Verb Object Subject

In linguistic typology, Verb Object Subject or Verb Object Agent - commonly used in its abbreviated form VOS or VOA - represents the language-classification type of which the following sequence of the three constituents, in neutral expressions, is an example: "Eat oranges Sam."

Examples include Austronesian languages such as Malagasy, Old Javanese, Toba Batak and Fijian, as well as Mayan languages like Tzotzil, which are ergative languages. During the 1970s, arguments were put forward by Paul Schachter and others that many Austronesian languages (e.g. Tagalog) lack a well defined notion of subject. While this view has not been entirely rejected, work by Nikolaus Himmelmann and others suggests that the objections of the 1970s were overstated, and there are, in fact, subjects in these languages.

[edit] See also

• Subject Object Verb
• Subject Verb Object
• Object Subject Verb
• Object Verb Subject
• Verb Subject Object

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