Basic English sentence order

What you'll learn

English sentences usually need a clear subject. The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.

By the end of this lesson, you can build short affirmative sentences in a natural English order.

Start with these examples

• I drink coffee.
• My brother plays football.
• She is at home.
• We study English in the evening.

In each sentence, the subject comes first.

The basic patterns

Subject + verb

Use this pattern when the verb does not need an object.

subject + verb

• Birds fly.
• I work.
• They sleep.

Subject + verb + object

An object receives the action.

subject + verb + object

• I like music.
• She reads books.
• We watch films.

Subject + be + information

Use be before a name, job, place, feeling or description.

subject + am/is/are + complement

• He is tired.
• They are students.
• My phone is on the table.

Add place and time

Put the main information first. Place and time often come later.

subject + verb + object + place + time

• I study English at home in the evening.
• We eat lunch at school.
• She walks to work every day.

Use this order in real life

Use these patterns when you introduce yourself, describe your day or talk about simple routines.

• I live in Córdoba.
• My parents work in a hospital.
• We have dinner at seven.
• The bus stops near my house.

Common mistakes

• Like I music. → I like music.
• Is very good. → It is very good.
• She every day drinks coffee. → She drinks coffee every day.

A time phrase can sometimes come first: Every day, she drinks coffee. At A1, start with the neutral order first: She drinks coffee every day.

Quick check

Choose the natural sentence:

1. My friend tennis plays. / My friend plays tennis.
2. They are in the kitchen. / Are they the kitchen in.
3. I read books at night. / I at night books read.

Next step

Now learn the words that can be subjects: I, you, he, she, it, we and they.