Word order
English is a subject verb object (SVO) language: it prefers a sequence of subject–verb–object in its simplest, unmarked declarative statements. Thus "Tom [subject] eats [verb] cheese [object]" and "Mary sees the cat."

However, beyond these simple examples, word order is a complicated matter in English. In particular, the speaker or writer's point of departure in each clause is a key factor in the organization of the message. Thus, the elements in a message can be ordered in a way that signals to the reader or listener what the message concerns.

* The duke has given my aunt that teapot. (i.e., I'm going to tell you about the duke.)
* My aunt has been given that teapot by the duke. (i.e., I'm going to tell you about my aunt.)
* That teapot has been given to my aunt by the duke. (i.e., I'm going to tell you about that teapot.)

The point of departure can also be set up as an equation, known as a thematic equative. In this way, virtually any element in a clause can be put first.

* "What the duke gave my aunt was a teapot" (i.e., I'm going to tell you what the duke gave my aunt.)
* "What happened was that the duke gave my aunt a teapot" (i.e., I'm going to tell you what happened.)

Usually, the point of departure is the subject of a declarative clause; this is the unmarked form. A point of departure is marked when it is not the subject—thus, occasionally it is the object ("You I blame for this dilemma") and more often an adverbial phrase ("This morning I got up late").

In questions, point of departure is treated slightly differently. Unmarked questions start with the word that indicates what the speaker wants to know.

* "Where is my little dog?" (I want you to tell me where.)
* "Is John Smith inside?" (I want you to tell me whether he is or isn't.)

Marked questions displace this key "what I want to know" word with some other element.

* "After tea, will you tell me a story?" (still "will you or won't you?")
* "In your house, who does the cooking?" (still "who?")

Imperative clauses are either of the type "I want you to do something" or "I want you and me to do something." The second type usually starts with let's; in the unmarked form of the first type, you is implied and not made explicit ("Improve your grammar!"), and included in the marked form ("You improve your grammar!"); another marked form is "Do improve your grammar." In the negative, "Don't argue with me" is unmarked, and "Don't you argue with me" is marked.

In spoken English, the point of departure is frequently marked off by intonation.

Generally, English is a head-initial language, meaning that the "anchor" of a phrase (segment of a sentence) occurs at the beginning of the phrase.

* ran quickly (verb phrase)
* to the store (prepositional phrase)

The main exception is that simple modifiers precede the noun phrases:

* a dog (article + noun)
* blue house (adjective + noun)
* Fred's cat (possessive + noun) but man of the house (noun + prepositional phrase)

This leads to a sentence like: "Fred's sister ran quickly to the store." As can be inferred from this example, the sequence of a basic sentence (ignoring articles and other determiners as well as prepositional phrases) is: Adjective1 - Subject - Verb - Adverb - Adjective2 - Indirect Object - Adjective3 - Direct Object.

Interrogative sentences invert word order ("Did you go to the store?"). Changing a given sentence from active to passive grammatical voice changes the word order, moving the new subject to the front ("John bought the car" becomes "The car was bought by John"), and lexical or grammatical emphasis (topicalization) changes it in many cases as well (see duke-aunt-teapot examples above).

English also sees some use of the OSV (object-subject-verb) word order, especially when making comparisons using pronouns that are marked for case. For example "I hate oranges, but apples I'll eat." Far more rare, but still sometimes used is OVS, "If it's apples you like, then apples like I," although this last usage can sound contrived and anachronistic to a native speaker