# Word Order

https://langs123.com/en/spanish/oracion/orden-palabras/
CEFR B2–C2 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> A topic opens the sentence and the new information comes last: a subject without a determiner follows the verb, and focus breaks the usual order. A known direct object that opens the sentence is picked up by the unstressed pronoun: Los libros los tiene Juan.

## Cheatsheet

| Point | Rule | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Subject without a determiner | goes after the verb | Han llegado trenes a la estación. / Se venden casas. | Trains have arrived at the station. / Houses are sold. |
| Fronted object | the unstressed pronoun picks up the known topic | Los libros los tiene Juan. | Juan has the books. |
| Negative word | the unstressed pronoun is still required | El alcohol ni lo prueba. | He doesn’t even touch alcohol. |
| New subject | goes at the end of the sentence | Llega mañana Pedro. | Pedro arrives tomorrow. |
| Topic without a determiner | an indefinite picks it up after the verb | Abrigo, tengo uno viejo. | A coat? I have an old one. |
| Contrast or indefinite | the fronted object takes no pronoun | Este vestido he elegido, no aquel. / Discos tienen a montones. | I chose this dress, not that one. / They have loads of records. |
| Topic and question | the topic opens the question and the pronoun picks it up | A María, ¿la has visto últimamente? | María, have you seen her lately? |
| Focus | the stressed object goes first, with no pronoun | UNOS LIBROS quiere Juan. | Juan wants BOOKS. |
| Emphatic order | bonito, vaya and menudo open the sentence | Menudo reloj se compró tu primo. | What a watch your cousin bought himself! |
| Emphatic relative | ser links the relative and the complement | Lo que tú eres es un egoísta. | What you are is a selfish person. |
| Trap | with a question word as the object in front, there is no pronoun | ¿Qué regalo has comprado? | What present have you bought? |
| Trap | in a parenthetical inside a quotation, the verb comes before the subject | María, dijo Luis, no sabe nada. | María, said Luis, knows nothing. |

## The subject after the verb

| Context | Rule | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Subject with no determiner or quantifier | It goes after the verb. | Han llegado trenes a la estación. / Faltan médicos en el hospital. | Trains have arrived at the station. / The hospital is short of doctors. |
| Reflexive passive with se | The subject without a determiner follows the verb, and the verb agrees with it. | Se venden casas en este barrio. / Se buscan cocineros. | Houses are sold in this neighbourhood. / Cooks are wanted. |
| Subject with a determiner or quantifier | It goes before or after the verb. | Todos los trenes han llegado. / Han llegado todos los trenes. | All the trains have arrived. / All the trains have arrived. |
| Subject that gives the new information | It goes at the end of the sentence, after the other complements. | ¿Quién llega mañana? — Llega mañana Pedro. | Who is arriving tomorrow? — Pedro arrives tomorrow. |
| Parenthetical inside a quotation | The verb of speech always comes before the subject. | María, dijo Luis, no sabe nada. / Esa casa, comentó mi tía, es muy cara. | María, said Luis, knows nothing. / That house, my aunt remarked, is very expensive. |
| Question, in the Antilles, Panama and Venezuela | The subject pronoun can go before the verb. | ¿Qué tú dices? / ¿Cómo tú te llamas? | What are you saying? / What is your name? |

- Determiners and quantifiers of the subject: see Articles.

## Topic and unstressed pronoun

| Order | What it does | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| direct object + unstressed pronoun + verb + subject | The known object opens the sentence as the topic, and the unstressed pronoun picks it up. | Los libros los tiene Juan. / La llave la tengo yo. | Juan has the books. / I have the key. |
| Topic said on its own | The topic stands alone, and the next sentence picks it up with the unstressed pronoun. | Mis ejercicios. No los veo. | My exercises. I don’t see them. |
| Topic and ni or nunca | With a negative word in focus, the unstressed pronoun is still required. | El alcohol ni lo prueba. / Esa canción nunca la he cantado. | He doesn’t even touch alcohol. / I have never sung that song. |
| Question or exclamation with the object in front | The question or exclamation word is the object, and there is no unstressed pronoun. | ¿Qué regalo has comprado? / ¡Qué regalo has comprado! | What present have you bought? / What a present you have bought! |
| noun without a determiner + verb + indefinite | A noun without a determiner opens the sentence as the topic, and an indefinite picks it up. | Abrigo, tengo uno viejo. / Libros, ya tengo bastantes. | A coat? I have an old one. / Books? I already have plenty. |
| Contrast or correction | The fronted object, without a pronoun, is set against another. | Este vestido he elegido, no aquel. / Esas botas quiero, no estas. | I chose this dress, not that one. / I want those boots, not these. |
| Indefinite topic | A fronted indefinite object takes no pronoun and no pause. | Discos tienen a montones. / Trabajo tiene de sobra. | They have loads of records. / He has more than enough work. |
| Topic and question | The topic opens the question, and the unstressed pronoun picks it up inside it. | A María, ¿la has visto últimamente? / A María, ¿quién le dijo eso? | María, have you seen her lately? / María, who told her that? |

- The forms of the unstressed pronoun: see Direct Object Pronouns and Personal a.
- The place of the subject in questions: see Questions and Negatives.

## Focus

| Pattern | Meaning | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Object with emphatic stress | The object is the new information or the contrast, and takes no unstressed pronoun. | UNOS LIBROS quiere Juan. / UNA CASA busca mi hermana. | Juan wants BOOKS. / My sister is looking for A HOUSE. |
| Object with a verb of wanting | The fronted object expresses the wish for something another person has. | Ese sueldo quisiera yo. / Esa suerte quisiera yo. | I wish I had that salary. / I wish I had that luck. |
| Fronted quantifier | It evaluates the amount, often with reproach, and the subject comes after. | Mucho pides tú. / Mucho hablas tú. | You ask for a lot. / You talk a lot. |
| adverb + question | An adverb of place or time opens the question and sets the frame. | Aquí, ¿vas a trabajar? / Mañana, ¿te quedas en casa? | Are you going to work here? / Are you staying at home tomorrow? |

- Capital letters mark the emphatic stress of the focus.

## Emphatic order

| Pattern | Meaning | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| bonito + noun | Irony: the sentence judges the opposite of what it says. | En bonito lío me has metido. | You’ve got me into a fine mess. |
| vaya + noun + (que) + clause | Admiration or criticism of what the noun names. | Vaya casa (que) tiene tu tío. | What a house your uncle has! |
| menudo + noun + verb | A strong judgement, good or bad, of what the noun names. | Menudo reloj se compró tu primo. | What a watch your cousin bought himself! |
| lo que + clause + ser + noun | The complement, the key information, comes last after the verb ser. | Lo que tú eres es un egoísta. | What you are is a selfish person. |
| quien + clause + ser + person | The verb ser agrees with the pronoun at the end. | Quien es un egoísta eres tú. | The one who is selfish is you. |
| ser + focus + donde / cuando / como + clause | The focus, with stress, goes between the verb ser and the relative. | Es ALLÍ donde te dije. / Fue AYER cuando llamó Luis. | It’s THERE where I told you. / It was YESTERDAY when Luis called. |
| el que + quantifier + noun + verb | In a superlative with a relative, the quantified element can go before the verb. | el cantante que más aplausos obtuvo = el cantante que obtuvo más aplausos | the singer who got the most applause = the singer who received the most applause |

- Relative clauses and the mood of the subordinate clause: see Relative Clauses.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Los libros tiene Juan. | Los libros los tiene Juan. | a known fronted object is picked up by the unstressed pronoun |
| ¿Qué regalo lo has comprado? | ¿Qué regalo has comprado? | with a question word as the object in front, there is no unstressed pronoun |
| Trenes han llegado a la estación. | Han llegado trenes a la estación. | a subject without a determiner goes after the verb |
| Se vende casas en este barrio. | Se venden casas en este barrio. | the verb agrees with the subject, also when it comes after |
| María, Luis dijo, no sabe nada. | María, dijo Luis, no sabe nada. | in a parenthetical inside a quotation, the verb comes before the subject |
| A María, ¿has visto últimamente? | A María, ¿la has visto últimamente? | the topic that opens the question is picked up by the unstressed pronoun |
| Lo que tú eres un egoísta. | Lo que tú eres es un egoísta. | ser links the relative and the complement |
| Quien es un egoísta es tú. | Quien es un egoísta eres tú. | ser agrees with the pronoun at the end |