Word Order

[RobJames]

Hi Lucy,

I hope you are well =)

As a native English speaker I don't know the rules of word order in English. I can't find this in my grammar book either, so can you suggest a good website? Just to help me teach subject+verb+object+ in detail etc.

Thanks Lucy!

Rob

[Lucy]

Hi Rob,

I'm very well thanks. I hope you're well too.

I’m surprised that your grammar book doesn’t cover this subject. Word order is one of the basic rules in English that should be covered in any grammar book.

I did a couple of searches on the internet using “word order” and “subject, verb, object” and came up with the following site:

http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/order.htm

You could also try looking on Wikipedia.

Just in case you’re thinking of buying a new grammar book, I think the following are excellent:

English Grammar in Use by Murphy. I like to use the intermediate and advanced versions to remind myself of a certain point in a succinct format.
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. I like to use this when I’m looking for a deeper understanding of a grammar point.

Best wishes,

Lucy

[Lucy]

I'll just add that you need to be careful about grammar rules on the web. You need to check the source. With the grammar books I mentioned above, we all recognise the names of the authors and we can be sure the books have been thoroughly reviewed before publication. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with the web!