) – Complement (a web
designer)
There are three basic interrogative sentence types:
a. Yes/No question
Yes/No question is a question with yes or no as the answer. The word order for
Yes/No question is:
Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb/Complement – Object?
For more complete pattern, we can add an adverb based on the tense of the
sentence.
Examples:
 Do you speak English?
The sentence above consists of:
Auxiliary verb : do
Subject : you
Main verb : speak
Object : English
 Did he buy a new wireless mouse last week?
The sentence above consists of:
Auxiliary verb : did
Subject : he
Main verb : buy
Object : a new wireless mouse
Adverb of time : last week
 Is she an engineer?
The sentence above consists of:
Auxiliary verb : is
Subject : she
Complement : an engineer
b. Question-word (WH) question
Sometimes we need more than yes or no for the answer. Question-word (WH)
question is used when we ask for information. The question-word is usually
placed at the beginning of the sentence. The question-word indicates the
information that we want, for example: where (place), when (time), why (reason),

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who (person), and etc. Look at the picture below!

Picture 1. Question words in English.

The word order for question-word (WH) question is:
Question word – Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb/Complement -
Object?
When the question-word is who, it acts as the subject. So, the pattern for
question-word who becomes:
Who – Auxiliary verb/Main verb – Object/Complement?
For more complete pattern, we can add an adverb based on the tense of the
sentence.
Examples:
 When did Steve Jobs find Apple?
The sentence above consists of:
Question word : when
Auxiliary verb : did
Subject : Steve Jobs

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Main verb : find

Object : Apple
 Where was Apple found?
Question word : where
Auxiliary verb : was
Subject : Apple
Main verb : found
 Who invented Facebook?
Question word : who
Main verb : invented
Object : Facebook
c. Choice question
A choice question is used when we give the listener a choice. We ask
them to choose between two possible answers. Because the question is asking
a choice, we need to use a coordinating conjunction or. Here is the standard
word order for choice question:
Auxiliary verb/main verb be – Subject – Main verb – Object/Complement –
Or – Object/Complement?
For more complete pattern, we can add an adverb based on the tense of the
sentence. Examples:
 Do you need a laptop or PC?
The sentence above consists of:
Auxiliary verb : do
Subject : you
Main verb : need
Object or Object: a laptop or PC
 Will we buy a flashdisk or external memory?
The sentence above consists of:
Auxiliary verb : will
Subject : we
Main verb : buy
Object or Object: a flashdisk or external memory
 Is your laptop blue or white?
The sentence above consists of:
Main verb be : is

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Subject : your laptop

Complement or Complement : blue or white

Learning Objective 1.3:

Word Order in Imperative Sentence
Imperative sentence is used to give commands. The imperative sentence ends
with a full-stop/period (.) or an exclamatory mark (!). The verb that is used for imperative
is base form of the main verb without a subject. However, the subject of the imperative
is actually understood. The subject is obvious, it’s you. For example, Walk to the corne!
The sentence is actually You walk to the corner!
There are positive and negative imperative sentences. The common word order for
positive imperative sentence is:
Verb !
or
Verb – Object/Complement.
Examples:
 Help!
 Take the book!
 Open the blue box and connect the two wires.
The common word order for negative imperative sentence is:
Do not/ Don’t – Verb/be – Object/Complement!
Examples:
 Do not dispose a battery in the trash.
 Don’t move!
 Don’t be late!

Learning Objective 1.4:

Word Order in Exclamatory Sentence

Exclamatory sentence is a sentence that functions to express strong feelings or

opinion. Exclamatory sentence usually begins with What or How and ends with an
exclamation mark. For example: What a great car you have! Here is the picture of the
examples of exclamatory sentence.

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Picture 2. The examples of exclamatory sentence.

The common word order for exclamatory sentence:
a) What
What – Noun/Noun phrase – Subject – Verb/Main verb be!
Examples:
 What a noise he made!
The sentence above consists of:
What + Noun : What a noise
Subject : he
Verb : made
 What a great smart TV you have!
The sentence above consists of:
What + Noun phrase : What a great smart TV
Subject : you
Verb : have
 What a beautiful girl she is!
The sentence above consists of:
What + Noun : What a beautiful girl
Subject : she

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Main verb be : is

b) How
How – Adjective/Adverb – Subject Verb/Main verb be!
Examples:
 How sad he is!
The sentence above consists of:
How + Adjective : How sad
Subject : he
Main verb be : is
 How softly she spoke!
The sentence above consists of:
How + Adverb : How softly
Subject : she
Verb : spoke

C. Exercises
I. Practice 1 : Word Order in Declarative Sentence
Arrange the words below into good order!
1. Software – Chatbots – small – are – programs.
____________________________________________________________
2. Extremely – Facebook's – popular – Messenger – is – an – communication
- piece of – software.
___________________________________________________________.
3. Encyclopedia – has – the biggest – not – Wikipedia – become – online – in
the world.
___________________________________________________________.
4. (USB) – invented – as – a system of – Universal Serial Bus – exchanging –
was – data.
___________________________________________________________.
5. a common – USB – become – everywhere – and – has – schools – name –
from – offices to hospitals.
___________________________________________________________.

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II. Practice 2 : Word Order in Interrogative Sentence

Arrange the words below into good order!
1. Google – did – announce – a – driverless - plans – when – to develop – car ?
____________________________________________________________
2. Google’s – does – a – steering wheel – new – brakes – have – and – car ?
____________________________________________________________
3. Tesla – is – produced – thousand – over – where – a hundred – for – dollars?
____________________________________________________________
4. Roadster – is – a – free – the – car – pollution ?
____________________________________________________________
5. What – introduced – was – the – first – 2007 – smartphone – that – in –
world’s?
____________________________________________________________

III. Practice 3 : Word Order in Imperative Sentence

Arrange the words below into good order!
1. Noisy – don’t – during – be – lessons.
________________________________________________________
2. Your – listen – to – teachers.
________________________________________________________
3. Cheat – don't – tests – on.
________________________________________________________
4. At – your – sit – desk.
________________________________________________________
5. Be – for – school – don't – late.
________________________________________________________
6. They – write – because – the – tests – are – helpful.
________________________________________________________
7. Bully – your – don't – classmates.
________________________________________________________
8. Attention – all – pay – the – time.
________________________________________________________
9. Sleep – at – don't – school.
________________________________________________________
10. Don't – lessons – in – your – eat

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Practice 3 : Word Order in Exclamatory Sentence

Arrange the words below into good order!
1. What – a – flowers – of bouquet – lovely!
___________________________________________________________
2. What – puppy – a – cute!
___________________________________________________________
3. What – ugly – an – bug!
___________________________________________________________
4. What – a – ending – happy!
___________________________________________________________
5. How – they've – bright – in the – grown – sunlight!
____________________________________________________________
6. How – he – well – listens!
____________________________________________________________
7. How – they – slow – crawl!
____________________________________________________________
8. How – you – fast – ran!
____________________________________________________________

D. References
Azar, B.S & Koch, R.S. (2009) Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4 th
Edition Workbook. NewYork
Cowan R. (2008) The Teacher’s Grammar of English, A course Book and
Reference Guide. New York. Cambridge University Press.
Foley, M & Hall, D. (2003) Longman Advance Learner’s Grammar. Cina
Kroeger, Paul.R. (2005) Analyzing Grammar, an Introduction. New York.
Cambridge University Press. USA. Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Azar, B.S. (2002) Understanding and Using English Grammar, 3rd Edition with
Answer key. New York.
Celce-Murcia, Marianne & Larsen-Freeman, Diane. (1999) The Grammar Book An
ESL / EFL Teacher’s Course, 2nd Edition.
Hewings, Martin. (2005) Advanced Grammar in Use. United Kingdom. Cambridge
University Press.

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Murphy, Raymond. (2012) English Grammar in Use, a Self-Study Reference and

Practice Book for Intermediate learners of English, 4th Edition with
Answer Key and CD-ROM. New York. Cambridge University Press.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/
https://www.englishgrammar.org/direct-indirect-object-position/
https://www.e-grammar.org/imperative/test3-exercise1/
https://www.english-online.at/news-articles/technology/world-wide-web-
celebrates-25th-birthday.htm
https://www.toeflgoanywhere.org/importance-word-order-english

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