Word Order
Spanish is more flexible than English is with word placement
Roberto estudia. (Roberto is studying.).
Tom Merton/Caiaimage/Getty Images
The subject of word order in Spanish can be quite complex, so this lesson should be considered merely an introduction. As you study Spanish, you will encounter a wide variety of ways of ordering words in a sentence, many of them ways that are impossible or awkward in English.
In general, Spanish is more flexible with its word order than English is. In both languages, a typical statement consists of a noun followed by a verb followed by an object (if the verb has an object). In English, variations from that norm are used mostly for literary effect. But in Spanish, changes in the word order can be heard in everyday conversation or seen frequently in everyday writing such as that found in newspapers and magazines.
Typical Word Orders
The chart below shows examples of some common ways of ordering words. Note that in many sentences the subject can be omitted if it can be understood from the context. As a beginning student, you don’t need to memorize these word-order possibilities, but you should be familiar with these common schemes so you don’t trip over them when you come across them.
| Type | Order | Example | Comment |
| Statement | Subject, verb | Roberto estudia. (Roberto is studying.) | This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. |
| Statement | Subject, verb, object | Roberto compró el libro. (Roberto bought the book.) | This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. |
| Statement | Subject, object pronoun, verb | Roberto lo compró. (Roberto bought it.) | This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Object pronouns precede conjugated verbs; they can be attached at the end of infinitives and present participles. |
| Question | Question word, verb, subject | ¿Dónde está el libro? (Where is the book?) | This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. |
| Exclamation | Exclamatory word, adjective, verb, subject | ¡Qué linda es Roberta! (How beautiful Roberta is!) | This word order is extremely common and can be considered the norm. Many exclamations omit one or more of these sentence parts. |
| Statement | Verb, noun | Sufren los niños. (The children are suffering.) | Placing the verb ahead of the noun can have the effect of placing more emphasis on the verb. In the sample sentence, the emphasis is more on the suffering than who is suffering. |
| Statement | Object, verb, noun | El libro lo escribió Juan. (John wrote the book.) | Placing the object at the beginning of the sentence can have the effect of placing more emphasis on the object. In the sample sentence, the emphasis is on what was written, not who wrote it. The pronoun lo, although redundant, is customary in this sentence construction. |
| Statement | Adverb, verb, noun | Siempre hablan los niños. (The children are always talking.) | In general, Spanish adverbs are kept close to the verbs they modify. If an adverb starts a sentence, the verb frequently follows. |
| Phrase | Noun, adjective | la casa azul y cara (the expensive blue house) | Descriptive adjectives, especially ones that describe something objectively, usually are placed after the nouns they modify. |
| Phrase | Adjective, noun | Otras casas (other houses); mi querida amiga (my dear friend) | Adjectives of number and other nondescriptive adjectives usually precede the noun. Often, so do adjectives being used to describe something subjectively, such as to impart an emotional quality to it. |
| Phrase | Preposition, noun | en la caja (in the box) | Note that Spanish sentences can never end in a preposition, as is commonly done in English. |
| Command | Verb, subject pronoun | Estudia tú. (Study.) | Pronouns are often unnecessary in commands; when used, they nearly always immediately follow the verb. |
Sample Sentences Demonstrating Spanish Word Order
The sentences below are examples of Spanish as it is most commonly ordered:
La atención a los recién llegados es un reto para las Fuerzas de Seguridad. (Attention to the recently arrived is a challenge for the Security Forces. Here the word order is almost to what you would find in English.)
Diagnostican por error una gripe a una joven y terminan amputándole la pierna. (They diagnosed the flu by mistake in a boy and ended up amputating his leg. Here the phrase por error, meaning «by mistake,» is kept closer to the verb, diagnostican, than it would be in English.)
Un coche blanco será más fresco en verano. (A white car will be cooler in summer. The adjective blanco, meaning white, comes after the word for car, coche, not before.)
¿Dónde están las oportunidades? (Where are the opportunities? In simple questions, English and Spanish word order can be identical.)
Es importante que me diga con quién saliste. (It is important that you tell me who you left with. The pronoun object me, «me» in English, comes before diga, «you left,» the reverse of English. And while the English sentence ends with the preposition «with,» in Spanish con must come before the word here for «who,» quién.)
Key Takeaways
- Although word order in Spanish is often similar to that of English, Spanish can be more flexible.
- Among the key differences are that descriptive adjectives usually follow nouns, and Spanish sentences cannot end in a preposition.
- Spanish adverbs usually are placed next to or very close to the words they modify.
In Spanish, all you need is a subject and a verb. The subject is the person or object that performs the action of the verb, which is generally an action word conjugated in the correct form to match up with the subject.
Like in English, a very common word order in Spanish is Subject + Verb + (rest of sentence), such as in the examples below:
- Structure: Subject + Verb + rest of sentence
- English: Pedro + works + in the library.
- Spanish: Pedro + trabaja + en la biblioteca.
However, Spanish is much more flexible in word order than English, in that the same sentence can be arranged numerous ways, even though their translation in English sounds awkward. Let’s continue with the example of Pedro’s beloved job in the library.
| Pedrotrabajaen una biblioteca. | subject + verb + rest of sentence |
| Trabaja Pedroen una bibliotecaa. | verb + subject + rest of sentence |
| En una biblioteca trabajaPedro. | rest of sentence + verb + subject |
| Trabaja en una biblioteca Pedro. | verb + rest of sentence + subject |
In English, saying «Works Pedro in a library» or «In a library works Pedro» sounds backwards and like something straight out of Yoda’s mouth. In Spanish, however, it’s grammatically perfectly correct! This flexibility is often viewed by English speakers as difficult — especially once we throw in adjectives, adverbs and other grammatical goodies — when what it really does is give you more creative freedom!
Imagine hearing someone in English say:
“I not him have seen”
That’s what we risk sounding like in Spanish when we don’t use the right word order. Order is important.
Because this is a common misstep for many English speakers learning Spanish, we’ve developed 5 key rules of reference to help you remember which order things go in.
Rule #1:
Put personal pronouns first … if you use them
Personal pronouns: Yo, tú, él, ella usted, nosotros, vosostros, ellos, ellas, ustedes
Personal pronouns simply tell us who the sentence is about. It’s typically one of the first lessons you learn in Spanish. As you probably remember, personal pronouns are not obligatory in Spanish. You can either say:
Yo compro un libro
or
compro un libro
It’s all the same. The thing to remember is if you’re going to use it, put it first thing.
Rule #2:
Then, just say no
After the personal pronoun, if you are going to negate the sentence, here is where you place the NO. The ‘no‘ is important and needs to be in front. If you can remember that you won’t be tempted to put it in a strange place or get it mixed up with the upcoming rules.
For example:
Yo no compro un libro
no compro un libro
Rules #3 & #4:
First people, then things
Indirect (people): me, te, le (se), nos, os, le (se)
Direct (things): me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las
Direct object pronouns typically represent objects and sometimes people. Indirect object pronouns always represent people. Both are used to replace the name of an already-known noun. For example, find the direct and indirect pronouns in the following English sentance:
I give it to you
it = the direct object pronoun
you = the indirect object pronoun
Rewriting the sentence in Spanish uses the same pronouns but changes the order:
Yo te lo doy =I give it to you
There are two important rules regarding the object pronouns:
1. The indirect object pronoun goes before the direct object pronoun when both are in the sentence; people before things. This is the reverse from English.
2. Both direct and indirect object pronouns go after the personal pronoun and any negation, but before the conjugated verb.
In the following examples we convert the first sentence into a second using direct and indirect object pronouns:
Ella dijo la verdad a nosotros = She told us the truth
Ella nos la dijo = She told it to us
Nosotros no compartimos el secreto a ellos = We didn’t share the secret with them
Nosotros no se lo compartimos = We didn’t share it with them
El trae el periódico a mi = He brings the newspaper to me
me lo trae = He brings it to me
Ella debe enviar la carta a sus amigas = She must send the letter to her friends
Ella se la debe enviar = She must send it to them
Rule #5:
Finally, conjugate verbs together
At the end comes the conjugated verb.
Sometimes we have more than one part to a verb conjugation. For example, the perfect tense is created by combining two verbs (haber + past participle).
(Yo) he hecho – I have done
(Él) había dicho – He had said
The most important thing to remember is:
Never put anything between 2 conjugated verbs
This is also true of any compound conjugation. For example when using the infinitive:
debo vivir – I must live
A common mistake made by Spanish students is to put pronouns or other words in between the perfect tenses. See the incorrect and correct example below:
wrong: no he lo hecho bien
correct: no lo he hecho bien
Additional examples:
¿Tu has dicho a Roberto la verdad? – Have you told Robert the truth?
yo no se la he dicho – I haven’t told it to him
Flexibility in word order in Spanish
In Spanish there is a lot more flexibility when placing the different elements/words in a sentence compared to the generally more rigid order followed in English.
For both Spanish and English there is a standard order in simple sentences:
Subject + verb + object + extra information
Marta come chocolate.
Marta eats chocolate.
Mis padres vienen mañana.
My parents are coming tomorrow.
Mis amigos y yo vamos al parque a menudo.
My friends and I go to the park often.
More emphasis on a word
In spoken Spanish, a way to bring attention to a specific element of the sentence is simply stressing that word while saying it, the same way it’s done in spoken English. But in written Spanish the placement of words is also a way to highlight these elements.
The information at the beginning of a sentence tends to be the topic that is known by the speakers, and what comes after is generally considered to be new information.
In many Spanish sentences there may not be a specific element to highlight, i.e. all elements are equally important. But sometimes the speaker/writer might want to put more emphasis on one particular element or word. In that case, in Spanish, there is a tendency to place this «more important» element near the end of the sentence, giving more attention to that particular detail, because it is new information to the listener.
For example, someone could say:
Cristina me llamó ayer.Cristina called me yesterday.
Here Cristina is seen as a known topic, i.e. the general topic of conversation involves this person: Cristina.
The part that seems to be newer information for the listener is «when she called»: ayer (we infer this because the speaker placed this information at the end).
However, take a look at the order of this sentence:
Ayer me llamó Cristina.Cristina called me yesterday.
The speaker here is giving more emphasis/importance to the fact that it was «Cristina» who called. The fact that it was yesterday is not as relevant.
If we now say:
Ayer Cristina me llamó.Cristina called me yesterday.
We can see very clearly here, by placing the verb at the end, which is quite different to the standard order, that the speaker is bringing attention to the fact that Cristina «called» — the new information is «what she did» (not who did it, nor when it happened), as if it’s quite an unusual thing for Cristina to do, or it’s a surprising fact.
Order of adjectives with nouns
Generally speaking we place adjectives after the noun they modify, but occasionally you will see them placed before. This has an emphatic purpose.
Los niños pequeños suelen ser un poco ruidosos.Small children are normally a bit noisy.
Esas tazas azules son muy bonitas.Those blue cups are very pretty.
La famosa actriz saludó amablemente a sus seguidores. (emphatic)The famous actress kindly greeted her fans.
For more detail on this adjective placement see Position of adjectives in Spanish
Emphasising direct and indirect objects in a sentence
When there are both direct and indirect objects in a sentence, the speaker may want to highlight one of them to specifically emphasise it. In the same way as before, they will place whatever they consider most the important information near the end:
This would be a standard sentence:
Cristina le dio dinero a Luisa.Cristina gave money to Luisa.
If the most important information here is the fact that it was «money» what was given, then the speaker would most probably change the order and say:
Cristina le dio a Luisa el dinero.Cristina gave the money to Luisa.
If for any reason the surprising fact is that the money was given «to Luisa» (and nobody else but her), then the speaker could change the grammatical order so that «to Luisa» is placed at the end:
El dinero se lo dio Cristina a Luisa.Cristina gave the money to Luisa.
Natural order with «indefinite» subjects
When we have a subject that is an indefinite pronoun, e.g. «algo» (something) or is using a noun with an indefinite article «un, una», the most natural order is to place these subjects after the verb, when it is a short sentence with no extra information. For example, we would say:
Pasó algo.Something happened.
Llegó un camión grande.A big lorry arrived.
It would be much less common to hear or write it this way:
- «Algo pasó.» (??)
- «Un camión grande llegó.» (??)
Prepositions are never placed at the end in Spanish
Sentences that include a preposition never place that preposition at the end of a sentence. For example:
No me dijo para lo que quería el dinero.He didn’t tell me what he wanted the money for.
Quiero saber con quién hablabas.I want to know who you were talking to.
This would be incorrect:
- No me dijo lo que quería el dinero para.
- Quiero saber quién hablabas con.
Placement of pronouns in Spanish sentences
There is a strict rule for where to place pronouns in Spanish sentences. When a sentence uses a direct, indirect or reflexive pronoun with a conjugated verb, the pronoun must be placed before the conjugated verb, not after. Observe the difference between Spanish and English in these examples:
Te compré un regalo.I bought you a present.
Yo me ducho por la mañana.I shower myself in the morning.
Lo llamaré después.I’ll call him later.
If the verbal construction has a gerund or infinitive then the pronoun or pronouns can be placed either at the beginning of the verbal structure or at the end attached to the infinitive or gerund form:
Le estoy comprando un regalo.I am buying him a present.
Estoy comprándole un regalo.I’m buying him a present.
Te quiero comprar un regalo.I want to buy you a present.
Quiero comprarte un regalo.I want to buy you a present.
With an affirmative imperative you need to place them after and attached to the verb:
¡Cómprale un regalo!Buy him a present»
¡Cómpraselo!Buy it to him!
See:
- Using lo, la, los, las = him, her, it, them (direct object pronouns)
- Using le and les = [to] it,him, her, them (indirect object pronouns)
- Using me, te, le, nos, os, les (indirect object pronouns)
- Position of pronouns with conjugated verbs in Spanish
- Position of Spanish reflexive and direct object pronouns with infinitive/present participle and affirmative commands
- Position of Spanish direct and indirect object pronouns with infinitive/present participle and affirmative commands
- Reciprocal verbs in Spanish and position of the reflexive pronoun
General word order in Spanish interrogative sentences
When we are using interrogative sentences with interrogative pronouns: cuándo, dónde, por qué, etc we start the sentence with these and then generally the verb follows (not the subject). For example:
¿Cuándo llegó Cristina?When did Cristina arrive?
¿Dónde fueron tus padres ayer?Where did your parents go yesterday?
¿Por qué llegó Sonia tan tarde?Why did Sonia arrive so late?
It would sound very unnatural to place the subject right after the pronoun: ¿Cuándo Cristina llegó? (???)
It’s also important to remember that prepositions are never placed at the end of a question, even though in English you generally can:
¿Para quién trabajas tú?Who do you work for?
¿De qué trata la película?What’s the film about?
¿A qué país vas?Which country are you going to?
See:
- Asking questions with prepositions + qué in Spanish
- Asking questions about people with preposition + quién in Spanish
With questions that require a yes / no answer, the order is generally the standard:
¿subject + verb + extra information?
However, sometimes if the person who is asking wants to put more emphasis on one part of the question, then the verb is normally placed at the beginning:
¿Carmen tiene dos hijas? Does Carmen have two daughters?
In the example above we are probably just asking for a confirmation of something said before.
¿Tiene Carmen dos hijas? Does Carmen have two daughters?
In this example we perceive that the person asking might be more interested in knowing that two is the exact number of daughters that Carmen has (not one, or three…) There is an element of surprise expressed in this question.
La sintaxis(syntax) is the grammatical structure of sentences that governs the way in which words are ordered. In this article, you’ll learn the proper word order for affirmative statements, negative statements, and questions in Spanish.
Spanish syntax is incredibly flexible. While there are some rules to follow when constructing basic Spanish sentences, you can usually play around with the placement of words and get the exact same message across.
Let’s take a look at an example that demonstrates the flexibility of Spanish syntax and word order.
| examples |
|---|
|
Le compré un collar hermoso a mi madre. I bought a beautiful necklace for my mother. |
|
A mi madre le compré un hermoso collar. I bought a beautiful necklace for my mother. |
Yes, you read that right! Even though the word order is different, these sentences communicate the same basic meaning, although there may be some subtle differences in emphasis.
Word Order in Affirmative Statements
Let’s take a look at the basic word order rules for affirmative statements!
1. A Complete Sentence Requires a Subject and a Verb
A complete sentence in Spanish must have a subject and a verb.
The subject is the part of a sentence that contains the person or thing performing the action, while the verb expresses the action or state of being of the subject. The verb is always conjugated based on the subject pronoun (yo, tú, etc.) of the sentence.
Remember that, in Spanish, a conjugated verb includes information about the subject as well as the verb! Read on to find out more.
2. Subject Pronouns are Optional
While subject pronouns can be used to replace a person’s name, many native speakers of Spanish rarely use them at all unless it’s for emphasis or in cases where it is not clear who the subject is. This is because Spanish verb endings tell you who the subject is.
Check out these examples!
| examples |
|---|
|
Rompí el florero. I broke the vase. |
|
Yo rompí el florero. No le eches la culpa al perro. I broke the vase. Don’t blame the dog. |
3. The Subject Typically Goes Before the Verb
The typical word order of an affirmative statement in Spanish is SVO: subject, verb, object.
For example:
| examples |
|---|
|
Más de diez mil personas murieron en la guerra. More than ten thousand people died in the war. |
|
El león persiguió la gacela. The lion chased the gazelle. |
However, there are many reasons to invert the subject-verb order.
You can invert the subject and the verb:
- to ask a question (see last section)
- for emphasis or dramatic purpose
- to keep an adverb close to the verb it modifies
- when using verbs like gustar
- to indicate who’s speaking
Let’s take a look at some examples that demonstrate a subject-verb inversion!
| examples |
|---|
|
Murieron más de diez mil personas en la guerra. More than ten thousand people died in the war. |
|
Siempre me decía mi padre que era especial. My father always told me that I was special. |
|
A mi hermanita le encantan los perezosos. My little sister loves sloths. |
|
«Te quiero más que nunca», dijo Mariana. “I love you more than ever,” Mariana said. |
4. Adjectives Typically Go After Nouns
Unlike in English, adjectives usually come after the nouns they describe in Spanish.
For example:
| examples |
|---|
|
Vi una serpiente amarilla en el jardín. I saw a yellow snake in the garden. |
|
Quiere casarse con un hombre inteligente. She wants to marry an intelligent man. |
As always, there are some exceptions. Place the adjective before the noun when using possessive, demonstrative, and limiting adjectives (adjectives that define a number or amount of a noun), as well as descriptive adjectives that emphasize an essential quality of a noun.
For example:
| examples |
|---|
|
Tiene pocos amigos. He has few friends. |
|
De repente, la valiente cabra saltó a otra roca. All of a sudden, the fearless goat leapt to another rock. |
Some adjectives change meaning according to position.
When placed after the noun, the adjective has a fairly objective, descriptive meaning. When placed before the noun, the adjective has a more subjective meaning.
Check out these examples!
| examples |
|---|
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Era un gran cantante. He was a great singer. |
|
Buscan una casa grande en el campo. They’re looking for a big house in the country. |
|
Este es mi viejo amigo Juan. This is my old friend Juan. |
|
La casa es ruinosa y vieja. The house is dilapidated and old. |
5. Many Adverbs Can Go Anywhere
Adverbs typically go after the verb or before the adjective they modify, but they can also go at the beginning or end of the sentence. Here are a few guidelines to follow:
- An adverb usually comes after the verb it modifies.
| examples |
|---|
|
Hablas demasiado. You talk too much. |
- An adverb always comes before the adjective or adverb it modifies.
| examples |
|---|
|
Están muy cansados. They are very tired. |
- Adverbs of time can be placed in various positions in a sentence. They can go at the beginning of the sentence, after the verb, or at the end of the sentence.
| examples |
|---|
|
Mañana me voy para La Habana. Tomorrow I’m leaving for Havana. |
|
Me voy mañana para La Habana. I’m leaving tomorrow for Havana. |
|
Me voy para La Habana mañana. I’m leaving for Havana tomorrow. |
Word Order in Negative Statements
Negation in Spanish is really simple—just add nobefore the verb! If there is a direct or indirect object pronoun in front of the verb, place the no in front of the pronoun. If you are including the subject pronoun, the no is placed between the subject pronoun and the verb.
| examples |
|---|
|
No tengo que trabajar esta noche. I don’t have to work tonight. |
|
No le mostré la foto. I didn’t show her the picture. |
|
Yo no lo hice, mamá. I didn’t do it, Mom. |
Word Order in Questions
Yes / No Questions
Intonation is the easiest way to ask a question that can be answered with sí(yes) or no(no). All you need to do is raise your voice at the end of the statement when you want to ask a question. To put the question in writing, just frame what you want to ask with question marks (¿?).
For example:
| examples |
|---|
|
¿Carlos está aquí? Is Carlos here? |
|
¿Tú eres de España? Are you from Spain? |
Another way to ask a sí or no question is with inversion. To convert a statement to a question using inversion, simply reverse the subject-verb order.
Let’s turn the following statements into questions!
| examples |
|---|
|
Sandra es simpática. Sandra is nice. |
|
¿Es simpática Sandra? Is Sandra nice? |
|
Ustedes van a la playa mañana. You are going to the beach tomorrow. |
|
¿Van ustedes a la playa mañana? Are you going to the beach tomorrow? |
WH- Questions
When asking information questions (questions that require an answer beyond sí or no), you’ll need to begin your question with a question word. Unless the question word functions as a subject, subject-verb inversion is obligatory.
For example:
| examples |
|---|
|
¿Qué te regalaron tus padres para tu cumpleaños? What did your parents give you for your birthday? |
|
¿Dónde vive Nelson? Where does Nelson live? |
By
Last updated:
August 31, 2022
Spanish sentence structure can be baffling even for intermediate speakers.
The thing is, it’s essential to know to be able to communicate effectively. If you accidentally switch the order of the words, you can end up saying something completely different from what you’re thinking.
And while misunderstandings make for great sitcom material, we don’t want you in that position.
Here’s what you need to know, so you can go from situational comedy to fluency.
Contents
- Why Learn Spanish Sentence Structure?
- Learning the Basics of Spanish Sentence Structure
- Spanish Sentence Structure: A Brief “Theory of Chaos”
-
- Spanish Word Order
- Spanish Declarative Sentences
- Negation in Spanish
- Questions in Spanish
- Indirect Questions in Spanish
- Spanish Adjective Placement
- Spanish Adverb Placement
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Why Learn Spanish Sentence Structure?
Sentence structure involves the word order in a sentence.
When you start learning a new language, you want to start speaking it right away, but you feel there is always something holding you back, making it impossible for you to make sense when you try to say something.
That something could very well be sentence structure, so we’ve got to learn it early. Why?
When you master the art of word order, you can put into practice all those vocabulary and grammar rules you have learned, and produce perfectly grammatical and native-sounding sentences with the exact meaning you had in mind.
Learning the correct structure for a sentence also opens up your communication possibilities, as you can then easily substitute words in certain sentence format to get a ton of different phrases.
And finally, learning Spanish sentence structure will save you from embarrassing mistakes, since you’ll be able to say what you actually mean to say.
So if you don’t want to end up with a coin in your hand like Michael, don’t leave yet. It’s high time you started learning a little bit about Spanish sentence structure.
Learning the Basics of Spanish Sentence Structure
Sentence structure can sometimes be daunting for a native speaker of a language, let alone for students. However, its bark is worse than its bite, and there are always some rules we can apply in order to bring some order to that chaos.
Like in English, changing the sentence structure in Spanish can lead to misunderstandings. We will see later that the typical word order in Spanish is SVO (Subject, Verb, Object), but I have good news for you! Spanish is a very flexible language, and most of the time you’ll be able to change that order without altering the meaning of the sentence or making it completely ungrammatical.
Have a look at the following example:
Mi hermano está leyendo un libro. (My brother is reading a book.)
We have a subject (Mi hermano), a verb form (está leyendo) and an object (un libro).
Now imagine I have gone mad and changed the word order of the sentence, like this:
Un libro está leyendo mi hermano. (Literally: A book is reading my brother.)
As you can see, the Spanish sentence is still grammatically correct, but the literal translation into English has become a little weird, to say the least.
Since it’s really odd seeing a book reading a person (isn’t it?), we would have to rearrange that English sentence if we want to keep the original meaning, and say something along the lines of, “It is a book that my brother is reading.”
From this example you can see that Spanish definitely has flexibility with its word order, but there are certain instances that offer no flexibility, which are really important to learn.
You can get a better understanding of Spanish sentence structure by seeing it in actual Spanish-language content.
For example, you can read a simple Spanish book and note key sentence structure elements. If it’s your book, you could literally mark it up, writing the part of speech, form, tense, etc. of each word in the sentence.
You can also use FluentU to hear spoken Spanish in authentic videos. Watch clips like movie trailers, music videos, news segments and other Spanish-language media.
You can easily follow along thanks to accurate subtitles and check the meaning and part of speech of any word with a click. Clicking on the word also shows you example sentences and video clips with the word in use, for even more help with sentence structure.
So sit back, relax and enjoy this journey through Spanish sentence structure. And watch out for turbulence!
Spanish Sentence Structure: A Brief “Theory of Chaos”
Spanish Word Order
As I mentioned in the introduction, word order is quite important in Spanish (as in any other language) because it can be a little chaotic and can lead to misunderstandings if you don’t keep to it.
Spanish and English have the same basic word order scheme, SVO (Subject, Verb, Object), but there can be big differences between the two languages, and we do not always use said scheme. In the following points you will learn how to master word order not only in declarative sentences, but also in questions and in negation.
You will also learn where to insert Spanish adjectives in the sentence, and how the meaning can be different if you make some little changes. Lastly, I’ll show you where to put Spanish adverbs in a sentence. Off we go!
Spanish Declarative Sentences
Declarative sentences are pretty straightforward because they tend to look the same both in Spanish and in English.
In order for a sentence to be grammatical, we need at least a subject and a verb. Then we can add an object or any other word category we may need. Example:
Yo leo. (I read.)
Yo leo libros. (I read books.)
There are, however, a couple of situations when a declarative sentence in Spanish can be a little different from its English translation:
1. In Spanish you do not need to add a subject, except if used for emphasis:
Leo libros. (I read books.)
Yo leo libros (It is me who reads books, not you, not him.)
2. Because of this, you will always have a conjugated verb in a Spanish sentence, and it needs to agree in person and number with the omitted subject:
(Yo) Compro manzanas. (I buy apples.)
(Tú) Compras manzanas. (You buy apples.)
(Ellos) Compran manzanas. (They buy apples.)
3. Insert pronouns directly before the verb, not after it:
Las compro. (I buy them.)
Lo leo. (I read it.)
Se la enviamos. (We send it to her.)
4. There are times when you can put the verb in front of the subject! This is true especially when dealing with passives:
Se venden libros. (Books for sale.)
Se habla español aquí. (Spanish is spoken here.)
5. Thanks to Spanish being a very flexible language, many times you will be able to change the word order without making the sentence ungrammatical. As a result, you will have different sentences with practically the same meaning. Use this technique only when you want to put emphasis on a specific sentence constituent:
(Yo) leo libros.
(I read books.)
Libros leo (yo).
(Literally: “Books I read.” Meaning: It is books that I read, not magazines.)
Leo libros (yo).
(Meaning: I read books, I don’t sell them, I don’t burn them, I just read them).
However, bear in mind that you will not be able to do this every time (like with adjective placement, as we’ll see in a bit). Try to follow the basic scheme and the rules above so that you always have it right.
Negation in Spanish
Spanish negation is really, really easy. Basically, what you have to do is add “no” before the verb:
No compro manzanas. (I don’t buy apples.)
No leo libros. (I don’t read books.)
If you have a pronoun in the sentence, add “no” before it:
No las compro. (I don’t buy them.)
No los leo. (I don’t read them.)
This is also true when you have two pronouns:
No se los leo. (I don’t read them to him.)
If the answer to a question is negative, you will probably need two negative words:
¿Lees libros? (Do you read books?)
No, no los leo (No, I don’t.)
(Note: While in Spanish we need to use the verb in the answer, in English you can just use the auxiliary.)
The only tricky part in Spanish negation is probably the double negation, but even this is easy.
First of all, have a look at this list of negative words:
nada (nothing)
nadie (nobody)
ningún, -o, -a, -os, -as (any, no, no one, none)
ni (nor)
ni…ni (neither…nor)
nunca (never)
ya no (no longer)
todavía no (not yet)
tampoco (neither)
There are two ways of using these negative words in a sentence:
1. You can use them alone before the verb (Remember not to use “no” in that case!).
Nunca leo. (I never read.)
Nadie ha comprado manzanas. (Nobody has bought apples.)
2. You can use “no” before the verb, and add the negative word after the verb.
No leo nunca. (I never read.)
No ha comprado nadie manzanas. (Nobody has bought apples.)
Unlike English, in Spanish you can even find three negatives:
No leo nada nunca. (I never read anything.)
And even four! Have a look:
No leo nunca nada tampoco. (I never read anything either.)
Questions in Spanish
Asking questions in Spanish is way easier than in English because you don’t use auxiliary verbs to make questions. The only thing you have to bear in mind is whether you are asking a yes/no question or are expressing incredulity.
Expressing incredulity is the easiest. Just add question marks at the beginning and the end of the declarative sentence and you are ready to go:
María lee libros. → ¿María lee libros?
(Maria reads books. → Really? Maria reads books? How surprising!).
If you are expecting a real answer, just invert the subject and verb:
¿Lee María libros? Sí, lee cada mañana.
(Does María read books? Yes, she reads every morning.)
When we have a question word (qué – what, cuándo – when, por qué – why, quién – who, dónde – where, cómo – how, cuál – which, cuánto – how much, etc.) we normally use inversion:
¿Por qué lee María?
(Why does María read?)
¿Cuánto cuestan las manzanas?
(How much do the apples cost?)
Indirect Questions in Spanish
An indirect question is a question embedded in another sentence. They normally end up with a period, not a question mark, and they tend to begin with a question word, as in English.
Indirect questions work very similarly in English and in Spanish. You will have the beginning of a sentence, and inside you’ll find the indirect question embedded. Have a look at the following examples:
No sé por qué María lee.
(I don’t know why Maria reads.)
Dime cuánto cuestan las manzanas.
(Tell me how much the apples cost.)
As you can see, indirect questions look exactly the same as a declarative sentence; there’s no inversion nor any other further changes.
There are two types of indirect questions. The first type contains a question word, as in the examples above. The second type requires a yes/no answer, and instead of using a question word, you will have to use “si” (if, whether):
Me pregunto si María lee.
(I wonder if Maria reads.)
Me gustaría saber si has comprado manzanas.
(I would like to know if you have bought apples.)
You can also add “o no“ (or not) at the end of the indirect question:
¿Me podría decir si María lee o no? (Could you tell me whether María reads or not?)
Spanish Adjective Placement
When you start studying Spanish, one of the first rules you’ll have to learn is that adjectives usually come after the noun in Spanish.
El perro grande (the big dog)
El libro amarillo (the yellow book)
El niño alto (the tall child)
However, this rule is broken quite often. It is true that you should put the adjectives after the noun. In fact, sometimes it is not correct to put them before the noun. Still, there are some adjectives that can take both positions. Bear in mind, though, that the meaning of the sentence changes depending on the position of those adjectives!
Here you have some of them:
Grande:
When used before the noun, it changes to gran, and it means great: un gran libro (a great book).
When used after the noun, it means big: un libro grande (a big book).
Antiguo:
Before the noun it means old-fashioned or former: un antiguo alumno (a former student).
After the noun it means antique: un libro antiguo (an antique book).
Mismo:
Before the noun it means “the same”: el mismo libro (the same book).
After the noun it means itself, himself, herself, etc.: el niño mismo (the child himself).
Nuevo:
Before the noun it means recently made: un nuevo libro (a recently made book).
After the noun it means unused: un libro nuevo (an unused book).
Propio:
Before the noun it means one’s own: mi propio libro (my own book).
After the noun it means appropriate: un vestido muy propio (a very appropriate dress).
Pobre:
Before the noun it means poor, in the sense of pitiful: el pobre niño (the poor child).
After the noun it means poor, without money: el niño pobre (the poor, moneyless child).
Solo:
Before the noun it means only one: un solo niño (only one child).
After the noun it means lonely: un niño solo (a lonely child).
Único:
Before the noun it means the only one: el único niño (the only child).
After the noun, it means unique: un niño único (a unique child, but ser hijo único means to be an only child).
Spanish Adverb Placement
Adverb placement is pretty flexible in Spanish, although there is a tendency to put them right after the verb or right in front of the adjective:
El niño camina lentamente.
(The boy walks slowly.)
Este tema es horriblemente difícil.
(This topic is horribly difficult.)
You can place adverbs almost everywhere in the sentence, as long as they are not far from the verb they modify:
Ayer encontré un tesoro.
(Yesterday I found some treasure.)
Encontré ayer un tesoro.
(I found yesterday some treasure*) Still correct in Spanish!
Encontré un tesoro ayer
(I found some treasure yesterday).
If the object is too long, it is much better to put the adverb directly after the verb and before the object. For example, the following:
Miró amargamente a los vecinos que habían llegado tarde a la reunión.
(He looked bitterly at his neighbors who had arrived late to the meeting.)
is much better than:
Miró a los vecinos que habían llegado tarde a la reunión amargamente.
You can create an adverb from most Spanish adjectives. In order to do that, choose the feminine, singular form of the adjective and add the ending -mente (no need to make any further changes):
rápido → rápida → rápidamente (quickly)
lento → lenta → lentamente (slowly)
claro → clara → claramente (clearly)
cuidadoso → cuidadosa → cuidadosamente (carefully)
amargo → amarga → amargamente (bitterly)
When you have two adverbs modifying the same verb, add -mente only to the second one:
El niño estudia rápida y eficientemente.
(The boy studies quickly and efficiently.)
Mi hermano habla lenta y claramente.
(My brother speaks slowly and clearly.)
On the other hand, there are some adverbs that do not end in -mente. These simply have to be learned by heart, including:
mal (poorly)
bien (well)
aquí (here)
allí (there)
siempre (always)
nunca (never)
mucho (a lot)
muy (very)
poco (little)
And with that, you’ve now taken many steps further into your Spanish learning, while replacing chaos with harmony. You’ve improved your Spanish writing, speaking and overall language skills.
Practice will make all these concepts familiar and instinctive over time. Soon enough, the mystery of Spanish sentence structure will be dispelled, and you’ll be hopping into conversations with grace and confidence!
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Word order in Spanish is more flexible than in English and there are a number of key differences between the two languages, let’s see them.
Spanish word order example
1. When a noun and an adjective are used together, the adjective often goes afterward in Spanish: una decisión importante. (an important decision.)
2. As in English the verb usually follows the subject in a statement. However, in Spanish, it can also come before the subject to emphasize it: Murió su madre el año pasado. (Her mother died last year.) ¡Viene Paco a la fiesta! (Paco is coming to the party!)
3. To ask a question, English brings in words like “do/does”: Does your wife work here? Spanish doesn’t use these extra words, so the same question looks like this: ¿Trabaja tu mujer aquí? The order of the subject and verb are reversed. In questions using words like cuándo (when), por qué (why)…, the question word goes at the beginning of the question: ¿Cuándo empieza el partido? (When does the match start?)
4. When the object of a verb is a personal pronoun (me, te, se, le, lo, la…) it generally goes in the front of the verb: Me llama cada día. (She phones me every day.)
5. In Spanish, the preposition always goes before the word it modifies. Unlike in English, a Spanish sentence can never end with a preposition: ¿Con quién vas al teatro? (Who are you going to the theatre with?/With whom are you going to the theatre?)
6. In negative sentences no (not) goes before the verb, if there are any object pronouns in front of the verb it goes before them: Mi amigo no vino al cine. (My friend didn’t come to the cinema.) No me lo dio. (He did not give it to me.)
Word order exercises
Now you can practice what you have learned with the quizzes below. Click on the links to study other topics and remember you can contact your tutor with any question that you have about Spanish word order. Don’t you have a Spanish tutor yet?
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One of the most notable differences between Spanish and English is the flexibility in word order: whereas in English the word order rarely deviates from the standard SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT (+Time/place adverbial) sequence, in Spanish the various elements can go in almost any position.
Having said that, although it is flexible, word order is not arbitrary.
In general, the information presented at the beginning of the sentence is topical (el tema), i.e. the thing we are talking about, already mentioned or understood by the context; while the information towards the end, commenting on the tema, has more informative value, presented as new and unknown to the listener (el rema).1-2
What we consider to be the tema very much depends on the context and how the speaker/writer wishes to express the information. By moving elements to the head of the sentence we can make them more tematic, while moving them to the end makes them more rematic. And sometimes all the information is rematic, i.e. there is no topic, and the whole sentence is completely new to us. For example, if someone said to you, completely out of the blue, ‘Me llamó ayer mi hermano‘, you might ask yourself ‘¿Y?‘ In other words, since there is no topic, there’s nothing particular the speaker wishes to emphasize or highlight in that sentence.
This emphasis can be seen more clearly in a cleft sentence, where the important information comes after the linking verb ser — see discussion.
1) In English, where word order is more rigid, we tend to change the emphasis through intonation or by STRESSING certain words when speaking. In spoken Spanish intonation is also used to highlight the important information, but word order plays an important role in the informative value of the information. In written Spanish, the word order becomes even more important.
-Anoche me llamó mi hermano — My BROTHER called me last night [Estamos hablando de lo que (me) pasó anoche o de quién me llamó anoche; contesta a las preguntas: 1. ¿Quién te llamó anoche? 2. ¿Qué (te) pasó anoche?; 1. Fue mi hermano quién me llamó anoche (normalmente lo hace su mujer); 2. Lo que pasó anoche fue que mi hermano me llamó (hace años que no sé nada de él]
→Mi hermano me llamó anoche — My brother called me LAST NIGHT [Ahora estamos hablando de mi hermano; contesta a las preguntas: 1. ¿Cuándo te llamó tu hermano? 2. ¿Qué hizo tu hermano?; 1. Fue anoche cuando me llamó (no antes de ayer) 2. Lo que hizo mi hermano fue llamarme anoche [habíamos quedado en que vendría a visitarme hoy]
→Me llamó mi hermano anoche — My brother called me LAST NIGHT [Ahora estamos hablando de mí y de una llamada; contesta a las preguntas: 1. ¿Cuándo te llamó tu hermano? 2. ¿Quién te llamó y cuándo?; 1. Fue anoche cuando me llamó (no antes de ayer) 2. Fue mi hermano quien me llamó anoche]
→Anoche mi hermano me llamó — My brother CALLED me last night [Estamos hablando de mi hermano y de anoche; contesta a las preguntas: 1 ¿Qué hizo tu hermano anoche? 2. ¿Qué pasó anoche?; 1. Lo que hizo mi hermano fue llamarme (normalmente me escribe un mensaje) 2. Lo que pasó anoche fue que mi hermano me llamó ]
→Anoche mi hermano me llamó para decirme que no venía — My brother called me last night TO TELL ME HE WASN’T COMING [Contesta a las preguntas: 1 ¿Por qué te llamó? 2. ¿Qué pasó anoche?; 1. La razón por la que me llamó fue para decirme que no venía 2. Lo que pasó anoche fue que me llamó mi hermano para decirme que no venía]
→Anoche mi hermano llamó a Juan — My brother called JUAN last night [Estamos hablando de mi hermano y de anoche; contesta a las preguntas 1 ¿A quién llamó? 2. ¿Qué hizo tu hermano anoche?; 1. Fue a Juan a quien llamó 2. Lo que hizo anoche fue llamar a Juan]
→Anoche llamó mi hermano a Juan — My BROTHER called JUAN last night [Estamos hablando de una llamada que ocurrió anoche; contesta a la pregunta ¿Quién llamó a quién?; Fue mi hermano quién llamó a Juan (no al revés)]
→A Juan lo llamó anoche mi hermano — My BROTHER called Juan last night [Estamos hablando de Juan; contesta a las preguntas: 1. ¿Quién lo llamó anoche? 2. ¿Que le pasó a Juan?; 1. Fue mi hermano quién lo llamó anoche 2. Lo que le pasó a Juan fue que lo llamó anoche mi hermano (no le pasó otra cosa, p.ej. no lo dejó su novia o cualquier otra cosa]
2) The same applies when there is both a direct and indirect object: the information at the end of the sentence is generally more rematic, i.e. it is considered new to the listener. So by switching the word order we can change the emphasis from the thing being given to the person who is being given the thing.
Le daré el dinero a mi hermano — I’ll give MY BROTHER the money [Estamos hablando de dar algo a alguien; 1. ¿A quién le darás el dinero? 2. ¿Qué darás y a quién se lo darás?; 1. Será a mi hermano a quién se lo dé (no a mi hermana) 2. Será a mi hermano a quién le daré algo y lo que le daré será el dinero [no daré las joyas y no le daré esto a otra persona]
→Le daré a mi hermano el dinero — I’ll give my brother THE MONEY [De nuevo estamos hablando de dar algo a alguien; 1. ¿Qué le darás a tu hermano? 2. ¿Qué darás y a quién se lo darás?; 1. Será el dinero lo que le dé a mi hermano (no las joyas) 2. Lo que daré será el dinero y a quien se lo daré será a mi hermano]
→A mi hermano le daré el dinero — I’ll give my brother THE MONEY [Ahora estamos hablando de mi hermano; 1. ¿Qué le darás a tu hermano? 2. ¿Qué le pasará a tu hermano?; 1. Lo que le daré será el dinero 2. Lo que le pasará es que yo le daré el dinero]
→El dinero se lo daré yo a mi hermano — I’LL give MY BROTHER the money [Ahora estamos hablando del dinero; 1. ¿Quién se lo dará a quién? 2. ¿Qué pasará con el dinero?; 1. Seré yo quien se lo dé a él 2. Lo que pasará con el dinero es que se lo daré yo a mi hermano]
→A mi hermano el dinero se lo daré — I’ll GIVE my brother the money [De nuevo estamos hablando de mi hermano; 1. ¿Qué le pasará a tu hermano? 2 ¿Qué harás con el dinero con respecto a tu hermano?; 1. Lo que le pasará a mi hermano es que le daré el dinero 2. Lo que haré será dárselo (no prestárselo)]
→A mi hermano le daré el dinero yo — I’LL give my brother the money [¿Quién se lo dará?; Seré yo quien se lo dé]
3) Since the information at the head of the sentence is generally topical, when the subject of the verb is indefinite (i.e. an indefinite pronoun, or with indefinite or no determiner), it tends to go after the verb. This is especially true of intransitive unaccusative verbs (where there is no agency on the part of the subject).
-Pasó algo raro — Something STRANGE happened [¿Qué pasó?; lo que pasó fue algo raro]
→Algo raro pasó?? — Something strange HAPPENED [¿¿Qué hizo algo raro??; lo que hizo fue pasar??; sin más contexto, suena forzado]
-Llegaron 8 personas [¿Quién llegó? ¿Cuántos llegaron?]
→Ocho personas llegaron?? [Sin más contexto, suena forzado]
-Apareció una estrella
-Han venido extranjeros [See nombres escuetos]
-¿Por qué está tan inquieto el caballo? -Porque lo asustó un zorro [Seguimos hablando del caballo; el zorro no es el tema de la conversación, sino la nueva información; es más difícil que sea el tema cuando no se ha hablado de él antes y cuando es algo indefinido]
-¿Qué le ha pasado al queso? -Se lo ha comido una rata [Seguimos hablando del queso pero ahora es el objeto de la oración]
However, when the subject is used with the definite determiner, the noun is generally topical and hence goes before the verb more naturally.
—El tiempo pasó volando [Hablando del tiempo; ¿qué hizo el tiempo?; lo que hizo fue pasar volando]
—Los ocho invitados llegaron tarde
—La estrella apareció delante de mí
-¿Por qué está tan inquieto el caballo? -Porque el zorro lo asustó. [El consabido zorro que ya conocemos; el zorro ahora cobra más importancia y se convierte en el tema de la oración, el protagonista por así decirlo]
-¿Qué le ha pasado al queso? —Tu rata se lo ha comido [Al poner ‘tu rata’ al principio de la oración, la convertimos en el tema, centrándonos en ella como sujeto activo del verbo]
Once again, when the verb is unaccusative (something that happens rather than something someone does), the subject tends to follow the verb when there is no other information telling us how, when, where or why it happened.
-(Nos casamos y al poco tiempo) nació Juan [¿Quién nació?]
→(Nos casamos y al poco tiempo) Juan nació?? [Suena menos natural; ¿Qué hizo Juan?]
→→Juan nació en esta casa/prematuro [Bien: ¿Dónde/cómo nació Juan?]
—Aquí nació Antonia Bernal del Barrio [¿Qué pasó aquí? ¿Quién nació aquí?; estamos hablando de este sitio]
→Antonia Bernal del Barrio nació aquí [¿Dónde nació Antonia Bernal del Barrio?; estamos hablando de esta mujer]
—Llegó el polvo y empezaron las denuncias [¿Qué llegó y qué empezó?]
→El polvo llegó hasta mi puerta y las denuncias empezaron de forma esporádica [¿Qué hizo el polvo y cómo empezaron las denuncias?]
Sometimes the whole sentence is new information; this is generally the case when both the subject and the object are indefinite. In this case the subject will usually go before the verb.3
Un tigre atacó a un turista en el zoo
4) In sentences with relative clauses, the verb-subject word order is preferred in most cases, in both the main clause and the relative clause. Not only does this place the topic at the head of the sentence (and the new information at the end), but it also keeps the subject close to the verb. However, if, in the relative clause, the subject is topical and the verb has high informative value, the subject often goes before the verb.4
-Lo compró un señor que había vivido en el extranjero [Un señor que había vivido en el extranjero lo compró??; esto suena menos natural dado que el sujeto no es el tema y además queda lejos del verbo debido a la información del relativo]
-Tienen suerte las mujeres que no trabajan fuera
-Es una idea que tuvo mi hermano cuando vivía en España [Aquí nos interesa quién tuvo la idea y cuándo, no qué hizo con la idea mi hermano; el verbo ‘tener’ no tiene mucho valor informativo en esta oración]
-Es una idea que mi hermano puso en marcha cuando vivía en España [Aquí nos interesa qué hizo mi hermano con la idea cuando vivía en España]
-Es lo que decía la carta que nos envió tu padre [Aquí nos interesa quién nos envió la carta, no qué hizo tu padre con ella]
-Es lo que decía la carta que tu padre decidió quemar [Aquí nos interesa qué hizo tu padre con la carta]
-Ese es el perro que compró nuestro amigo de Granada [De nuevo, nos interesa quién lo compró más que qué hizo nuestro amigo de Granada con él]
Like in English, we can use the passive with ser to change the word order, making the object the tema, and the subject, if mentioned, the rema.
-Los concejales aprobaron la propuesta [Estamos hablando de los concejales]
→La propuesta fue aprobada por los concejales [Estamos hablando de la propuesta]
5) As mentioned previously, the passive with ser is used far less in everyday spoken Spanish. One of the preferred options, if one wants to present the object as topical, is to put the object at the head of the sentence and repeat it as a pronoun -sometimes called construcción de tópico inicial or construcción dislocada.3
Pérez-Reverte escribió el primer capítulo [Hablando de Pérez-Reverte; ¿Qué escribió Pérez-Reverte? 2. ¿Qué hizo Pérez-Reverte?]
→El primer capítulo lo escribió Reverte [Hablando del primer capítulo de algo. ¿Quién lo escribió? 2. ¿Qué pasó con el primer capítulo?
No queremos comprar la casa [Hablando de nosotros: 1. ¿Qué es lo que no queremos comprar? 2. ¿Qué es lo que no queremos?; 1. Lo que no queremos comprar es la casa (pero el terreno sí) 2. Lo que no queremos es comprar la casa
→La casa no la queremos comprar [Hablando de una casa; 1. ¿Qué pasa con la casa? 2.¿Qué no queremos hacer con la casa?; 1. Lo que pasa con la casa es que no la queremos comprar 2. Lo que no queremos hacer con la casa es comprarla (pero alquilarla sí)]
6) As discussed previously, the construction ‘el hecho de que‘ can be followed by the indicative and the subjunctive. When it is used at the head of the sentence, it is nearly always topical and hence goes in the subjunctive. When the expression appears later on in the sentence, it is often rematic, informing the listener of something new, and hence goes in indicative.
El hecho de que te digan eso es muy significativo [El tema; información consabida]
→Lo que más me extraña es el hecho de que nunca lo encontraron [El rema; la información nueva, informando]
- See also: word order in questions
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-Word order in Spanish — énfasis-