Spanish Sentence Structure and Word Order
Differences Between English and Spanish Sentence Structure
We will consider some of the differences that distinguish Spanish sentence structure and word order from sentence construction and word order in English. Awareness of these differences will enable translators to avoid embarrassing mistakes while working on a Spanish translation.
In the first place, the word order and Spanish sentence structure is dissimilar from that of English sentences. In a Spanish sentence the verb comes before the subject, and the sentence takes the following form: object + verb + subject. On the contrary, in an English sentence, the verb comes after the subject. The English declarative sentence generally uses the following word order: subject + verb + object. Thus, the Spanish translation of the English sentence 鈥業t is true but my father does not believe it麓 will read as 鈥楨s verdad pero no lo cree mi padre.
In the second place, the word order in a Spanish sentence structure is more flexible than the word order in an English sentence. The flexibility in word order enables the Spanish to shift the emphasis from one syntactical element to another without too many hiccups.
In a Spanish sentence structure a noun direct object cannot come before a subject because of the possibility of confusion between the two. In a Spanish sentence the preposition 鈥榓麓 is used before the object in order to distinguish it from the subject. Thus, the Spanish translation of the English sentence 鈥楲egend conquers history麓 will read as 鈥楲a leyenda vence a la historia麓.
Difference in Use of Verbs
In this unit we will study the way(s) in which the use of verbs and the use of the 鈥榥o麓 differ between English and Spanish. In a Spanish sentence, the verb 鈥榯o do麓 cannot be used as an auxiliary or helping verb. If the original English expression uses some form of 鈥榙o麓, as in the construction of questions, its Spanish translation will have only a single form of the verb. Thus the Spanish translation of the English question 鈥楧o you want to leave now麓 will read as 鈥楺uieres salir ahora麓.
In a Spanish sentence, no word is allowed to come between the auxiliary verb 鈥榟aber麓 and the past participle of the main verb in the compound tense. In an English sentence, however, adverbs are frequently interposed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb. Thus, while in English it would be correct to say 鈥楾hey have already arrived麓, its Spanish translation would be 鈥榊a han llegado麓.
The negative 鈥榥o麓 always comes before the verb in a Spanish sentence structure but before the word it is qualifying in the English sentence. The English expression 鈥楾hat is not important麓 must be translated into Spanish as 鈥楨so no es importante麓 and not as 鈥楨so es no importante麓.
In order to alter the meaning of their sentences or to change the object of emphasis, Spanish-speaking people usually rely on the placement of the words 鈥榓lgo麓 and 鈥榰n ensayo麓. Hence, the Spanish translation of the English expression 鈥淚 have something to do麓 will read as 鈥楾engo algo que hacer麓. On the other hand, the Spanish translation of the English expression 鈥業 have to do something麓 (as in compelled to do something) will be rendered as 鈥楾engo que hacer algo麓. Translators can eliminate many of these errors by opting for true meaning translation rather than literal or word-for-word translation.