In linguistic typology, a verb–object–subject or verb–object–agent language, which is commonly abbreviated VOS or VOA, is one in which most sentences arrange their elements in that order.
It is a more common default permutation than OVS and OSV but is significantly rarer than SOV (as in Hindi and Japanese), SVO (as in English and Mandarin), and VSO (as in Filipino and Irish).
[3] Many verb-initial languages exhibit a flexible word order (such as St’át’imcets, Chamorro, and Tongan), alternating between VOS and VSO.
[4] VOS and VSO are usually classified as verb-initial because they share many similar properties, such as the absence of the verb "have" and predicate-initial grammar.
Modern Standard Arabic is more likely to use SVO order (under the influence of colloquial varieties which prefer or require it due to the loss of case endings).
The first table (note that Arabic is written from right to left) will illustrate the SVO form of the sentence, the second table will illustrate the VSO form, and the third table will illustrate the VOS form: الدرسad-darsaDEF-lessonObjectقرأqaraʾaPST-read-3SGVerbالمعلمal-muʿallimuDEF-teacherSubjectالدرس قرأ المعلمad-darsa qaraʾa al-muʿallimuDEF-lesson PST-read-3SG DEF-teacherObject Verb SubjectThe teacher read the lessonالدرسad-darsaDEF-lessonObjectالمعلمal-muʿallimuDEF-teacherSubjectقرأqaraʾaPST-read-3SGVerbالدرس المعلم قرأad-darsa al-muʿallimu qaraʾaDEF-lesson DEF-teacher PST-read-3SGObject Subject VerbThe teacher read the lessonالمعلمal-muʿallimuDEF-teacherSubjectالدرسad-darsaDEF-lessonObjectقرأqaraʾaPST-read-3SGVerbالمعلم الدرس قرأal-muʿallimu ad-darsa qaraʾaDEF-teacher DEF-lesson PST-read-3SGSubject Object VerbThe teacher read the lessonThe first table is meant to give a basic understanding of the general form of sentences in Arabic.
Such a sentence is produced by moving the verb to the empty CP, which is the sister of the IP, and results in the production from SVO to VOS.
Here is an example of subject adjunction: Based on the context provided, both speakers are wary of a specific lesson taking place and refer to a set of entities being a male and a female teacher.
This example illustrates not only the verb-object-subject order but also the affixes for each verb:[8] Pi-am-ri2SG=take=3SG.FV-transitivewapoeri-yeriver-LOCObjectpi=kowyo-čo2SG=bath-APPLV-transitivetidem1.F mončichildSubjectPi-am-ri wapoeri-ye pi=kowyo-čo ti monči2SG=take=3SG.F river-LOC 2SG=bath-APPL dem1.F childV-transitive Object V-transitive {} SubjectTake her to the river and bathe the child.That sentence displays a transitive verb with markers, indicating agreement in phi features for the subject and the object.
The analysis of each affix is as follows: Despite being a SVO language, there is evidence to suggest that Cantonese uses VOS word order in some cases, such as in casual speech or relative clauses.
[11] TyiPFV i-kuch-u3-SG.ERG-carry-TRVerb (transitive)si`woodObjectaj-MariaDET-MariaSubjectTyi i-kuch-u si` aj-MariaPFV 3-SG.ERG-carry-TR wood DET-Maria{} {Verb (transitive)} Object SubjectMaria carried wood.Clemens and Coon propose that the language has three paths that motivate three types of VOS clauses:[12] Ch'ol objects in a VOS order are generally not full DPs, or the sentence is ungrammatical.
The order is derived as VSO if the object is a full DP, as is shown in the table: TyiPFV i-kuch-u3-SG.ERG-carry-SSVaj-MariaCLF-MariaSiliDEM si`woodOTyi i-kuch-u aj-Maria ili si`PFV 3-SG.ERG-carry-SS CLF-Maria DEM wood{} V S {} OMaria carried this wood.If the postverbal argument in the example above were a bare NP (without a determiner), instead of a proper name, there would have been a natural interpretation of the VOS order.
[3] Esaminerannowill.examine-3PLVerbilthe casocaseObjectmoltimany esperti.expertsSubjectEsamineranno il caso molti esperti.will.examine-3PL the case many expertsVerb {} Object {} SubjectMany experts will examine the case.Kaqchikel is an ergative and head-marking Mayan language in Guatemala.
[23] έφαγεéfageate-3SGVerbτηtithe σούπα,soúpa,soup-ACCObjectοothe ΓιάννηςGiánnisJanis-NOMSubjectέφαγε τη σούπα, ο Γιάννηςéfage ti soúpa, o Giánnisate-3SG the soup-ACC the Janis-NOMVerb {} Object {} SubjectAte the soup, John.Georgiafentis argues that subject focusing in VOS is derived from three intonational situations: Here is an example of a Greek contrastively-focused DP-subject (capitalized words indicate a contrastive focus):[23] έφαγεéfageate-3SGVerbτηνtinthe τούρταtoúrtacake-ACCObjectοothe ΓιάννηςGiánnisJohn-NOMSubject(όχι(óchi(not οothe Θανάσης)Thanásis)Thanasis-NOM) έφαγε την τούρτα ο Γιάννης (όχι ο Θανάσης)éfage tin toúrta o Giánnis (óchi o Thanásis)ate-3SG the cake-ACC the John-NOM (not the Thanasis-NOM)Verb {} Object {} Subject {} {} {}John ate the cake (not Thanasis).Georgiafentis states that both the second and the third situation above are derived from p-movement.
[25] Seediq, an Atayalic language with a fixed VOS order, is spoken by Taiwanese indigenous people in northern Taiwan and the Taroko.
[27] WadaPAST big-ungive-TRVerbhulamatreat naERG ApeApeObjectkaABS laqichildSubjectWada big-un hulama na Ape ka laqiPAST give-TR treat ERG Ape ABS child{} Verb {} {} Object {} SubjectApe gave the child a treatTwana, a Coast Salishan language, has VOS as its basic word order, which distinguishes subject noun phrases from object noun phrases in sentences with active transitive verbs.
[28] In Tzotzil, the subject is not assumed to raise (in overt syntax) to the specifier of the clausal head, unlike Italian, which is a special case.
[29] ʔi-cp s-A3 petcarryVerblok'elaway ʔantzwomanObjecttithe t'ulrabbitSubject-ecl ʔi- s- pet lok'el ʔantz ti t'ul -ecp A3 carry away woman the rabbit cl{} {} Verb {} Object {} Subject {}The rabbit carried away the womanVP-raising, as expressed in the previous section, cannot account for Tzotzil's normal word order.
Kayne's theory of antisymmetry suggests that VOS clauses are derived from SVO structure via the leftward movement of a VP constituent that contains a verb and object.
[3] In verb-initial languages, the extended projection principle causes overt specifier movement from the strong tense [T], verb [V], or predicate [Pred] features.
[32] Massam argues that whether a NP object or a DP is selected by the verb determines if there is VP or VP-remnant raising.
Both possibilities are shown in the tables below:[32] For languages whose alternations between VOS and VSO are more difficult to characterize, other factors help distinguish the word order.
Unlike Niuean, whose objects are case-marked in VSO, not in VOS, Kroeger proposes that factors such as thematic role and grammatical functions help characterize word order such as in Tagalog.
For specifically-active voice clauses, the competition between the two situations helps to explain the variation of word order in Tagalog.
[4] That is called the flexible linearization (FL) approach, and with the combination of verb movement, it can account for most, if not all, VOS and VSO derivations.
Under the assumption, word orders in languages surface as VOS because they may have been linearized with the subject, in this case to the right of the verb-object constituent.
FL approach differs from most other analyses such as by not assuming whether VOS or VSO has a more basic and rigid structure in the language and that the other one is derived from a special rule.
[4] FL approach emphasizes less on syntax and word orders and assumes that both VOS and VSO can occur underlyingly in different languages.
Thus, alternation between VOS and VSO is expected in verb-initial languages unless the position of the subject or the object has some grammatical role:[4] Structure (not linearized): [ H [S [V O]] ] (where H stands for a head) can be pronounced as H + V S O conventionally.
The NSR allows for focus projection and so it is expected that wide focal interpretations are available in VOS, just like in VSO and in SVO.