word order
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These include word order preferences, such as whether verbs come before or after objects, and hierarchical structures, such as how grammatical relationships are marked within sentences.
From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026
The literary term “anastrophe” refers to the technique of reversing word order in a sentence for effect.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2023
Nordlinger and Kidd suspect that when someone speaks a language that has a truly free word order, they are under pressure to swiftly make decisions about the sentence they will say.
From Scientific American • Oct. 18, 2023
He and his colleagues are now testing that hypothesis with a third language—Kîîtharaka, which is spoken in Kenya—that contains a highly unusual word order, very different from that of Thai or English.
From Slate • Oct. 30, 2019
As we’ll see, a writer must constantly reconcile the two sides of word order: a code for information, and a sequence of mental events.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
