Word order in Spanish is very flexible in comparison to English. In partic-
ular, the positioning of the subject in relation to the verb is governed largely
by factors such as emphasis and focus rather than rigid grammatical rules.
For example, the English sentence ‘Many people attended the party’ obeys
a fixed rule according to which the subject precedes the verb and the object
or complement follows the verb. In Spanish however, three different word
orders are available, depending on where the emphasis is intended to fall:Asistió mucha gente a la fiesta. ×Attended many people the
party.×
A la fiesta asistió mucha gente. ×The party many people
attended.×Mucha gente asistió a la fiesta. Many people attended the
party.
This chapter highlights some of the main principles that govern word order
in Spanish. However, except where otherwise stated, the guidelines given
should be regarded as tendencies rather than unbreakable rules.New versus old information
New or important information typically comes at or towards the end of a
sentence in Spanish. Compare the placement of the phrase a las tres y media
in the two examples below:
Los niños salen a las tres y media. The children come out at
three thirty.
A las tres y mediasalen los niños. At three thirty the children
come out.28.1