2.3.1.1. Order of subject, object and verb
The basic word order in intransitive sentences [Syntax - 2.1.1.2.] in TİD is Subject-Verb when a lexical subject is present:
Subject-Verb
girl friend sibling walk
‘The girlfriends and siblings are walking.’
(adapted from Sevinç 2006: 153; ex. 15)
ix1 sit
‘I sat down.’
(adapted from Sevinç 2006: 32; ex. 12)
If the subject is expressed by a pronoun [Syntax - 2.1.1.2.], the pronoun can follow the predicate:
Verb (Predicate)-Index
… deaf like_that ix1pl
‘We, the deaf are like this.’
(adapted from Dikyuva et al. 2017: 203; ex. 4.16)
The word order in transitive sentences [Syntax - 2.1.1.1.] depends on whether a noun phrase (NP) that is an argument is a subject or an object [Syntax - 2.2.1.] and whether it denotes an animate or an inanimate entity. When both argument NPs are animate, the NP that is the subject comes first. The most frequent order in such cases is Subject-Object-Verb but Subject-Verb-Object is also possible.
Subject-Object-Verb (where both NPs are animate)
mana ix3a womanb ix3b shout3b
‘This man shouted at that woman.’
(adapted from Sevinç 2006: 31; ex. 10)
Subject-Verb-Object (where both NPs are animate)
dog see3b catb …
‘The dog saw the cat…’
(adapted from Sevinç 2006: 33; ex. 14)
However, when the object is inanimate, the order is more flexible and the object can be placed either after or before the subject (this latter for topicalization purposes [Pragmatics - 4.2.]).
Object-Subject-Verb (where the object NP is inanimate)
bicycle girl enjoy
‘The girl enjoys riding bicycles.’
(adapted from Açan 2007: 205; ex. 15)
book child buy
‘The child bought a book.’
(adapted from Açan 2007: 206; ex. 17)
Some signers accept the following orders as well:
Subject-Verb-Object
sİnan love yaşam
‘Sinan loves Yaşam’
(Kubus 2015: 41; ex. 9b)
Object-Verb-Subject
trousers look_for ix3
‘Is s/he looking for a pair of trousers?’
(adapted from Açan 2007: 205; ex. 16)
Sentences where the verb is an agreement verb [Syntax - 2.1.2.3.] also have the same order. The unmarked case is for the subject to come before the object although Object-Verb-Subject order is also possible:
Subject-Object-Verb
sİnana yaşamb avisitb
‘Sinan visits Yaşam’.
(Kubus 2015: 43; ex. 11a)
Object-Subject-Verb (less common)
sinana avisitb yaşamb
‘Sinan visits Yaşam’.
(Kubus 2015: 43; ex. 11b)
As can be surmised from the examples above, Subject-Object-Verb is the unmarked order in TİD. The other orders are generally used for backgrounding, focalizing, and topicalizing particular constituents [Pragmatics - 4.1.].