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【Abstract】The paper tends to reveal various meanings denoted by English word order especially in written English， and attempts to make clearer the factors resulting in different word order and crystallize the different effects of different word orders in the hope that it might remind the Chinese students of using proper word orders to make their English writings more effective. Since English is a hypotaxis language and Chinese is a parataxis language， they differ much from each other in word order； however， this is usually neglected in either teaching or teaching materials. Thus， the point of the paper is to emphasize the importance of learning and teaching some knowledge on English word order.
【Key words】reveal； word order； factors crystallize
Introduction
Hypotaxis mainly depends on the lexical and grammatical devices in one language， and parataxis depends on its internal logical sequences or connections. Chinese is a typical parataxis language， thus its word order is more fixed and much less flexible and variable than English language. As a result of the potential mother tongue influence， Chinese students are much less aware of the meanings denoted by word order， let alone proper using. However， word order is important and is frequently applied by native speakers either in spoken English or written.
To illustrate the significance of word order， the paper will first present briefly the word order of simple sentence， complicated sentence and the possible positions of modification element （attribute and adverbial）， and then analyze the factors resulting in word order：stylistic effect （balance， relevance， emphasis， prosody）， temporal order， pragmatic and cognitive constraint. And to make the point more distinct， the paper will compare the features of English and Chinese word order and reveal the general misunderstanding or mistakes frequently made by the Chinese students and caused by mother tongue influence.
1. English simple sentence construction
In English there are seven basic simple sentence constructions and their order is not always fixed but frequently changed according to certain need. The table below shows their possible inversions.
Sentence constructions Possible inversions Example Possible Purposes
1. SV VS 1.“Help”， cried he. 1. emphasis
2. SVC CVS， CSV 1. Very strange it seemed.
2. More serious was the question of how the President would present the joint announcement. 1. emphasis， relevance， contrast 2. balance， emphasis
3. SVO OSV
OVS 1. A horrible mess you’ve made of it.
2. Not a winning number did I have all night. 1. emphasis， relevance， contrast
2. emphasis
4. SVOC SVCO
CSVO 1. She made clear her whole-hearted support to the project.
2. A scandal I call it. 1. balance
2. emphasis， relevance， contrast
5. SVOO SVO①O②
SVO②O① 1. She bought me a flower.
2. She bought a flower to me.
3. I’ve given the key to the woman who lives in the house next to the garage. 1. emphasis
2. emphasis
3. balance， emphasis
6. SVA AVS
ASV 1. In this chapter will be found a partial answer.
2. Stealthily the girl crept out of the door. 1. emphasis， relevance
2. emphasis
7. SVOA SVAO
ASVO
AVSO 1. A pretty girl wore around her neck a scarf which hung down to her waist.
2. Quickly the woman finished her work.
3. Never have I found him in such a good mood. 1. balance
2. emphasis
3. emphasis
Note：Since the examples are not put in certain context， the purposes for the changing of the word order can not be explained definitely and completely.
2. Position of Modification Elements：Attribute and adverbial
Modified elements Modifying elements Possible position
Attribute noun Numeral premodifier
Noun
Adjective either premodifier or postmodifier
Participle
Infinitive postmodifier
Clause
Adverb
Preposition
Adverbial Adjective
Adverb
Sentence Adjective Flexible： either premodifier or postmodifier，
Possible position in a sentence： at the beginning， in the middle or at the end of a sentence.
Noun
Participle
Infinitive
Clause
Adverb
Preposition
In the Chinese language， the attribute has only one position in a sentence， that is， in front of the head word， no matter how long it is， while it has two possible positions in English language. Besides， adverbial， the most flexible and the most varied part in English， has three possible positions in a sentence and is much more flexible than the Chinese， which can be found in the inversions of SVA and SVOA. Further， different positions of adverbial have different effects and denote different meanings and a successful writer will choose some position to meet certain need and reach certain effect in a certain context. 3. English complex sentence construction
3.1 The Right-branching or Loose Sentence （English Rhetorical options）
In writing a complicated English sentence， the choice of a word order is even more important， for many issues will be put into consideration
The loose sentence is one of the most common sentence patterns in English rhetoric. In a loose sentence， the main idea is put at the beginning of the sentence， and supportive or qualifying information comes after it. There is no limit to the amount of information that may be added， the only restriction being imposed by considerations of meaning， clarity， and effectiveness. Moreover， the information may be given in a wide variety of forms：from words to phrases to clauses， or a mixture of all.
The stylistic effect of a loose sentence is therefore natural， relaxed， and the pattern is preferred when a tense climactic effect is not intended.
3.2 The Left-branching or Periodic Sentence
In contrast to the loose sentence， the periodic sentence has its main idea at the end of the sentence. Supportive or qualifying statements are placed before the main clause or assertion：
As we paddled southwest past the candle factory， the rain beat against us.
With his fine Roman nose， his clear gray eyes， black moustache， surmounted by the white-bound helmet of gold， he looked like a crusader.
In left branching， the reader’s comprehension of a sentence is delayed till he comes to the end of the sentence. This brings an element of suspense to the reading. The more anticipatory constituents there are， the greater the suspense， and the greater the burden on the reader’s mind and memory. This is because the reader not only has to“store up” in his memory all the anticipatory constituents but， at the same time， has to interpret their significance to the total comprehension of the main assertion at the end.
The stylistic effect of a periodic sentence， especially a long one with many anticipatory statements， is a cumulative effect of tenseness， suspense and dramatic climax. This is in great contrast to the natural and relaxed effect of a loose sentence.
Used in the right context， the periodic sentence can be rhetorically very effective. Used too often in a passage， however， it can make reading heavy and laborious.
3.3 Mid-branching
Mid-branching， as the name implies， is to have major parts of a main clause （main assertion） separated by the insertion of supportive or qualifying information. This may take several forms.The most common form is the separation of Subject from predicate： 1）The essay， as a species of literature， was invented by Montaingne.
2）My terror， as I lay there in the dark， was great.
4. Factors resulting in word order
4.1 Stylistic effects
Stylistics：A Coursebook for Chinese EFL Students Written by 錢瑗 Foreign language teaching and research press P70-77
Syntax and the composition of text
Texts may be indefinitely various in terms of length， medium， purpose， topic， genre， period； but they all share the same property， namely， linearity. Spoken texts occur linearly in time and written texts linearly in space. In order to make the message easy to understand， a writer should segment the sequence into suitable units for readers to process. For effective communication， the presentation of information should guide the reader to distinguish units of high information value from those of low information value.
The positioning of subordinate constituents （clauses/phrases） before or after the main constituent （branching） also affects the reader’s processing of information.
Subordinate clauses may be positioned initially， medially， and at the end of their super ordinate clause. Initial clauses are said to be LEFT-BRANCHING； medial clauses NESTING； and final clauses RIGHT-BRANCHING. Non-initial coordinate clauses are also designated as right branch clauses.
Left-branching and nesting postpone the presentment of the main clause and make the reader wait for completed information. Initial or medial subordinate clauses are often referred to as Anticipatory structures， because the reader has to bear in mind points of contributory information until he gets to the essential matter. The longer the anticipatory constituent is， the heavier the burden on the reader’s memory. A long anticipatory constituent often brings an element of suspense into syntax.
Right-branching reduces the burden on the reader’s immediate syntactic memory and makes it easy for his processing of information. Right branch subordinate clauses usually comment on the main clauses or supplement it with more details. Right banch coordinate clauses and more and more information to the initial clause.
A sentence with right branch clauses is traditionally called a loose sentence， whereas a sentence with left branch clauses a periodic sentence.
Right-branching is common in speech， in relaxed and informal presentation of ideas. A writer may favour right-branching and the use of short， simple sentences to represent a narrative style of simplicity， directness and intensity. Left-branching is better adapted to writing， because a printed page enables the reader to retrace the course of a sentence at need. Long periodic structure is often used to reinforce the serious and thoughtful nature of what is being talked about. A text in which long period structure predominates may give the impression of studied formality， circumvention and sophistication of attitude. Generally， a writer would maneuver long or short sentences， periodic or loose structure to suit his purpose. Phrase order， often loosely termed as word order， refers to the order of the elements in a clause. The basic phrase order in an English clause is more or less foxed：SV（O）（C）（A）， with A being mobile in position. An examination of some randomly chosen extracts shows that the basic phrase order is generally adopted unless the writer has reasons for deviations.
In neutral circumstances， the new or most important information is placed towards the end of a clause （end-focus principle）. By analogy， the final clause of a multiple sentence carries the maxim emphasis （principle of resolution）.
Any variation from the above described normal phrase order calls attention to itself and is thus emphatic. The variation is mainly of two kinds：Fronting and Postponement.
Postponement refers to the movement of an element towards the end of a clause， emphasizing it as new， relatively consequential， of greater importance， and possibly climatic.
While postponement gives focus to the most relevant part of a message， fronting often indicates that the fronted element is the next most relevant part of a message. The fronting of a part of the V（i.e.-ing participle） has a twofold function：to serve the purpose of end-weight， when the S is long； and to use the initial part to“set the scene”.
4.1.1 Balance
4.1.2 Relevance
e.g. （A New English Grammar Course book） by Zhang Zhenbang
（1） Mr. White fried two small pieces of fish. One of these he fed to his cat. The other he ate himself.
（2） We really should not resent being called paupers. Paupers we are， and paupers we shall remain.
4.1.3 Contrast and parallel
e.g. （1） Joan he gave nothing， but George he gave 10 shilings.
（2） Fool Joe may be. But thief he is not.
4.1.4 Emphasis
4.2 Temporal order， （A Functional Approach to discourse Coherence）
Normally， if texts are to represent the world as they are， they must also reflect the orderings in which events take place or states of affair exist. A principle of text sequencing is that“without overt indications to the contrary， the order of mention of certain items may be assumed to reflect the order of these items in reality or in our conceptualization of reality” （Dik， 1997a：435）. This is the same as saying that textual description of events or states of affair should follow either the order， which actually exists in the worlds described， or the order in which we perceive the worlds. As Dijk further pointed out， “as long as the ordering within the discourse is in accordance with these natural defaults， this adds to the overall coherence. Where such orders are shifted around， overt markers must warn the interpreter of this marked situation”（Dijk， 1997a：436）. Van Dijk voiced a similar view that“it is an important cognitive task for a speaker or writer to represent relations between the facts as relations within or among propositions and to express these again in the linear ordering of words， phrases， and sentences” （1985：108）. Therefore， a discourse is not just a set of sentences but an ordered sequence， with conventional constraints on the possible orderings if it is to be meaningful and coherent. 4.3 Pragmatic constraints and cognitive constraints （A Functional Approach to discourse Coherence）
Why do discourse producers choose to adopt discourse orderings that are different from actual temporal order of the events represented？ 1） What are the pragmatic and cognitive constraints that make the discourse producer choose a different discourse ordering？ 2） In what way are meanings construed differently when the discourse ordering differs from the actual temporal order of events？
E.g. I arrived home last night to find that my house was flooded. Someone had forgot to turn off the bathroom tap， and water had been pouring out the whole day. Before I phoned the plumber， I checked to see that the electricity supply was turned off， because I didn’t want there to be a fire as well as a flood.
—John
【Key words】reveal； word order； factors crystallize
Introduction
Hypotaxis mainly depends on the lexical and grammatical devices in one language， and parataxis depends on its internal logical sequences or connections. Chinese is a typical parataxis language， thus its word order is more fixed and much less flexible and variable than English language. As a result of the potential mother tongue influence， Chinese students are much less aware of the meanings denoted by word order， let alone proper using. However， word order is important and is frequently applied by native speakers either in spoken English or written.
To illustrate the significance of word order， the paper will first present briefly the word order of simple sentence， complicated sentence and the possible positions of modification element （attribute and adverbial）， and then analyze the factors resulting in word order：stylistic effect （balance， relevance， emphasis， prosody）， temporal order， pragmatic and cognitive constraint. And to make the point more distinct， the paper will compare the features of English and Chinese word order and reveal the general misunderstanding or mistakes frequently made by the Chinese students and caused by mother tongue influence.
1. English simple sentence construction
In English there are seven basic simple sentence constructions and their order is not always fixed but frequently changed according to certain need. The table below shows their possible inversions.
Sentence constructions Possible inversions Example Possible Purposes
1. SV VS 1.“Help”， cried he. 1. emphasis
2. SVC CVS， CSV 1. Very strange it seemed.
2. More serious was the question of how the President would present the joint announcement. 1. emphasis， relevance， contrast 2. balance， emphasis
3. SVO OSV
OVS 1. A horrible mess you’ve made of it.
2. Not a winning number did I have all night. 1. emphasis， relevance， contrast
2. emphasis
4. SVOC SVCO
CSVO 1. She made clear her whole-hearted support to the project.
2. A scandal I call it. 1. balance
2. emphasis， relevance， contrast
5. SVOO SVO①O②
SVO②O① 1. She bought me a flower.
2. She bought a flower to me.
3. I’ve given the key to the woman who lives in the house next to the garage. 1. emphasis
2. emphasis
3. balance， emphasis
6. SVA AVS
ASV 1. In this chapter will be found a partial answer.
2. Stealthily the girl crept out of the door. 1. emphasis， relevance
2. emphasis
7. SVOA SVAO
ASVO
AVSO 1. A pretty girl wore around her neck a scarf which hung down to her waist.
2. Quickly the woman finished her work.
3. Never have I found him in such a good mood. 1. balance
2. emphasis
3. emphasis
Note：Since the examples are not put in certain context， the purposes for the changing of the word order can not be explained definitely and completely.
2. Position of Modification Elements：Attribute and adverbial
Modified elements Modifying elements Possible position
Attribute noun Numeral premodifier
Noun
Adjective either premodifier or postmodifier
Participle
Infinitive postmodifier
Clause
Adverb
Preposition
Adverbial Adjective
Adverb
Sentence Adjective Flexible： either premodifier or postmodifier，
Possible position in a sentence： at the beginning， in the middle or at the end of a sentence.
Noun
Participle
Infinitive
Clause
Adverb
Preposition
In the Chinese language， the attribute has only one position in a sentence， that is， in front of the head word， no matter how long it is， while it has two possible positions in English language. Besides， adverbial， the most flexible and the most varied part in English， has three possible positions in a sentence and is much more flexible than the Chinese， which can be found in the inversions of SVA and SVOA. Further， different positions of adverbial have different effects and denote different meanings and a successful writer will choose some position to meet certain need and reach certain effect in a certain context. 3. English complex sentence construction
3.1 The Right-branching or Loose Sentence （English Rhetorical options）
In writing a complicated English sentence， the choice of a word order is even more important， for many issues will be put into consideration
The loose sentence is one of the most common sentence patterns in English rhetoric. In a loose sentence， the main idea is put at the beginning of the sentence， and supportive or qualifying information comes after it. There is no limit to the amount of information that may be added， the only restriction being imposed by considerations of meaning， clarity， and effectiveness. Moreover， the information may be given in a wide variety of forms：from words to phrases to clauses， or a mixture of all.
The stylistic effect of a loose sentence is therefore natural， relaxed， and the pattern is preferred when a tense climactic effect is not intended.
3.2 The Left-branching or Periodic Sentence
In contrast to the loose sentence， the periodic sentence has its main idea at the end of the sentence. Supportive or qualifying statements are placed before the main clause or assertion：
As we paddled southwest past the candle factory， the rain beat against us.
With his fine Roman nose， his clear gray eyes， black moustache， surmounted by the white-bound helmet of gold， he looked like a crusader.
In left branching， the reader’s comprehension of a sentence is delayed till he comes to the end of the sentence. This brings an element of suspense to the reading. The more anticipatory constituents there are， the greater the suspense， and the greater the burden on the reader’s mind and memory. This is because the reader not only has to“store up” in his memory all the anticipatory constituents but， at the same time， has to interpret their significance to the total comprehension of the main assertion at the end.
The stylistic effect of a periodic sentence， especially a long one with many anticipatory statements， is a cumulative effect of tenseness， suspense and dramatic climax. This is in great contrast to the natural and relaxed effect of a loose sentence.
Used in the right context， the periodic sentence can be rhetorically very effective. Used too often in a passage， however， it can make reading heavy and laborious.
3.3 Mid-branching
Mid-branching， as the name implies， is to have major parts of a main clause （main assertion） separated by the insertion of supportive or qualifying information. This may take several forms.The most common form is the separation of Subject from predicate： 1）The essay， as a species of literature， was invented by Montaingne.
2）My terror， as I lay there in the dark， was great.
4. Factors resulting in word order
4.1 Stylistic effects
Stylistics：A Coursebook for Chinese EFL Students Written by 錢瑗 Foreign language teaching and research press P70-77
Syntax and the composition of text
Texts may be indefinitely various in terms of length， medium， purpose， topic， genre， period； but they all share the same property， namely， linearity. Spoken texts occur linearly in time and written texts linearly in space. In order to make the message easy to understand， a writer should segment the sequence into suitable units for readers to process. For effective communication， the presentation of information should guide the reader to distinguish units of high information value from those of low information value.
The positioning of subordinate constituents （clauses/phrases） before or after the main constituent （branching） also affects the reader’s processing of information.
Subordinate clauses may be positioned initially， medially， and at the end of their super ordinate clause. Initial clauses are said to be LEFT-BRANCHING； medial clauses NESTING； and final clauses RIGHT-BRANCHING. Non-initial coordinate clauses are also designated as right branch clauses.
Left-branching and nesting postpone the presentment of the main clause and make the reader wait for completed information. Initial or medial subordinate clauses are often referred to as Anticipatory structures， because the reader has to bear in mind points of contributory information until he gets to the essential matter. The longer the anticipatory constituent is， the heavier the burden on the reader’s memory. A long anticipatory constituent often brings an element of suspense into syntax.
Right-branching reduces the burden on the reader’s immediate syntactic memory and makes it easy for his processing of information. Right branch subordinate clauses usually comment on the main clauses or supplement it with more details. Right banch coordinate clauses and more and more information to the initial clause.
A sentence with right branch clauses is traditionally called a loose sentence， whereas a sentence with left branch clauses a periodic sentence.
Right-branching is common in speech， in relaxed and informal presentation of ideas. A writer may favour right-branching and the use of short， simple sentences to represent a narrative style of simplicity， directness and intensity. Left-branching is better adapted to writing， because a printed page enables the reader to retrace the course of a sentence at need. Long periodic structure is often used to reinforce the serious and thoughtful nature of what is being talked about. A text in which long period structure predominates may give the impression of studied formality， circumvention and sophistication of attitude. Generally， a writer would maneuver long or short sentences， periodic or loose structure to suit his purpose. Phrase order， often loosely termed as word order， refers to the order of the elements in a clause. The basic phrase order in an English clause is more or less foxed：SV（O）（C）（A）， with A being mobile in position. An examination of some randomly chosen extracts shows that the basic phrase order is generally adopted unless the writer has reasons for deviations.
In neutral circumstances， the new or most important information is placed towards the end of a clause （end-focus principle）. By analogy， the final clause of a multiple sentence carries the maxim emphasis （principle of resolution）.
Any variation from the above described normal phrase order calls attention to itself and is thus emphatic. The variation is mainly of two kinds：Fronting and Postponement.
Postponement refers to the movement of an element towards the end of a clause， emphasizing it as new， relatively consequential， of greater importance， and possibly climatic.
While postponement gives focus to the most relevant part of a message， fronting often indicates that the fronted element is the next most relevant part of a message. The fronting of a part of the V（i.e.-ing participle） has a twofold function：to serve the purpose of end-weight， when the S is long； and to use the initial part to“set the scene”.
4.1.1 Balance
4.1.2 Relevance
e.g. （A New English Grammar Course book） by Zhang Zhenbang
（1） Mr. White fried two small pieces of fish. One of these he fed to his cat. The other he ate himself.
（2） We really should not resent being called paupers. Paupers we are， and paupers we shall remain.
4.1.3 Contrast and parallel
e.g. （1） Joan he gave nothing， but George he gave 10 shilings.
（2） Fool Joe may be. But thief he is not.
4.1.4 Emphasis
4.2 Temporal order， （A Functional Approach to discourse Coherence）
Normally， if texts are to represent the world as they are， they must also reflect the orderings in which events take place or states of affair exist. A principle of text sequencing is that“without overt indications to the contrary， the order of mention of certain items may be assumed to reflect the order of these items in reality or in our conceptualization of reality” （Dik， 1997a：435）. This is the same as saying that textual description of events or states of affair should follow either the order， which actually exists in the worlds described， or the order in which we perceive the worlds. As Dijk further pointed out， “as long as the ordering within the discourse is in accordance with these natural defaults， this adds to the overall coherence. Where such orders are shifted around， overt markers must warn the interpreter of this marked situation”（Dijk， 1997a：436）. Van Dijk voiced a similar view that“it is an important cognitive task for a speaker or writer to represent relations between the facts as relations within or among propositions and to express these again in the linear ordering of words， phrases， and sentences” （1985：108）. Therefore， a discourse is not just a set of sentences but an ordered sequence， with conventional constraints on the possible orderings if it is to be meaningful and coherent. 4.3 Pragmatic constraints and cognitive constraints （A Functional Approach to discourse Coherence）
Why do discourse producers choose to adopt discourse orderings that are different from actual temporal order of the events represented？ 1） What are the pragmatic and cognitive constraints that make the discourse producer choose a different discourse ordering？ 2） In what way are meanings construed differently when the discourse ordering differs from the actual temporal order of events？
E.g. I arrived home last night to find that my house was flooded. Someone had forgot to turn off the bathroom tap， and water had been pouring out the whole day. Before I phoned the plumber， I checked to see that the electricity supply was turned off， because I didn’t want there to be a fire as well as a flood.
—John