Are there any tips for good word order in sentences?

Question

One thing that I have the most trouble with in Spanish is word order. Are there any tips for good word order in Spanish? I read that it is ok to construct sentences using the same word order in Spanish as in English except for in questions. However, this doesn't seem to be the case.

Any suggestions as to how to use the proper word order in Spanish?

Answer 1

Just forget about making up phrases in Spanish and trying to guess the correct translation.

Instead, start transcribing a novel of your liking in Spanish to Spanish, and translate in English after transcribing.

Pretty soon you'll start understanding how to use the proper order and everything else.

Easy!

transcribing videos or television programs from Spanish to Spanish and then translating them can be helpful in the same way - Izanoni1, Feb 5, 2012

That's right! It helps you hone your listening skill. - chileno, Feb 5, 2012

Thanks for the advice. I will try it! - kdrinning, Feb 6, 2012

Una buenisima idea. - Xocoyote, Feb 6, 2012

Answer 2

I found an article that gives some general rules about Spanish word order. The link is:

This is the link

I'm not sure why it is not coming across as a hyperlink, but you can go to the site. There are additional explanations regarding this subject on this spanish.about.com website.

Gracias. Es muy buena esa referencia. (Note my word order in this comment - Xocoyote, Feb 6, 2012

Answer 3

Whether you undertake transcribing/translating (to English) or not, the key to producing good sentences (in any language) is to expose yourself to many examples of good spoken/written Spanish and imitate them. This also applies to good grammar and pronunciation.

The single worst thing that you can do is to translate from English (or base your utterances on English).

Thanks for the advice. From what I understand though, written Spanish uses a different word order a lot of the time than spoken. Is this true? - kdrinning, Feb 6, 2012

Yes, it is true. It also depends on the media format in which words appear. For example, many periodicals (newspapers, magazines) put verbs first, followed by the noun if necessary, similar to questions but they are statements not questions. - Xocoyote, Feb 6, 2012