In order for your spoken and written English to be as literate as possible, you need to not only know a large number of words in this language, but also be able to arrange them into sentences, structure everything in such a way that your thoughts and message are clear to your interlocutors. Sentences are the basis of any text, so the ability to arrange them according to all the rules is very important for high-quality language proficiency.
Elements of an English sentence
A sentence consists of several members, but only two are constant - the subject and the predicate. They are also called principal members. Each member of an English sentence has its own place - the word order, unlike the Russian language, is strictly one. By breaking it, English phrase will lose all meaning.
Subject
The subject is in the form of a common case noun (as in the dictionary) in any number, in the form of a personal pronoun with a nominative case, as well as a numeral, infinitive and gerund. The subject always comes before the predicate and usually at the beginning of the sentence.
For nouns, the article may change or be completely absent - it all depends on what object or person is implied in the sentence.
Mouseare afraid of cat- The mouse is afraid of the cat;
Iam fond of music- I'm into music;
Fouris believed to be an unlucky number in Japan
- It is believed that four - unlucky number in Japan;
To helpyou are my choice- Helping you is my choice;
Reading togood book raises my mood- Reading a good book lifts my mood.
Table of personal pronouns that can act as subjects:
Sometimes indefinite and negative pronouns can become the subject:
Predicate
The predicate is the main component of a sentence. With its help, we understand what time the described event is associated with. The predicate is placed after the subject - that is, in second place. It happens the following types: verb (the Verbal Predicate) and nominal ( the Nominal Predicate).
Verb predicatestands in personal form and serves as a determinant of action.
Example:
This manstudiesSpanish- This man is learning Spanish;
Samwill moveto another country- Sam will move to another country.
Wehave to stoplistening music- We must stop listening to music;
Juliacan runfaster- Julia can run faster;
Shestarted dancing- She started dancing;
A teacherfinished introducinghimself- The teacher finished introducing himself.
Nominal predicateshows the characteristics of an object or living creature. It cannot denote actions and consists of two components - a linking verb and a nominal part. The nominal part can consist of various parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, numerals, adjectives, infinitives, gerunds and participles.
Example:
Shewas a teacher- She was a teacher;
The cupis yours- The cup is yours;
This girlis nineteen- This girl is 19 years old;
The wallis black- The wall is black;
Him missionwas to helpshe has to cope with everything- His mission was to help her cope with everything;
Her greatest wishis flying- Her greatest desire is to fly;
The pastais boiled- The pasta is cooked.
The predicate can be formed not only from one verb, but also from two:
- Main verb . Denotes the action that the second performs main member. For example:He runs- He is running.
- Auxiliary . Distinguishes between times. If the tense form requires the presence of such a verb, then omitting it from the sentence is unacceptable. ForPresent Simple it will be do/does, For Past Perfect - had, and for Future Continuous - will be.
All those members of the sentence that are called minor will be listed below. Their task is to explain the main members of the sentence or other minor ones. Their peculiarity is that even without them the sentence will have a clear meaning, since these words do not form a grammatical center in it.
Addition
The object is placed after the predicate and is expressed by a noun and a pronoun. Such words answer any case questions, excluding the nominative. There are two types of additions:
- Direct object . Answers the questions accusative case“who?”, “what?”;
- Indirect addition . Answers other questions: “what?”, “what?”, “to whom?” etc.
There are times when there are two objects in one sentence. In such cases, we first put the direct, and then the indirect.
Example:
I seea boy- I see a boy;
He is readinga magazine to the friend- He is reading a magazine to a friend;
I playthe computer game with him- I play computer game with him.
Circumstance
This member of the sentence answers the questions “where?”, “why”, “when”, etc. and can denote place, time, image or cause of action. It is attached to the predicate and takes place either at the beginning of the sentence or at the end. Expressed by an adverb or a noun with a preposition.
Example:
My black dog lieson the window- My black dog is lying on the window;
TodayI saw her with my sister- Yesterday I saw her with my sister.
Definition
This member of the sentence answers the questions “which one?” and “whose?” and describes the properties of the words before which it is placed (subject and object). The participle attribute is usually placed after these members of the sentence. The definition can be used in the form different parts speech: adjective, participle and participial phrase, numeral, noun in possessive case, personal pronoun in the objective case and others.
Example:
Yesterday I had astrongtoothache- Yesterday I had a severe toothache;
Where are the goodsbought at the auction yesterday ? - Where are the goods bought yesterday at the auction?;
Her office is on thefirstfloor- Her office is on the first floor;
Sam founda lady'shat in the street- Sam found a woman’s hat on the street;
There isn'tanywater left in the cup- There is no water left in the cup.
Structure and word order in a sentence in English
In Russian, the order of words in a sentence is exempt from rules, and the meaning of phrases does not change from rearranging members. IN English language With this everything is stricter: words can appear in two orders: direct and reverse. For clarity, let's look at a simple example:
I love you- I love you = I love you = I love you.
This phrase has three possible translations into Russian.
Note that in English there are three types of sentences, and each of them has its own order of members:
- Affirmative;
- Interrogative;
- Negative.
Constructing an affirmative sentence in English
This type of sentence has a direct order of members. It should look like this: first - the subject, then the predicate, and only then the complement with the circumstance. Sometimes, as mentioned above, the adverbial clause may occupy the beginning of a sentence. Don't forget that sometimes an auxiliary verb is added to the main verb, which is also part of the predicate - so the order will still remain straight.
Example:
Today I bought a dog set to my son - Today I bought my son a dog;
We'll go home after working- We will go home after work;
I have no idea how to learn to play the piano - I have no idea how to learn to play the piano.
Constructing a negative sentence in English
In such sentences, as in the previous version, the word order will be direct. But in order to mark this negation, we add the particle “not" (Not). This particle is necessarily adjacent to the auxiliary verb, which is required in such cases.
Example:
My girlfriend will not visit me in two days - My girlfriend will not visit me in two days;
Sam will not be there- Sam won't be there;
She is not reading at the moment - She is not reading at the moment;
I was not aware of the situation in Ukraine - I didn’t know about the situation in Ukraine;
I haven’t done homework today yet - Today I haven’t done my homework yet.
Constructing an interrogative sentence in English
In Russian, sentences with questions differ from statements only in the intonation with which the speaker pronounces them. In the English version of the interrogative sentence, a different word order is used - reverse. In it, the subject and predicate change places. But only part of the predicate is put at the beginning - auxiliary, the presence of which is mandatory here. The main verb is still located after the subject, like all other words. The only exception is that the circumstance cannot come at the beginning here.
Example:
Do you like this music?- Do you like this music?;
Have you been to Japan?-Have you been to Japan?
Sometimes such phrases include a question word - in this case, we put it at the beginning.
Example:
What do you think about our teacher? - What do you think about our teacher?;
When did he move to Russia?- When did he move to Russia?
There are also sentences with a question called a dividing question - and in this case you will have to abandon the standard, “correct” structuring. A sentence with a dividing question is created as follows: first - an affirmative or negative sentence, and then - a short question.
Example:
She is rather beautiful, isn’t she? - She's quite beautiful, isn't she?;
He studies Spanish, doesn't he?
- He's studying Spanish, isn't he?
Constructing short answers in English
In Russian speech, we can briefly answer “Yes” or “No” to many questions. The foreign language we are studying also has this opportunity, but with one difference - here you cannot answer simply “Yes” or “No”, since such a wording of the answer may seem unfriendly. Therefore, English people who want to give a short answer to a question add the subject and auxiliary verb used in the question.
Example:
ㄧ Has he visited the Kremlin?- Did he visit the Kremlin?
ㄧ Yes, he has- Yes;
ㄧ Do they work in the college?- Do they work at the college?
ㄧ No, they don't- No.
If the question asked of you contains the pronoun “you”, it is asked to you personally. The answer to such a question should be from yourself, and not from “you”.
Example:
ㄧ Do you like summer?- Do you like summer?
ㄧ Yes, I do- Yes.
ㄧ Will you write me?-Will you write to me?
ㄧ No, I won't- No.
Creating literate phrases in English is like a constructor - you just need to insert the necessary parts of the sentence. Try to formulate coherent texts in the target language more often, but not only in writing, but also orally, communicating with native speakers of the language you need or with people who, like you, are studying it.
The word order in English and Russian is often compared, arguing that in the latter you can arrange words as God pleases. This makes the language easier to use. It seems like at least one less headache. I agree that in the Russian language there is something to think about even without this, but I know for sure that there is a certain word order in it, but it is not obvious to us. I am not a specialist in Russian philology and cannot say anything about this. But, in general, my experience of studying the Chinese language, in which the word order “needs to be felt,” tells me that it is easier when the language still has a clearly established word order. At least you are confident in the structure of your sentence, in your subject and predicate, and in the fact that you have accurately formulated the question or negation. English has given us a great gift in the form of of a certain order words This language is mathematics. You are given a formula, you substitute your variables x and y. The end result is a sentence that is understandable to your listeners and conveys your thoughts.
I. Word order in an affirmative sentence
| Subject | Predicate | Indirect addition | Direct object | Prepositional complement | Place | Time |
| I | will tell | you | a story | about my father | at school | tomorrow. |
| He | gave | the book | to Catherine | in a cafe | last month. | |
| Joanna | was thinking | about you | last night. | |||
| Bred | has been reading | a newspaper | in the hall. |
*Direct object– direct object, analogue of our accusative case. Indicates the object on which the action is performed. The addition answers the question “who?/what?” For example:
The ball hit her. – Who did the ball hit? – Her (direct object).
He is making pancakes. – What is he making? – Pancakes (direct object).
Indirect object– indirect addition. Not used without a direct object. Indicates the recipient of the indirect object. For example:
He bought her flowers. (Who did he buy flowers for? - for Mom.)
They told me the news. John is writing her a letter. She gave her boyfriend a present.
Object of preposition- prepositional object. Attached to a verb using a preposition. For example:
Be careful with fire. (with fire -prepositional complement)
She wrote a book about the war. (about the war –prepositional complement)
Note that the word order, starting with the indirect object, is maintained in negative and interrogative sentences. Therefore, in the future I will simply call them “the remaining members of the sentence.”
II. Word order in a negative sentence
Verb TO BE in Present Simple and Past Simple
Other verbs and tenses
III. Word order in a question sentence
Interrogative sentences with the verb TO BE in Present Simple and Past Simple
Interrogative sentences with an auxiliary verb
| Question word (if any) | Auxiliary | Subject | Semantic verb | Other members of the sentence |
| Do | you | work | at weekends? | |
| What | is | he | doing | in the kitchen? |
| What books | did | your grandfather | use to read | when was he young? |
| Where | can | I | find | information about it? |
| Why | haven't | you | spoken | to him yet? |
Interrogative sentences without an auxiliary verb
If in a question the interrogative word is also the subject, then the word order is maintained as in the statement.
IV. Word order in subordinate clauses
The word order in subordinate sentences is direct, which is especially important when using indirect speech. Compare:
“Do you love me?” I asked. -> I asked if she loved me.
“What are you going to do next?” she asked. -> She asked what I was going to do next.
V. Position of adverbs in an English sentence
Adverbs of frequency (often, always, rarely, never, hardly ever, sometimes, usually etc.) located before the semantic verb, but after the verb TO BE:
I often go to the cinema. I don't often go to the cinema. Do you often go to the cinema?
He is usually happy to see me. He isn't usually happy to see me. Is he usually happy to see me?
In compound predicates:
I have never been to China. Have you ever been to China?
I will always love you. Will you always love me?
Usually, normally, occasionally and sometimes can be rearranged to the beginning or end of a sentence.
The correct order of words in a sentence in English is a painful topic for many, especially those who are just starting to learn the intricacies of translation. foreign language. But, be that as it may, the topic must be mastered well, since grammatically correct speech- an integral part of a pleasant impression of a person. Let's look at the order of words in an English sentence and the features of its construction, and also give vivid examples for better assimilation of information. Go ahead for new knowledge!
Before we proceed to the main block of information, we immediately note that today we will consider the construction rules only standard offers. Today we will not talk about the intricacies of composing complex inversions, exclamations and elliptical constructions, but will talk exclusively about standard sentences. They are a kind of skeleton, the basis for composing other types of sentences. So, let's get down to the rules for constructing a standard sentence.
The purpose of sentences is to express a comprehensive idea. To achieve this goal, you need to use the parts of the sentence in the right composition, which allows you to make the thought complete. For a sentence to be logical, it must have two main components in the form and predicate. In a standard sentence, the subjects come first, then the predicates.
How to determine the subjects? Everything is simple if you remember that they can be expressed not only by nouns, but also by pronouns. Mother, apple, cat, tail, flower, phone, cake can be used as nouns; I, we, you, they, he, she, it can be used as pronouns. The predicates are expressed (to write, to sleep, to enjoy, to read, to bake) and, as we have already said, occupy the second place in the sentence (the subjects come first).
For a better understanding, here are some examples:
- The bird is singing => The bird is singing.
- The child is smiling => The child is smiling.
- The pear will ripen => The pear will ripen.
On a note! Predicates allow you to understand what is happening, has happened or will happen to a subject or object. Moreover, they can consist of two parts - the main and auxiliary verbs. It is the auxiliary verb that allows you to determine the time in which the action occurs, and this, in turn, allows you to correctly translate sentences from one language to another.
In addition to the main members of the sentence, there are also additional, so-called minor members, which include => additions, definitions, . There are two types of additions - direct and indirect. Their sequence in a sentence is that the direct object comes first, followed by the indirect object.
- They saw a cat with her => They saw a cat with her.
- The grandmother is baking a cake to the children => Grandmother bakes a cake for the children.
When we talk about a definition, we need to remember that it stands next to subjects or objects and is used to describe their characteristics. Answers the questions “which?”, “whose?”.
- I look at this marvelous picture => I look at this wonderful picture.
- Her gray rabbit lies on the carpet =>
If we are talking about a circumstance, then the peculiarities of the context should be taken into account, since the circumstance can be placed both at the end and at the beginning of the sentence.
- Her gray rabbit lies on the carpet => Her gray rabbit lies on the carpet.
- Tomorrow she will be listening to the music => Tomorrow she will listen to music.
- I will come to you the next day => I will come to you the next day.
- Her friend behaves indifferently => Her friend behaves vaguely.
Structure English offers
The English language offers forward and backward word order. We see the first option in affirmative and negative sentences, the second – when you need to make up a question.
Reference: Sentences in English are different from sentences in Russian. In the Russian language we observe free word order => Galya took ''Gala'', ''Gala'' took Galya, took ''Gala'' Galya. Regardless of the order of words in a sentence, the meaning does not change, which cannot be said about English language => Galya was taking Gala - the only one correct translation in English.
Fixed word order in a sentence is a feature of the English language. Here one member of the sentence clearly follows the other. For children, this feature of the English language can be a kind of stick in the wheels, because in the Russian language everything is different.
Remember: English words cannot “jump” from one place to another. The conservatism of the word order in a sentence explains the conservatism in the behavior of the British, their penchant for order and regularity.
Word order in an English sentence: affirmation, negation, question
Here the scheme is simple, subject + predicate + object. But! There are cases when a circumstance as an addition is put in first place (we have already looked at examples). Please also note that the main verb can be accompanied by an auxiliary verb. But in this case it is easier than in the case of an object, because the auxiliary verb is component predicate. The result is direct word order. Below table will help you understand the material easier.
Word order in an affirmative sentence
| Circumstance | Subject | Predicate | Addition | Circumstance |
| Tomorrow | she | will learn | Spanish vocabulary. | ——— |
| Tomorrow she will learn Spanish vocabulary. | ||||
| ——— | Her elder brother | will visit | her | in five weeks. |
| Her older brother will visit her in five weeks. | ||||
| Next year | I | will come | here again. | |
| IN next year I'll come here again. | ||||
Note that modifiers can be added to subjects.
Word order in a negative sentence
| Circumstance | Subject | Auxiliary verb+not | Basic verb | Addition | Circumstance |
| Last week | he | did not | study | English. | |
| He didn't study English last week. | |||||
| ——— | Her little friend | will not | come | to me | in several days. |
| Her little friend won't come to me for a few days. | |||||
| Next month | I | will not | do | my exercises. | ———— |
| Next month I won't do my exercises. | |||||
The given sentences are negative, but they also have standard word order. To express negation and turn an affirmative sentence into a negative one, we use the particle not .
Reference: In negative sentences there will always be an Auxiliary verb, since it is to it that the particle is added not. Particle to main verb not cannot adjoin.
Word order in a question sentence
The Auxiliary verb always comes first. For comparison: in Russian we can guess only by intonation that we were asked a question. In English there is no need to listen to intonation, because if there is not the proposal will be negative in any case.
Reference: An interrogative sentence is characterized by reverse word order. What does it mean? Subjects and predicates are swapped. But... since we have already talked about conservatism, remember that only , that is, only part of the predicate, should be put in first place. Further, the formation of sentences will proceed in the standard way - theBasic verb should be placed only after Auxiliaryverb.
This is interesting! In interrogative sentences, the circumstance is never put first. It will come at the end of the sentence. Those who build a question with a circumstance at the beginning of an interrogative sentence make a mistake. Remember this!
Let's sum it up
The construction of sentences in English has its own rules and nuances. First you need to remember that all English sentences have a standard verbal order. Reverse word order is unique to interrogative sentences. In this case, it is not the main verb that comes first, but its auxiliary part. The main verb comes only after the subject.
Considerable attention should be paid to additions. If we are talking about circumstances, then they can appear either at the beginning or at the end of sentences. But! If we are talking about questions, then remember that in these cases the adverbial clause is the last member of the sentence, not the first.
Knowing the order of words in an English sentence, you will quickly learn how to correctly compose correct sentences of an affirmative, negative and interrogative nature. Good luck and patience! Remember: patience, perseverance and work are the basis of ideal success! Good luck!
Word order in English differs significantly from our word order. In the Russian language, due to the presence of many endings, there is no word order special significance, the meaning will be the same, you can only focus the interlocutor’s attention on a certain fact. For example:
A kitten ran into me yesterday afternoon
A kitten ran into me yesterday afternoon
Yesterday afternoon a kitten ran into me
We are accustomed to such freedom of speech and transfer it to the English language. However, in English this is done completely prohibited, everyone must stand in their place. Changing the word order usually completely changes the meaning of the sentence:
Anya hit Dima
Anya hit DimaDima hit Anya
Dima hit Anya
The main feature of sentences in English is the fixed word order. No matter how we would like to express our thoughts, we must always adhere to the following word order scheme in an English sentence:
- (or just a verb).
- – is located after the predicate, there may be several.
- – can come at the beginning before the subject or at the very end.
- – can be in any part of a sentence, thereby making it difficult to understand.
To make it clearer and clearer, this diagram can be represented as follows:
Maybe, this scheme It may seem incomprehensible to you, but everything is simple here:
Subject- subject and predicate(verb) - predicate(verb) are the basis of the English sentence, they are present in 99 percent of phrases, we can say that it is " backbone" of any sentence. Also after the predicate it can go addition- object. Therefore, if a sentence consists of three words and is not connected by any, then we can say with confidence that the first word is the subject, the second is the predicate, and the third is the complement. To make it clearer, look at the examples and the 2-minute video below:
We (subject) do (predicate) our work (object)
We do our jobThey faced problems
They faced (many) problems
If you liked the video tutorial, subscribe to this author’s channel -.
After this, looking at the diagram again, it should be clear that circumstance can be at the beginning of a sentence or at the end (less often in the middle):
We do our work with pleasure
We do our work with pleasureAt the moment I cannot talk
At present I can not talk
WITH definition the situation is a little more complicated; more precisely, it complicates the definition of the members of the sentence. A definition can appear in any part of a sentence and usually comes before or after the word being defined (usually a noun).
What else do you need to know so as not to get confused?
As always in the English language, there are exceptions to everything and everywhere. Here are the main exceptions you may encounter:
- Formation of the interrogative form
Forming a question slightly disrupts the usual sentence structure, but there is nothing complicated here; as a rule, the temporary auxiliary verb is placed at the very beginning of the sentence. Look for yourself, in general the scheme of the proposal is the same:
I am an engineer
I am an engineer
Am I'm an engineer?
I am an engineer?I can speak English
I speak English/I can speak English
Can I speak English
I speak English? /I can speak English?
- Improving sentence rhythm
This usually occurs in songs. You could even say that many of the songs are written grammatically incorrectly. The performer’s goal is usually to “get into” the rhythm and convey the meaning, sometimes the same applies to poetry and fairy tales (not adapted).
The main thing you need to remember is that changing the location of words in an English sentence leads to a change in its meaning. All this is, of course, theory and it may seem complicated, but after a little practice and studying the simplest tense forms of the English language, the correct construction of sentences will begin to be achieved on an intuitive level.
In Russian, we can construct a sentence however we want. We can say: “I bought a dress yesterday,” or “I bought a dress yesterday,” or “I bought a dress yesterday,” etc.
In English, the order of words in a sentence is fixed. This means that we cannot rearrange the words as we please. They must stand in their specific places.
It is difficult for beginners to learn English to understand and get used to this.
Therefore, many people often construct English sentences using word order as in Russian. Because of this, it is difficult for the interlocutor to understand the idea you want to convey.
In this article I will explain to you how to construct sentences correctly in English, so that you can compose them correctly, and any foreigner can easily understand you.
From the article you will learn:
What is fixed word order in a sentence?
Offer- a combination of words expressing a complete thought.
As I said, in Russian we can rearrange words in a sentence the way we want.
For example:
We'll go to the cinema.
We'll go to the cinema.
Let's go to the cinema.
As you can see, we can rearrange the words in a sentence, and this will not prevent the other person from understanding the idea that we want to convey to him.
In English, word order is fixed.
Fixed- fixed in a certain position.
This means that the words in a sentence have their own places and cannot be rearranged.
Right:
We will go to the cinema.
We'll go to the cinema.
Wrong:
To the cinema we will go.
If and the word order in the English sentence is incorrect, then it will be difficult for the interlocutor to understand what idea you want to convey to him.
Let's take a closer look at how to correctly construct all types of sentences in English.
Attention: Confused about English rules? Find out how to easily understand English grammar.
Word order in an affirmative English sentence
Affirmative sentences- This sentences where we affirm some thought. Such sentences do not contain a negation and do not imply an answer.
We can say that something:
- Happens in the present (We are building a house)
- Will take place in the future (We will build a house)
- Happened in the past (We built a house)
In English, in affirmative sentences it is used direct word order.
Direct word order means that the 1st and 2nd places in a sentence are always occupied by certain words.
Let's take a closer look at this scheme for constructing affirmative sentences.
1st place - main character
Actor (subject)- the person/thing that performs the action in a sentence.
It could be:
- The object or person itself: mother (mother), Mary (Mary), cup (cup), chairs (chairs), etc.
- A word that replaces an object or person (pronoun): I (I), you (you), we (we), they (they), he (he), she (she), it (it)
For example:
Tom...
Volume....
She….
She....
2nd place - action
Action (predicate)- shows what happened, is happening or will happen.
That is, the action itself (verb) can stand:
1. In the present tense: study (studying), work (working), sleep (sleeping), eat (eating)
2. In the past tense, which is formed using:
- adding the ending -ed to regular verbs: studied (studied), worked (worked)
- 2nd/3rd form irregular verbs: slept/slept (slept), ate/eaten (ate)
We can look up whether the verb is correct or incorrect in the dictionary.
3. In the future tense, which is usually formed using the auxiliary verb will: will study (I will study), will work (I will work), will sleep (I will sleep).
For example:
We travel.
We are travelling.
Tom left.
Tom left.
She will work.
She will work
Important nuance
One worth remembering important nuance. There are sentences in the Russian language in which we omit the action.
For example:
She is a teacher.
Children in the park.
Tom is smart.
In English sentences the action must always be present; we cannot omit it. This is very common mistake among students.
In such cases we use verb to be. This is a special kind of verb that we use when we say that someone:
- Located somewhere (Children in the park)
- Is someone (She's a teacher)
- Is somehow (Tom is smart)
Depending on the tense in which we use this verb, it changes its form:
- In the present tense - am, are, is
- In the past tense - was, were
- In the future tense - will be
For example:
She is a doctor.
She is a doctor. (Literally: She is a doctor)
Children are clever.
Children are smart. (Literally: Children are smart)
I am at home.
I'm home. (Literally: I'm at home)
Read more about the verb to be in each tense in the following articles:
- Verb to be in the present tense
- Verb to be in past tense
So, direct word order means that certain words are in 1st and 2nd place.
Let's see what it looks like again.
| 1 place | 2nd place | 3rd place |
| Actor | Action or verb to be | Other members of the sentence |
| I | work | here |
| My sister | lived | in New York |
| A cat | is | gray |
| They | were | at school |
Now let's look at how to construct negative sentences.
Word order in a negative English sentence
Negative sentences- when we deny something. That is, we say that something:
- Not happening (It's not working)
- Didn't happen (She didn't work)
- Won't happen (It won't work)
In Russian, to form a negation, we put the particle “not” before the action: Not I'm coming, Not I will read, Not bought.
In English, to form a negative, we use the particle “not” and an auxiliary verb. See how our word order changes:
Let's look at this scheme in detail.
1st place - incumbent
Negative sentences also use direct word order, so the actor comes first.
2nd place - auxiliary verb + not
Auxiliary verbs- these are words that are not translated, but only serve as pointers.
They help us determine:
- Time of what is happening (present, future, past);
- Quantity characters(many or one).
Read more about auxiliary verbs in this article.
Each tense in English has its own auxiliary verb (do/does, have/has, did, had, will). Let's look at the auxiliary verbs of the three most commonly used tenses.
1. Present Simple Tense:
- does, when we talk about someone in the singular (he, she, it)
- do, for all other cases (I, you, we, they)
2. Past Simple Tense: did
3. Future Simple Tense: will
To show negation we add the particle not to our auxiliary verb or the verb to be: does not, do not, did not, will not.
3rd place - action
After the auxiliary verb with the particle not we put the action, which is now negative.
For example:
He does not work.
He does not work.
They will not buy.
They won't buy.
Remember: When we say that we did not do something in the past and use the auxiliary verb did, we no longer put the action itself in the past tense.
Since the auxiliary verb already shows us that it happened in the past.
Wrong:
We didn't work ed.
We didn't work.
Right:
We didn't work.
We didn't work.
So let's take another look at negative sentence construction.
| 1 place | 2nd place | 3rd place | 4th place |
| Actor | Auxiliary verb + not | Action | Other members of the sentence |
| I | don't | work | here |
| My sister | does not | study | study |
| People | will not | buy | a car |
| They | did not | build | the house |
Negative sentences with the verb to be
If a sentence uses the verb to be, then we simply put not after it.
Let's look at the sign.
| 1 place | 2nd place | 3rd place | 4th place |
| Actor | Verb to be | Particle not | Other members of the sentence |
| I | am | not | a doctor |
| They | were | not | at home |
| A cat | is | not | gray |
Now let's take a look last type proposals - questions.
Word order in an English interrogative sentence
Interrogative sentences- These are sentences expressing a question and suggesting an answer to it. For example: Are you working?
In Russian, affirmative and interrogative sentences differ only:
- intonation (in oral speech)
- sign "?" at the end of a sentence (in writing)
In English, a statement and a question look different. Unlike statements, interrogative sentences have reverse word order.
Reverse word order means that the main character will not come first.
Let's take a closer look at how to construct such sentences.
1st place - auxiliary verb
To make a sentence interrogative, you need to put the auxiliary verb first in the sentence. I talked about them Auxiliary verb
Interrogative sentences with the verb to be
If a sentence uses the verb to be instead of the usual action, then we simply move it to the first place in the sentence.
Let's look at the diagram:
| 1 place | 2nd place | 4th place |
| Verb to be | Actor | Other members of the sentence |
| Is | she | a doctor? |
| Are | they | at home? |
| Was | a cat | grey? |
Exception:
When we construct a question with the verb to be in the future tense - will be, then we put only will in the first place. And be itself comes after the actor.
For example:
Will she be a teacher?
Will she be a teacher?
Will they be at home?
Will she be home?
So, we looked at the word order in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. Now let's practice constructing such sentences in practice.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English:
1. I'll go to the store.
2. She is beautiful.
3. We didn't buy a dress.
4. My friend is in the park.
5. Has she read the book?
6. Is the house expensive?