# Esperanto word order: free, but not random

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/word-order/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-28

> Esperanto's default order is subject–verb–object, but the -n ending lets words move: La hundo mordis la katon = La katon mordis la hundo. What stays fixed.

Esperanto's usual word order is **subject – verb – object** (SVO), as in English: *La hundo mordis la katon* – "The dog bit the cat". Because the object carries the [accusative](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/accusative/) ending *-n*, the words can move without changing who did what. *La katon mordis la hundo* still means that the dog bit the cat.

The freedom has limits. PMEG states the main rule plainly: word order must serve clarity. Small words such as prepositions, *la* and *ne* have fixed places.

## Why the order can change

In English, position tells you who is the subject. In Esperanto, the ending does. All six orders below mean "The dog bit the cat": the arrow always runs from the subject to the word with *-n*, wherever it stands. Only moving the *-n* changes the event, as in the last line.

La hundo mordis la katon. | The dog bit the cat.
La katon mordis la hundo. | The dog bit the cat.
La hundo la katon mordis. | The dog bit the cat.
La katon la hundo mordis. | The dog bit the cat.
Mordis la hundo la katon. | The dog bit the cat.
Mordis la katon la hundo. | The dog bit the cat.

La kato mordis la hundon. | The cat bit the dog.

SVO is the default; the other orders shift the emphasis (PMEG). Compare English: "The cat bit the dog" is a different event.

## The default order

PMEG gives the basic pattern as subject – main verb – object – other parts:

- *Karlo manĝas rizon per manĝbastonetoj.* – "Karl eats rice with chopsticks."

Sentences usually start with what is already known (the topic) and end with what is new (Wikipedia). Moving a part to the front makes it the topic or puts weight on it:

- *Tiun libron mi jam legis.* – "That book I have already read."
- *Sur la sofo ili sidas.* – "It is on the sofa that they are sitting."
- *Vin mi amas.* – "It's you I love."

The end of the sentence can carry weight too: *Sur la sofo sidas ili* stresses who is sitting there – "It is they who are sitting on the sofa."

## When order does the work

Sometimes neither noun has *-n*, and then position decides. This happens after *esti* "to be" and *fariĝi* "to become", where both nouns stay in the nominative (PMEG):

- *Lernanto fariĝis instruisto.* – "A pupil became a teacher."
- *Instruisto fariĝis lernanto.* – "A teacher became a pupil."

Here the subject comes first. Fixed small words, like [prepositions](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/prepositions/), also keep their place, as the next table shows.

## What is not free

| Element | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Prepositions | always before their noun | *sur la tablo*, never *la tablo sur* |
| *la* | before the noun and its adjectives | *la granda domo* |
| Conjunctions | before what they connect | *mi kaj vi*; *Mi scias, ke vi venos.* |
| *ne* | right before the word it negates | *Mi ne dormas.* |
| *ĉu* | normally at the start of the question | *Ĉu vi venos?* |
| *ajn* | right after its correlative | *kiu ajn* "whoever" |
| *nur, eĉ, ankaŭ, tre* | normally before the word they refer to | *Nur mi vidis lin.* vs *Mi vidis nur lin.* |

The last row changes meaning: *Nur mi vidis lin* is "Only I saw him", while *Mi vidis nur lin* is "I saw only him". See [adverbs](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/adverbs/) and [questions and negation](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/questions-negation/).

## Adjectives before or after the noun

An adjective usually comes before its noun: *bela domo* "a beautiful house". It may also follow: *domo bela*. Both are correct, and the order adjective–noun is somewhat more common (Wikipedia). The [article](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/article/) *la* still goes first: *la domo bela*.

Because adjectives agree in number and case (see [nouns and adjectives](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/nouns-adjectives/)), the endings show which noun an adjective belongs to, even at a distance:

- *Mi vidis grandan hundon.* = *Hundon grandan mi vidis.* – "I saw a big dog."
- *Ruĝajn pomojn li aĉetis.* – "Red apples are what he bought."

## Questions keep the statement order

Esperanto does not invert subject and verb in questions. *Vi parolas Esperanton* becomes *Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?* – only *ĉu* is added. Ki- words such as *kie* "where" usually come first: *Kie vi loĝas?* – "Where do you live?"

## Examples in sentences

- *Mi trinkas kafon ĉiumatene.* – "I drink coffee every morning."
- *Ĉiumatene mi trinkas kafon.* – "Every morning I drink coffee."
- *Kafon mi trinkas matene, teon vespere.* – "Coffee I drink in the morning, tea in the evening."
- *En la ĝardeno ludas la infanoj.* – "The children are playing in the garden."
- *La patrino lavas la infanon.* – "The mother is washing the child."
- *La patrinon lavas la infano.* – "The child is washing the mother."
- *Ankaŭ mi trinkas kafon.* – "I drink coffee too (just like the others)."
- *Mi trinkas ankaŭ kafon.* – "I drink coffee too (not only other drinks)."
- *Ne mi trinkas kafon, sed mia frato.* – "It isn't me who drinks coffee, but my brother."

## Common questions

### Is Esperanto word order free?
Largely. Subject and object can stand in any order because the object takes *-n*. Prepositions, *la*, *ne* and conjunctions have fixed positions.

### What is the basic word order in Esperanto?
Subject – verb – object, as in English: *Mi lernas Esperanton* – "I am learning Esperanto". Other orders are correct and used for emphasis.

### Can an adjective come after the noun in Esperanto?
Yes. *Bela domo* and *domo bela* are both correct; the adjective before the noun is more common.

### Does the word order change in questions?
No. Yes/no questions add *ĉu* at the start, and the rest of the sentence stays as it was.

### When does word order matter in Esperanto?
When no word carries *-n*, for example with *esti* and *fariĝi*: *Lernanto fariĝis instruisto* means the pupil became the teacher. It also matters for *ne, nur, ankaŭ* and similar words.

## Sources

- [PMEG – Word order](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/vortordo/index.html)
- [PMEG – Order of sentence parts](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/vortordo/frazpartoj.html)
- [PMEG – Ĉu-questions](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/demandoj_respondoj/chu.html)
- [PMEG – Ankaŭ (position)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/e-vortecaj_vortetoj/ceteraj/ankau.html)
- [Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html)
- [Wikipedia – Esperanto grammar (word order)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto_grammar)