Spanish sentence structure: a practical guide

Both English and Spanish are SVO languages, which means that a typical sentence starts with a subject, which is followed by a conjugated verb and, when needed, the object of the verb follows. For example:

With that said, there is always a little bit more, SVO is just the starting point. We will talk about some additional options at the end of this post. Okay, let’s get to talking about word order in Spanish!

A declarative sentence is, in short, any sentence that makes a statement. Spanish declarative sentences look pretty similar in structure to English. In order for any declarative sentence in Spanish to be considered grammatically correct, it must have a subject (explicit or not) and a conjugated verb — that’s the very least! For example:

Now let’s address some of the differences and, say, special rules that might not be the same in both languages.

In Spanish, subject pronouns are optional! They are mostly used for emphasis or to avoid confusion for your audience. This is why the conjugated verb is so important and will always agree in person and number with the subject pronoun that is eliminated.

For a refresher on subject pronouns see our post: "When to use subject pronouns in Spanish?"

In Spanish, negation (no, nunca, jamás...(no, never)) always goes before the verb!

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If you have more than one negative, the rule of thumb is: place one before the verb, the rest after the verb:

For a refresher on negatives and double negatives in Spanish, click the link!

When using objects in a sentence, remember we have two kinds: direct objects and indirect objects. Direct objects (who/what) are mostly things, but can be people. Indirect objects (to whom, for whom) are mostly people. If you have both, the sentence should look as follows:

If your sentence has a prepositional phrase (they start with prepositions such as en(in, on, at) or con(with)), they normally go at the end, after the objects.

The only exception is if you want to emphasize them, in which case they can be placed at the beginning of your sentence.

Spanish prepositional pronouns always appear after the preposition. Once together, both words can move around in the sentence depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize or call attention to.

• Sin ella, no nos divertiremos en el viaje.

  Without her we will not have fun on the trip.

• Esteban hará el trabajo por mí porque yo estoy muy enferma.

  Esteban will do the work in my place because I am very sick.

When the subject of a sentence is modified by a relative clause in Spanish (a subordinate clause that describes a noun or pronoun in the independent clause), the word order for the main clause will be Verb Subject so that the relative pronoun is close to the noun it’s describing.

Now, the order within the relative clause can be Verb Subject or Subject Verb, depending on what you want to bring focus to. The part you want to bring attention to goes last. For instance, in the following sentence “my sister” goes last and is therefore the focus of attention:

Now let’s move on to different types of words and their placement in Spanish. Some of them work exactly like English!

• The following words always go in front of nouns in Spanish.

  • articles (Definite: el, la, los, las(the) and indefinite: un, una, unos, unas(a, some)
    

    Yo tengo un perrito lindo y obediente.

    I have a pretty and obedient dog.

  • number determiners
    

    Ella quiere visitar trece países antes de cumplir treinta años.

    She wants to visit thirteen countries before turning thirty.

  • possessive and demonstrative adjectives
    

    Tu casa es más lujosa que este hotel.

    Your house is fancier than this hotel.

• Descriptive adjectives in Spanish normally go after the noun, unlike English. Stylistically, however, some descriptive adjectives can be placed before the noun.

  El carro azul es súper rápido, pero el carro verde no lo es.

  The blue car is very fast, but the green car is not.

Check out “Do Spanish adjectives appear before or after the noun?” to know all about the position of adjectives!

The following types of pronouns can be placed in different parts of the sentence, depending on their job: at the beginning of the sentence if it’s a subject, and after the verb if it’s an object.

• Possessive pronouns

  • Subject

    Tu hermana y la mía son las mejores niñeras.

    Your sister and mine are the best nannies.

  • Object

    Gracias por prestarme tu carro. Lo voy a cuidar como si fuese el mío.

    Thanks for lending me your car. I will take care of it as if it were mine.

• Demonstrative pronouns

  • Subject

    Este no funciona, pero aquel sí.

    This one does not work, but that one does.

  • Object

    ¡Mira eso!

    Look at that!

• Indefinite pronouns (algo, nadie, todos...(something, nobody, everyone))

  • Subject

    Alguien tiene que decirme qué le ocurrió a mi florero favorito.

    Someone has to tell me what happened to my favorite vase.

  • Object

    Yo conozco a alguien que habla tres idiomas.

    I know someone who speaks three languages.

Spanish Adverbs and adverbial phrases can also move around like in English. However, it is preferable that they stay near the word they are describing/modifying (verbs, adjectives, or adverbs).

More specifically, adverbs that modify verbs are usually placed after the verb, and adverbs that modify adjectives or other adverbs are placed before them.

Keep in mind that while SVO is a good rule of thumb, Spanish can move words/phrases around in order to bring focus to some pieces. The topic of our sentences is placed at the beginning. In declarative sentences, the subject is usually the topic (hence SVO), but this is not always the case.

What does it look like when other elements are the topic? Look at this sentence:

In the example above, the emphasis is on the adverbial phrase (los viernes). this can also be done with direct and indirect objects, or other elements as shown in some of the items above.

While this is somewhat nuanced, what you should remember as a language learner is that the “important things” are placed at the beginning of the sentence in natural speech. It doesn’t always have to be the subject of the sentence!

If I could argue about the one rule you want to keep in mind when building sentences in Spanish, it would be the Subject Verb Object order. This word order will work both for declarative sentences and also for building some basic questions (check out "How to build questions in Spanish?" for more). With that said, remember the ability of moving things around to create emphasis as needed and when you feel more comfortable with building sentences.

Otherwise, here is a summary of what we discussed:

• You do not need to include subject pronouns in Spanish sentences.

• Negatives go before the verb!

• Direct objects go before indirect objects.

• Indirect object pronouns or reflexive pronouns go before direct object pronouns and they are placed before the verb.

• Prepositional phrases go at the end of the sentence, after all the objects.

• Sentences with relative clauses place the subject after the verb both in the main clause and in the relative clause.

• Articles, numbers, and possessive and demonstrative adjectives go before nouns.

• Descriptive adjectives traditionally go after nouns.

• The following can move around depending on their function: indefinite pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and possessive pronouns.

I have created a a visual aid to help you with the different additional pieces.

There is also a practice for you to build Spanish sentences using appropriate word order.