🧩 Sentence Structure

⏱ 9 min read

English sentences usually follow a clear word order. Most sentences begin with a subject, then a verb, and often an object or extra information such as time or place. Learning these patterns will help you build clear, natural sentences. Each English phrase includes translations in several languages.

🟢 Basic Sentence Patterns

👤 Subject + Verb
some complete sentences only need a subject and a verb
Birds fly.
The baby slept.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Los pájaros vuelan. / El bebé durmió.
🇫🇷 French: Les oiseaux volent. / Le bébé a dormi.
🇩🇪 German: Vögel fliegen. / Das Baby schlief.
🇮🇹 Italian: Gli uccelli volano. / Il bambino ha dormito.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Os pássaros voam. / O bebê dormiu.
📚 Subject + Verb + Object
the object tells who or what receives the action
The chef cooked dinner.
She found her keys.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: El chef cocinó la cena. / Ella encontró sus llaves.
🇫🇷 French: Le chef a préparé le dîner. / Elle a trouvé ses clés.
🇩🇪 German: Der Koch hat das Abendessen zubereitet. / Sie hat ihre Schlüssel gefunden.
🇮🇹 Italian: Lo chef ha cucinato la cena. / Lei ha trovato le sue chiavi.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O chef preparou o jantar. / Ela encontrou as chaves.
📍 Add Time or Place
time and place often come near the end
We met yesterday.
My parents live in Canada.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Nos encontramos ayer. / Mis padres viven en Canadá.
🇫🇷 French: Nous nous sommes rencontrés hier. / Mes parents vivent au Canada.
🇩🇪 German: Wir haben uns gestern getroffen. / Meine Eltern leben in Kanada.
🇮🇹 Italian: Ci siamo incontrati ieri. / I miei genitori vivono in Canada.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Nós nos encontramos ontem. / Meus pais moram no Canadá.

🟡 Building Better Sentences

Add an adjective
put the describing word before the noun
The dog barked.
➡️ The small dog barked.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: El perro pequeño ladró.
🇫🇷 French: Le petit chien a aboyé.
🇩🇪 German: Der kleine Hund hat gebellt.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il cane piccolo ha abbaiato.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O cachorro pequeno latiu.
Add more details
add time after the main idea
She studies English.
➡️ She studies English every evening.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Ella estudia inglés todas las tardes.
🇫🇷 French: Elle étudie l'anglais tous les soirs.
🇩🇪 German: Sie lernt jeden Abend Englisch.
🇮🇹 Italian: Lei studia inglese ogni sera.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Ela estuda inglês todas as noites.
Give a reason
use because to explain why
We stayed home because it was raining.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Nos quedamos en casa porque estaba lloviendo.
🇫🇷 French: Nous sommes restés à la maison parce qu'il pleuvait.
🇩🇪 German: Wir sind zu Hause geblieben, weil es geregnet hat.
🇮🇹 Italian: Siamo rimasti a casa perché pioveva.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Ficamos em casa porque estava chovendo.

🔵 Word Order

English word order
Subject → Verb → Object
Emma reads books.
Keep words in order
✅ The cat chased the mouse.
❌ Chased the mouse the cat.
Questions change the order
Statement: You like pizza.
Question: Do you like pizza?

🧠 Useful Grammar

Every sentence needs a subject
Most English sentences begin with a subject.

✅ The bus is late.
✅ They arrived early.
❌ Is late.
Every sentence needs a verb
The verb tells what happens or describes a state.

✅ The lights shine.
✅ My coffee is cold.
❌ My coffee cold.
Keep ideas together
Place related words close together.

✅ We watched a movie after dinner.
✅ She finished her homework before bed.

⚠️ Common Beginner Mistakes

❌ Is raining today.
✅ It is raining today.
English needs a subject: use it for weather
❌ Likes coffee Maria.
✅ Maria likes coffee.
subject comes before the verb
❌ Beautiful the garden is.
✅ The garden is beautiful.
adjective usually comes after is here
❌ Every morning walks he.
✅ He walks every morning.
time often goes at the end

❓ Useful Questions

📍 Where do you work?
question word + do + subject + verb
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Dónde trabajas?
🇫🇷 French: Où travaillez-vous ?
🇩🇪 German: Wo arbeiten Sie?
🇮🇹 Italian: Dove lavori?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Onde você trabalha?
🕒 When does the movie start?
use does with he / she / it / the movie
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿A qué hora empieza la película?
🇫🇷 French: À quelle heure commence le film ?
🇩🇪 German: Wann beginnt der Film?
🇮🇹 Italian: A che ora inizia il film?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: A que horas começa o filme?
👤 Who made this?
who asks for the person
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Quién hizo esto?
🇫🇷 French: Qui a fait ça ?
🇩🇪 German: Wer hat das gemacht?
🇮🇹 Italian: Chi ha fatto questo?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Quem fez isso?
❓ Why are you laughing?
why asks for a reason
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Por qué te ríes?
🇫🇷 French: Pourquoi riez-vous ?
🇩🇪 German: Warum lachen Sie?
🇮🇹 Italian: Perché ridi?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Por que você está rindo?

💬 Everyday Conversation

Planning the weekend
questions and answers with clear word order
A: What are you doing this Saturday?
B: I'm visiting my grandparents.
A: Are you staying there all day?
B: No, we're coming home after dinner.
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 A: ¿Qué vas a hacer este sábado?
🇪🇸 B: Voy a visitar a mis abuelos.
🇪🇸 A: ¿Te vas a quedar allí todo el día?
🇪🇸 B: No, volvemos a casa después de cenar.

🇫🇷 A: Que faites-vous samedi ?
🇫🇷 B: Je vais rendre visite à mes grands-parents.
🇫🇷 A: Restez-vous là toute la journée ?
🇫🇷 B: Non, nous rentrons après le dîner.

🇩🇪 A: Was machen Sie diesen Samstag?
🇩🇪 B: Ich besuche meine Großeltern.
🇩🇪 A: Bleiben Sie den ganzen Tag dort?
🇩🇪 B: Nein, wir kommen nach dem Abendessen nach Hause.

🇮🇹 A: Cosa fai questo sabato?
🇮🇹 B: Vado a trovare i miei nonni.
🇮🇹 A: Resti lì tutto il giorno?
🇮🇹 B: No, torniamo a casa dopo cena.

🇵🇹 A: O que você vai fazer neste sábado?
🇵🇹 B: Vou visitar meus avós.
🇵🇹 A: Você vai ficar lá o dia todo?
🇵🇹 B: Não, voltamos para casa depois do jantar.

📝 Example Sentences

🚆 The train arrives at noon.
subject + verb + time
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: El tren llega al mediodía.
🇫🇷 French: Le train arrive à midi.
🇩🇪 German: Der Zug kommt mittags an.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il treno arriva a mezzogiorno.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O trem chega ao meio-dia.
🍅 My neighbor grows tomatoes.
subject + verb + object
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Mi vecino cultiva tomates.
🇫🇷 French: Mon voisin cultive des tomates.
🇩🇪 German: Mein Nachbar baut Tomaten an.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il mio vicino coltiva pomodori.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Meu vizinho cultiva tomates.
🕶️ We found your sunglasses.
subject + verb + object
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Encontramos tus gafas de sol.
🇫🇷 French: Nous avons trouvé vos lunettes de soleil.
🇩🇪 German: Wir haben Ihre Sonnenbrille gefunden.
🇮🇹 Italian: Abbiamo trovato i tuoi occhiali da sole.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Encontramos seus óculos de sol.
☕ The coffee smells amazing.
subject + verb + description
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: El café huele increíble.
🇫🇷 French: Le café sent délicieux.
🇩🇪 German: Der Kaffee riecht fantastisch.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il caffè ha un odore meraviglioso.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O café cheira incrível.
✈️ Our flight leaves tomorrow morning.
subject + verb + time
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Nuestro vuelo sale mañana por la mañana.
🇫🇷 French: Notre vol part demain matin.
🇩🇪 German: Unser Flug geht morgen früh.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il nostro volo parte domani mattina.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Nosso voo sai amanhã de manhã.
🎵 Everyone enjoyed the concert.
subject + verb + object
Show translationsHide translations🇪🇸 Spanish: Todos disfrutaron del concierto.
🇫🇷 French: Tout le monde a apprécié le concert.
🇩🇪 German: Alle haben das Konzert genossen.
🇮🇹 Italian: Tutti hanno apprezzato il concerto.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Todos gostaram do show.
Not good yet. Several questions had a second option that was also correct English (`Where do you work?`, `Birds fly`, `The small dog barked`). Use this version. Each question has only one correct sentence.

🏆 Final Practice

English in the Real World:

Read the situation. Choose the sentence with the correct word order.
Question 1 of 8
✅ Correct: 0
❓ Questions: 0
🎯 Accuracy: 0%