Common word order exceptions in Italian
Common exceptions to the usual Italian word order (which typically follows Subject-Verb-Object, SVO) include:
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Left-dislocation: In colloquial Italian, the object or other elements may be moved to the beginning of the sentence (to the left of the verb) for emphasis or to refer to something already mentioned. This can create an Object-Verb-Subject (OVS) order, where the object is stated first and then repeated with a pronoun after the verb. For example, “Il pane lo compro domani” (The bread, I buy it tomorrow) instead of the usual order “Compro il pane domani”. 2
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Placement of adverbs: Italian allows adverbs, especially those ending in “-mente” (like “normalmente”), to appear in various positions in the sentence without changing the meaning but subtly changing the emphasis. For example, “Normalmente non leggo il giornale,” “Non leggo normalmente il giornale,” and “Non leggo il giornale normalmente” all mean “I don’t normally read the newspaper,” but stress different parts of the sentence. 4
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Adjectives placement: While many adjectives usually come after the noun, some adjectives can precede it to change meaning or add emphasis, affecting word order exceptions. 7
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Use of adverbs of exception such as “eccetto,” “tranne,” “salvo,” and “fuorché,” which are placed near the element they exclude and can affect the sentence structure by highlighting exceptions. 1
Overall, Italian grammar is relatively flexible with word order, but these patterns are the common exceptions to the basic SVO structure. The subject is often omitted because verb forms are distinctive, and colloquial variations like left-dislocation are frequent to emphasize or clarify.