verbobjectsubject

Verb-object-subject (VOS) is a basic word order in which the verb appears before its object and the object before its subject in a canonical clause. It is a relatively rare but well-attested type of syntactic arrangement found in natural languages and in some constructed languages. VOS stands in contrast to more common orders such as SVO and SOV, and it is typically discussed within the broader typology of verb-initial versus subject-initial languages.

In VOS languages, the verb often carries inflection for tense, aspect, mood, or agreement, while the noun phrases for object and subject may be marked with case or rely on discourse context to signal their grammatical roles. Because the verb and object are adjacent, VOS clauses frequently foreground the action and the participant directly affected by it, with the subject information carried by pronouns, clitics, or case markers rather than by placement in the clause.

Word order in natural languages is frequently variable, and VOS may occur as a base order or as a configuration allowed under certain conditions, such as topicalization, focus, or question formation. Some languages show rigid VOS in basic declaratives but permit other orders in subordinate clauses or complex sentences; in others, VOS is associated with specific morphosyntactic alignments.

See also: Word order, SVO, SOV, VSO, linguistic typology.