In linguistic typology, a subject–object–verb (SOV) language is one in which the subject, object, and verb of a sentence always or usually appear in that order. If English were SOV, "Sam oranges ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposed to the actual Standard English "Sam ate oranges" which is Subject–verb–object (SVO).

The term is often loosely used for ergative languages like Adyghe and Basque that really have agents instead of subjects.

Incidence[edit]

Among natural languages with a word order preference, SOV is the most common type (followed by subject–verb–object; the two types account for more than 75% of natural languages with a preferred order).[3]

Languages that have SOV structure include all Indo-Iranian languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Pāli, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Urdu, Zazaki), Ainu, Akkadian, Amharic, Armenian, Assyrian, Aymara, Azerbaijani, Basque, Burmese, Burushaski, Cherokee, Dakota, Dogon languages, Elamite, Ancient Greek, Hajong, Hittite, Hopi, Ijoid languages, Itelmen, Japanese, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Korean, Kurdish, Classical Latin, Lakota, Manchu, Mande languages, Meeteilon, Mongolian, Navajo, Newari, Nivkh, Nobiin, Omaha, Quechua, Senufo languages, Seri, Sicilian, Sunuwar, Somali and virtually all other Cushitic languages, Sumerian, Tibetan and nearly all other Tibeto-Burman languages, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and all other Dravidian languages, Tigrinya, Turkish and other Turkic languages, almost all Uto-Aztecan languages, Uzbek, Yukaghir, Zazaki and virtually all Caucasian languages.

Standard Mandarin is generally SVO but common constructions with verbal complements require SOV or OSV. Some Romance languages are SVO, but when the object is an enclitic pronoun, word order allows for SOV (see the examples below). German and Dutch are considered SVO in conventional typology and SOV in generative grammar. They can be considered SOV but with V2 word order as an overriding rule for the finite verb in main clauses, which results in SVO in some cases and SOV in others. For example, in German, a basic sentence such as "Ich sage etwas über Karl" ("I say something about Karl") is in SVO word order. Non-finite verbs are placed at the end, however, since V2 only applies to the finite verb: "Ich will etwas über Karl sagen" ("I want to say something about Karl"). In a subordinate clause, the finite verb is not affected by V2, and also appears at the end of the sentence, resulting in full SOV order: "Ich sage, dass Karl einen Gürtel gekauft hat." (Word-for-word: "I say that Karl a belt bought has.")

A rare example of SOV word order in English is "I (subject) thee (object) wed (verb)" in the wedding vow "With this ring, I thee wed."[4]

Properties[edit]

SOV languages have a strong tendency to use postpositions rather than prepositions, to place auxiliary verbs after the action verb, to place genitive noun phrases before the possessed noun, to place a name before a title or honorific ("James Uncle" and "Johnson Doctor" rather than "Uncle James" and "Doctor Johnson") and to have subordinators appear at the end of subordinate clauses. They have a weaker but significant tendency to place demonstrative adjectives before the nouns they modify. Relative clauses preceding the nouns to which they refer usually signals SOV word order, but the reverse does not hold: SOV languages feature prenominal and postnominal relative clauses roughly equally. SOV languages also seem to exhibit a tendency towards using a time–manner–place ordering of adpositional phrases.

In linguistic typology, one can usefully distinguish two types of SOV languages in terms of their type of marking:

1. dependent-marking has case markers to distinguish the subject and the object, which allows it to use the variant OSV word order without ambiguity. This type usually places adjectives and numerals before the nouns they modify, and is exclusively suffixing without prefixes. SOV languages of this first type include Japanese and Tamil.
2. head-marking distinguishes subject and object by affixes on the verb rather than markers on the nouns. It also differs from the dependent-marking SOV language in using prefixes as well as suffixes, usually for tense and possession. Adjectives in this type are much more verb-like than in dependent-marking SOV languages, and hence they usually follow the nouns. In most SOV languages with a significant level of head-marking or verb-like adjectives, numerals and related quantifiers (like "all", "every") also follow the nouns they modify. Languages of this type include Navajo and Seri.

In practice, of course, the distinction between these two types is far from sharp. Many SOV languages are substantially double-marking and tend to exhibit properties intermediate between the two idealised types above.

Many languages that have shifted to SVO word order from earlier SOV retain (at least to an extent) the properties: for example, the Finnish language (high usage of postpositions etc.)

Examples[edit]

Albanian[edit]

Sentence

Agimi librin e mori. Words

Agimi librin e mori Gloss

Agimi the book took Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Agimi took the book. (It was Agimi who took the book)

• This sequence (SOV) occurs only in the poetic language.

Azerbaijani[edit]

Sentence

Ümid ağac əkəcək. Words

Ümid ağac əkəcək Gloss

Umid tree will plant Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Umid will plant a tree.

Armenian[edit]

Sentence

Իմ անունը Շուշանիկ է։ Words

Իմ անունը Շուշանիկ է Romanization

Im anunȳ Šušanik ē Gloss

My name Shushanik is Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

My name is Shushanik.

Basque[edit]

Basque in short sentences, usually, subject or agent–object–verb; in long sentences, usually, subject or agent-verb-objects):

Sentence

Enekok sagarra ekarri du. Words

Enekok sagarra ekarri du Gloss

Eneko (+ERGative) the apple brought (to bring) AUX has Parts

Agent

Object

Verb Translation

Eneko has brought the apple Sentence

Eneritzek eskatu du inork irakurri nahi ez zuen liburua Words

Eneritzek eskatu du + + + Gloss

Eneritz (+ERGative) asked for AUX has + + + Parts

Agent

Verb

Objects Translation

Eneritz requested the book nobody wanted to read

Bengali[edit]

Sentence

আমি ভাত খাই Words

আমি

ভাত

খাই IPA

ami
ami

bʰat
bhat

kʰai
khai Gloss

I (subj) rice (obj) eat (pres) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I eat rice.

Burmese[edit]

Burmese is an analytic language.

Sentence

ငါက ‌ရေသန့်ဘူးကို ဖွင့်တယ်။ Words

ငါ က ‌ရေသန့်ဘူး ကို ဖွင့် တယ် IPA

ŋà
nga ɡa̰
ga. seʔkù bú
se'ku bu: ɡò
gou pʰwìɴ
hpwin. dè
de Gloss

I (subj) water bottle (obj) open (pres) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I open the water bottle.

Chinese[edit]

Generally, Chinese varieties all feature SVO word order. However, especially in Standard Mandarin, SOV is tolerated as well. There is even a special structure to form an SOV sentence.[citation needed]

SOV structure is also widely used in railway contact in order to clarify the objective of the order.[5]

The following example that uses 把 is controversially labelled as SOV. 把 may be interpreted as a verb, meaning "to hold". However, it does not mean to hold something literally or physically. Rather, the object is held mentally, and then another verb is acted on the object.[citation needed]

Sentence

我把苹果吃了. Words

我 把 苹果 吃了. Transliteration

Wǒ bǎ píngguǒ chīle Gloss

I sign for moving object before the verb apple ate Parts

Subject

Sign

Object

Verb Translation

I ate the apple. (The apple we were talking about earlier)

Dutch[edit]

Dutch is SOV combined with V2 word order. The non-finite verb (infinitive or participle) remains in final position, but the finite (i.e. inflected) verb is moved to the second position. Simple verbs look like SVO, non-finite verbs (participles, infinitives) and compound verbs follow this pattern:

Sentence

Ik wil je helpen. Parts

Ik wil je helpen Gloss

I want to you help Parts

subject fin.verb object nonfin.verb Translation

I want to help you.

Pure SOV order is found in subordinate clauses:

Sentence

Ik zei dat ik je wil helpen. Parts

Ik zei dat ik je wil helpen Gloss

I said that I you want to help Parts

subject fin.verb subord. conj. subject object fin.verb nonfin.verb Translation

I said that I want to help you.

French[edit]

The French language usually uses a subject–verb–object structure but places proclitics before the verb when using most pronouns, which is sometimes mistaken for SOV word order.

Sentence

Nous les avons. Parts

Nous les-avons. Gloss

We them/those-have Parts

Subject

Object-Verb Translation

We have those/them

Georgian[edit]

The Georgian language isn't extremely rigid with regards to word order, but is typically either SOV or SVO.

Sentence

მე ქართველი ვარ. Transliteration

me kartveli var Parts

მე ქართველი ვარ. Gloss

I Georgian [I] am Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I am (a) Georgian.

German[edit]

German is SOV combined with V2 word order. The non-finite verb (infinitive or participle) remains in final position, but the finite (i.e. inflected) verb is moved to the second position. Simple verbs look like SVO, compound verbs follow this pattern:

Sentence

Er hat einen Apfel gegessen. Words

Er hat einen Apfel gegessen. Gloss

He has an apple eaten. Parts

Subject Auxiliary Object Verb Translation

He has eaten an apple.

The word order changes also depending on whether the phrase is a main clause or a dependent clause. In dependent clauses, the word order is always entirely SOV (cf. also Inversion):

Subordinate Clause

Weil Horst einen Apfel gegessen hat. Words

Weil Horst einen Apfel gegessen hat. Gloss

Because Horst an apple eaten has. Parts

Conjunction Subject Object Verb Auxiliary Translation

Because Horst has eaten an apple.

Gothic[edit]

Sentence

Guma qinon frijoþ. Words

Guma qinon frijoþ. Gloss

The man the woman loves. Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

The man loves the woman.

Greek (Classical)[edit]

Sentence

ὁ ἀνὴρ τòν παĩδα φιλεῖ. Words

ὁ ανήρ (ho anḗr) τòν παĩδα (tòn paîda) φιλεῖ (phileî). Gloss

The man the child loves. Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

The man loves the child.

Hajong[edit]

Sentence

Moi hugre'mre' khasei. Words

Moi hugre'm re' kha sei. Gloss

I guava (accusative) eat (past tense, indicative) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I ate the guava.

're is a particle that indicates the accusative case and 'sei' indicates past tense declarative. Here, 'e is pronounced as the 'i' in 'girl' and 'ei' is pronounced as the 'ay' in 'say'.

Hindi[edit]

Sentence

मैं एक सेब खाता हूँ। Words

मैं

एक

सेब

खाता हूँ Romanization

main

ek

seb

khaataa hun Gloss

I

an

apple

eat (simple present. m.) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I eat an apple.

Hungarian[edit]

Hungarian word order is free, although the meaning slightly changes. Almost all permutations of the following sample are valid, but with stress on different parts of the meaning.

Sentence

Pista kenyeret szeletel. Words

Pista kenyeret szeletel Gloss

Pista bread slices Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation 

Pista slices bread.

Italian[edit]

The Italian language usually uses a subject–verb–object structure, but when an enclitic pronoun is used, this comes before the verb and the auxiliary.

Sentence

Io la sto mangiando Parts

Io la sto mangiando Gloss

I it am eating Parts

Subject Object Auxiliary Verb Translation

I am eating it

Japanese[edit]

Sentence

私が箱を開けます。 Words

私 が 箱 を 開けます。 Romanization

watashi ga hako (w)o akemasu. Gloss

I (sub) box (obj) open(polite) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I (am the one who) open(s) the box.

The markers が (ga) and を ((w)o) are, respectively, subject and object markers for the words that precede them. Technically, the sentence could be translated a number of ways ("I open a box", "It is I who open the boxes", etc.), but this does not affect the SOV analysis.

Japanese has some flexibility in word order, so an OSV is also possible. (箱を私が開けます。)

Kannada[edit]

Sentence

ನಾನು ಮನೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದೆನು . Words

ನಾನು ಮನೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದೆನು Transliteration

Naanu mane kaTTidenu Gloss

I the house built Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I built the house.

Kashmiri[edit]

Like German and Dutch, the Indo-Aryan language Kashmiri is SOV combined with V2 word order. The non-finite verb (infinitive or participle) remains in final position, but the finite (i.e. inflected) part of the verb appears in second position. Simple verbs look like SVO, whereas auxiliated verbs are discontinuous and adhere to this pattern:

Sentence

کور چہے ثونٹہ کہیوان Transcription

kuur chhi tsũũţh khyevaan Gloss

girl is apples eating Parts

Subject Auxiliary Object Verb Translation

The girl is eating apples.

Given that Kashmiri is a V2 language, if the word tsũũţh 'apple' comes first then the subject kuur 'girl' must follow the auxiliary chhi 'is': tsũũţh chhi kuur khyevaan [Lit. "Apples is girl eating."]

Also, the word order changes depending on whether the phrase is in a main clause or in certain kinds of dependent clause. For instance, in relative clauses, the word order is SOVAux:

Main clause + Subordinate Clause

میے ان سوہ کور یوس ثونٹہ کہیوان چہے Transcription

=> mye eny swa kuur => ywas tsũũţh khyevaan chhi Gloss

=> I brought that girl => who apples eating is Parts

Main clause => Subject Verb Object Relative clause => Subject Object Verb Auxiliary Translation

I brought the girl who is eating apples.

Kazakh[edit]

Sentence

Дастан кітап оқыды. Words

Дастан кітап оқыды Transliteration

Dastan kitap oqıdı Gloss

Dastan a book read Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Dastan read a book.

Like in Japanese, OSV is possible too. (Кітапті Дастан оқыды.)

Korean[edit]

Sentence

내가 상자를 연다. Words

내 가 상자 를 여(ㄹ) ㄴ 다. Romanization

nae ga sangja reul yeo(l) n da. Gloss

I (subject) box (object) open (present) (indicative) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I open the box.

'가 (Ga)/이 (i)' is a particle that indicates the subject. '를 (Reul)/을 (eul)' is a particle that indicates the object. The consonant 'ㄹ (l)' in the verb stem (열-) is dropped before the suffix.

※ Here, '나 (na, I (pronoun))' is changed to '내 (nae)' before '가 (ga)'.

Kurdish (Kurmanci)[edit]

Sentence

Ez xwarin dixwim. Words

Ez xwarin dixwim Gloss

I food eat Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I eat food.

Kurdish (Sorani)[edit]

Sentence

.من خواردن دەخۆم Words

من خواردن دەخۆم Gloss

I food eat Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I eat food.

Kyrgyz[edit]

Sentence

Биз алма жедик Words

Биз алма жедик Transliteration

Biz alma jedik Gloss

We an apple ate Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

We ate an apple

Latin[edit]

Classical Latin was an inflected language and had a very flexible word order and sentence structure, but the most usual word order in formal prose was SOV.

Sentence

Servus puellam amat Words

Servus puellam amat Gloss

Slave (nom) girl (acc) loves Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

The slave loves the girl.

Again, there are multiple valid translations (such as "a slave") that do not affect the overall analysis.

Malayalam[edit]

Sentence

ഞാൻ പുസ്തകത്തെ എടുത്തു. Words

ഞാൻ

പുസ്തകം

എ

എടുത്തു Transliteration

ñān

pustakam̥

(-e) (accusative)*

eṭuttu Gloss

I

(the) book

took

Parts

Subject

Object

Verb

Translation

I took the book.

• Pustakam̥ + -e = pustakatte (പുസ്തകത്തെ)

Manchu[edit]

Sentence

ᠪᡳ ᠪᡠᡩᠠ ᠪᡝ ᠵᡝᠮᠪᡳ Words

ᠪᡳ

ᠪᡠᡩᠠ

ᠪᡝ

ᠵᡝᠮᠪᡳ Transliteration

bi

buda

be

jembi Gloss

I

meal

(accusative)

eat Parts

Subject

Object

Grammatical marker

Verb Translation

I eat a meal.

Marathi[edit]

Sentence

तो बियाणे पेरतो. Words

तो बियाणे पेरतो Transliteration

Tō biyāṇē pēratō Gloss

he seeds sows Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

He sows seeds.

Meitei[edit]

Sentence

ꯑꯩ ꯐꯨꯠꯕꯣꯜ ꯁꯥꯅꯩ꯫ Words

ꯑꯩ ꯐꯨꯠꯕꯣꯜ ꯁꯥꯅꯩ Transliteration

Ei football sanei Gloss

I football play Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I play football.

Mongolian[edit]

Sentence

Би ном уншив. Words

Би ном уншив Transliteration

Bi nom unshiv Gloss

I a book read Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I read a book.

Nepali[edit]

Sentence

म विद्यालय जान्छु । Words

म विद्यालय जान्छु Transliteration

Ma vidyalaya jānchhu Gloss

I school go (simple present) Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I go to school.

Ossetian[edit]

Sentence

Алан чиныг кæсы. Words

Алан чиныг кæсы Transliteration

Alan činyg kæsy Gloss

Alan book reads Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Alan reads a book.

Pashto[edit]

Sentence

.زۀ کار کوم Words

زۀ کار کوم Gloss

زۀ (Subject Pronoun) کار (Noun) کوم (verb) Transliteration

Zə kaar kawəm Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

I do the work.

Persian[edit]

Sentence

.من سیب می‌خورم Words

من سیب می‌خورم Gloss

I apple eat (first person present tense) Transliteration

man seeb mikhoram Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

I am eating an apple.

Portuguese[edit]

Portuguese is an SVO language, but it has some SOV constructs.

In case of proclisis:

Sentence

Todos aqui te amam. Word

Todos aqui te amam Gloss

Everybody here you (proclitic) love Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

Everybody here loves you. Sentence

Aquilo me entristeceu. Word

Aquilo me entristeceu Gloss

It/that me (proclitic) saddened Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

It saddened me.

When using a temporal adverb, optionally with the negative:

Sentence

Nós já [não] os temos. Word

Nós já [não] os temos Gloss

We already [not] them (masc.) have Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

(Positive) We already have them.
(Negative) We do not have them anymore. Sentence

Nós ainda [não] os temos. Word

Nós ainda [não] os temos Gloss

We still [not] them (masc.) have Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

(Positive) We still have them.
(Negative) We do not have them yet.

There is an infix construction for the future and conditional tenses:

Sentence

Eu fá-lo-ei amanhã. Word

Eu fá-lo-ei amanhã Gloss

I do-it-will tomorrow Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

I will do it tomorrow.

SVO form: Eu hei-de fazê-lo amanhã or eu farei o mesmo amanhã

Punjabi[edit]

Punjabi is very flexible in word order and is written in two writing systems, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi - which is written from right-to-left.

Sentence

Gurmukhi

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਇੱਕ ਸੇਬ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ। Shahmukhi

مَیں نُوں اِکّ سیب چاہیدا ہے۔ Words

Gurmukhi

ਮੈਨੂੰ

ਇੱਕ

ਸੇਬ

ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ Shahmukhi

مَیں نُوں

اِکّ

سیب

چاہیدا ہے Romanization

mainu

ikk

seb

chaahida hai Gloss

I (dative)

an

apple

want Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I want an apple.

Quechua[edit]

Quechuan languages have standard SOV word order. The following example is from Bolivian Quechua.

Sentence

Ñuqaqa papata mikhurqani. Words

Ñuqa-qa

papa-ta

mikhu-rqa-ni Gloss

I-TOPIC

potato-ACCUSATIVE

eat-PAST-1SG Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I ate potatoes.

Russian[edit]

Russian, similar to most other Slavic languages, is an inflected language and thus is very flexible in word combinations. It is generally considered an SVO language; however, sentences in SOV word order are not incorrect.

Sentence

Раскольников старуху убил. Words

Раскольников старуху убил Romanization

Raskól'nikov starúkhu ubíl Gloss

Raskolnikov old lady killed Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

Raskolnikov killed the old lady.

Sanskrit[edit]

Sanskrit, like its predecessor, Vedic, is an inflected language and very flexible in word order; it allows all possible word combinations. However, it is generally considered a SOV language.

Sentence

तत्त्वमसि Words

तत्त् (त्)वम सि Transliteration

tát t(ú)vam ási Gloss

that you are Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

That you are.

Somali[edit]

Somali generally uses the subject–object–verb structure when speaking formally.

Sentence

Aniga baa albaabka furay Words

Aniga

baa

albaab(ka)

furay Gloss

I

Focus

(the) door

opened Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I opened the door

Spanish[edit]

The Spanish language usually uses a subject–verb–object structure, but when an enclitic pronoun is used, this comes before the verb and the auxiliary. Sometimes, in dual-verb constructions involving the infinitive and the gerund, the enclitic pronoun can be put before both verbs, or attached to the end of the second verb.

Sentence

Yo lo como Parts

Yo lo como Gloss

I it eat Parts

Subject Object Verb Translation

I eat it

Talysh[edit]

Sentence

Merd kitob handedə. Words

Merd kitob handedə Gloss

Man book reading Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

The man is reading a book.

Tamil[edit]

Tamil being a strongly head-final language, the basic word-order is SOV. However, since it is highly inflected, word order is flexible and is used for pragmatic purposes. That is, fronting a word in a sentence adds emphasis on it; for instance, a VSO order would indicate greater emphasis on the verb, the action, than on the subject or the object. However, such word-orders are highly marked, and the basic order remains SOV.

Sentence

நான் பெட்டியை திறப்பேன். Words

நான் பெட்டியை திறப்பேன். Romanization

Nān peṭṭi-yai tiṟa-pp-ēn. Gloss

I-Nom. box-Acc. open-Fut.-1P.Sing. Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I will open the box.

Telugu[edit]

Sentence

నేను పార్టీకి వెళ్తున్నాను. Words

నేను పార్టీకి వెళ్తున్నాను. Transliteration

Nēnu pārtīki veḷtunnānu. Gloss

I to party am going. Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I am going to the party.

Tigrinya[edit]

The Tigrinya language usually uses a subject–verb–object structure.

Sentence

ዳኒኤል ኩዑሶ ቀሊዑ Words

ዳኒኤል ኩዑሶ ቀሊዑ Gloss

Daniel ball kicked Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Daniel kicked the ball.

Turkish[edit]

Sentence

Yusuf elmayı yedi. Words

Yusuf elmayı yedi Gloss

Joseph the apple ate Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Joseph ate the apple.

Like all other Turkic languages, Turkish has flexibility in word order, so any order is possible. For example, in addition to the SOV order above, this sentence could also be constructed as OSV (Elmayı Yusuf yedi.), OVS (Elmayı yedi Yusuf.), VSO (Yedi Yusuf elmayı.), VOS (Yedi elmayı Yusuf.), or SVO (Yusuf yedi elmayı.), but these other orders carry a connotation of emphasis of importance on either the subject, object, or the verb. The SOV order is the "default" one that does not connote particular emphasis on any part of the sentence.

Udmurt[edit]

Sentence

мoн книгa лыӟӥcькo. Words

мoн книгa лыӟӥcькo. Romanization

mon kniga lyjis'ko Gloss

I a book to read Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I am reading a book.

Urdu[edit]

Sentence

.مَیں نے اُسے دیکھا Words

مَیں

نے

اُسے

دیکھا Romanization

main

ne

use

dekha Gloss

I (ergative)

him/her

saw Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I saw him/her.

Uzbek[edit]

Sentence

Anvar Xivaga ketdi. Words

Anvar Xivaga ketdi. Gloss

Anvar (nom) to Khiva (dat) went Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

Anvar went to Khiva.

The marker "ga" is a dative case marker for the object that precedes it. Due to flexibility in word order in Uzbek, it is possible to transform the sentence into OSV as well ("Xivaga Anvar ketdi" / "It was Anvar who went to Khiva").

Yi[edit]

Sentence

ꉢꌧꅪꋠ. Words

ꉢ ꌧꅪ ꋠ . Romaniz.

nga syp-hni zze. Gloss

I (an) apple (to) eat. Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

I eat an apple.

Zazaki[edit]

The Zazaki language usually uses a subject–object-verb structure[6], but it sometimes uses subject-verb-object too.

Sentence

O ey kırışeno. Words

O ey kırışeno Gloss

He it carries Parts

Subject

Object

Verb Translation

He carries it.

Zarma[edit]

Sentence

Hama na mo ŋwa . Words

Hama na mo ŋwa Gloss

Hama (completed aspect) rice eat Parts

Subject

Grammatical marker

Object

Verb Translation

Hama ate rice.

See also[edit]

References[edit]