Verb Subject Object
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Verb Subject Object (VSO) is a term in linguistic typology. It represents one type of languages when classifying languages according to the sequence of these constituents in neutral expressions: Ate Sam oranges.
Examples of languages with VSO word order include formal (especially Classical) Arabic, the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, that is Gaelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) and Brythonic languages (Welsh, Cornish and Breton), Classic Maya, ancient Egyptian, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hawaiian, Pangasinan, Māori, Classical Hebrew, and Tongan.
[edit] Examples
Formal Arabic is a prime example of a language that favors VSO. For example:
| Sentence | قرأ المدرس الكتاب | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Words | الكتاب | المدرس | قرأ | ||
| DIN 31635 | al-kitāba | al-mudarrisu | Qara'a | ||
| Gloss (words are in reverse order as Arabic is written right-to-left) |
Read the teacher the book. | ||||
| Parts | Object | Subject | Verb | ||
| Translation | The teacher read the book. | ||||
[edit] Inversion into VSO
There are many languages which switch from SVO (Subject Verb Object) order to VSO order with different constructions, usually for emphasis. For example, sentences in English poetry can sometimes be found to have a VSO order; Arabic sentences use an SVO order or a VSO order depending on whether the subject or the verb is more important.
Non-VSO languages that use VSO word order in questions include many Germanic languages, French, and Spanish.
