Word order and question forms

A verb can name an action or a state. In Ava kicks a ball, kicks names the action. For the action sentences here, ask what is happening to find the main verb.

In an ordinary active action statement, the subject does the action and the object receives it. English usually orders these as subject, verb, object. In A fox watches a rabbit, the fox watches and the rabbit is watched.

For simple-present action statements with I, you, we, they or a plural subject and no existing helper verb, add do before the subject to ask a yes/no question. We like music becomes Do we like music? Do is the helper; like is the main verb and stays after we. This rule does not apply to We are reading, which already has a helper verb.

Japanese is shown here in Roman letters. In these polite action statements, the verb is last. Nomimasu means drinks; tabemasu means eats. Mizu means water; pan means bread. Wa follows the person being talked about, and o follows the object. Use the meanings to identify the verb and its position.

In this polite Japanese pattern, add ka after the verb to ask a yes/no question. Keep the other words in order. Yuki wa mizu o nomimasu ka? asks Does Yuki drink water? Ka marks the question; it does not move the main verb before the subject.

Swapping a subject and object can change who acts on whom. A bear follows a fox and A fox follows a bear use the same action word, but different animals lead. Check the roles when reviewing a sentence instead of assuming that the same words mean the same thing.