Object–subject–verb word order

In <a href="/facts/Linguistic_typology/B72Bumgm">linguistic typology</a>, the object–subject–verb (OSV) or object–agent–verb (OAV) word order is a structure where the object of a sentence precedes both the subject and the verb. Although this word order is rarely found as the default in most languages, it does occur as the unmarked or neutral order in a few Amazonian languages, including <a href="/facts/Xavante_language/xe3GNCzh">Xavante</a> and <a href="/facts/Apurin%25C3%25A3_language/MD8Y78y4">Apurinã</a>. In many other languages, OSV can be used in marked sentences to convey emphasis or focus, often as a stylistic device rather than a normative structure. OSV constructions appear in languages as diverse as <a href="/facts/Chinese_language/771ruUY1">Chinese</a>, <a href="/facts/Finnish_language/lBuEIgs0">Finnish</a>, and <a href="/facts/British_Sign_Language/nClrXDY6">British Sign Language</a>, typically to emphasize or topicalize the object. Examples of OSV structures can also be found in certain contexts within <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a>, <a href="/facts/Hebrew_language/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a>, and other languages through the use of syntactic inversion for emphasis or rhetorical effect. The OSV order is also culturally recognizable through its use by the character <a href="/facts/Yoda/jfssJH4o">Yoda</a> in <a href="/facts/Star_Wars/9Y5j3IPP">Star Wars</a>.
An example of this word order in English would be "Apples Sam ate" (meaning, Sam ate apples).

Object–subject–verb word order open-in-new

Object–subject–verb word order