6
The family
Word o rd e r I P u n c tu a tio n
Basic word order
Word order is im portant in English. Sentences usually fo llo w the principle:
Subject + Verb + O bject/Com plem ent + F u rth e r inform ation
My brother kicked the ball.
Roles w ithin the fam ily are becoming flexible in m odern society.
Subject =
brother
Subject =
Roles within the family
Verb =
kick
Verb =
are becoming-, Adjective =
flexible
Object =
bait
Prepositional phrase =
in modern society
The indirect object:
W ithout
to: S + V + Indirect object + Object
The 1912 law gave women the right to vote.
With to:
S + V + Object +
to + Indirect object
The 1912 law gave the righ t to vote to w om en.
Time and place phrases:
[T im e] + Subject + Verb +(0bject ] + Place + (T im e)
In the tw entieth century, more women went out to w ork in offices.
OR
More women w ent out to w ork in offices in the tw entieth century.
Common word positioning:
Adjective + Noun
He comes from a large fam ily.
Adverb + Main verb
The siblings continually argue. They have always argued.
Adverb + Adjective
Family stru ctu re s can be extrem ely com plex.
Note: enough is an exception
Adverbs can be found at the front of a sentence when making a com m ent on the sentence or
linking a previous sentence. There are many exceptions to adverb position, particularly in speaking.
Note: Adverbs often go a fte r the verb
to be, e.g.
My brother is often annoying.
