hanamaru
Word order: the verb comes last
Topic first, verb last, and the rest in between in almost any order — the particles keep track of the roles.
Topic first, verb last, and particles keep track of the rest
Example Sentences
Cats love fish
It's a good book
A Japanese sentence ends with the verb, or with です. わたしは さかなを たべます: I — fish — eat. Everything that belongs to the sentence comes before the verb, and the last thing you hear is what happens.
In between, the order is free, because the particles say what each word is. But there is a usual order, and it is the one you hear most: first who or what it is about (は), then when, then where, then what (を), and the verb last. わたしは あした すしを たべます — I, tomorrow, sushi, eat. Swap the middle, さかなを わたしは たべます, and it means the same; it only sounds like you are stressing the fish.
What describes something comes before it: ゆきの ほん, Yuki's book; この ほん, this book. A question does not change the order — か goes last: さかなを たべますか. And what is already clear is left out: たべます on its own is a whole sentence when it is obvious who and what.