74. Owing to the above advantages, words may be arranged in almost any order in Esperanto, and yet be intelligible; but of course it is advisable that they should follow one another in the natural sequence of our thoughts. The first point is, that the meaning of a sentence should be absolutely clear, and the second, that the sounds should be as harmonious as they can be, combined with clearness of expression. The student is advised to read the "Fundamenta Krestomatio," by Dr. Zamenhof, which will familiarize him with the construction of the language, and he will then rapidly acquire a knowledge as to the best order for words.
75. Place of the subject and object.—The subject is usually placed before and the object after the verb.
Examples.—Mia fratino aĉetis libron = My sister bought a book. Rikardo manĝas kukon = Richard is eating a cake. Kukon manĝas Rikardo means exactly the same, and would he quite intelligible, but the mind would not grasp the meaning so rapidly, and it would be absurd, without a reason, to place words in such an unnatural order.
76. Position for emphasis.—Words are often placed out of the usual order, as they are in English, to give emphasis, or for the sake of contrast.
Examples.—Lin mi renkontis, ne ŝin = Him I met, not her. Belon mi trovis ĉie, bonon nenie = Beauty I found everywhere, good nowhere.
77. Place of the predicate.—The predicate, or what is said about the subject, is usually placed after the verb.
Examples.—Li estos kontenta (or Li kontentiĝos) se vi donos al li ŝilingon = He will be satisfied if you (will) give
him a shilling. Ŝi fariĝus pli sana, se la vetero estus pli varma, or Ŝi pli saniĝus, se la vetero pli varmiĝus = She would get better if the weather became warmer. But after the word kiel it is preferable to put the predicate before the verb, as:—Kiel malsana li ŝajnas! = How ill he seems! Kiel li ŝajnas malsana would be quite possible and correct, but Esperanto inclines to follow the English order of words here, as also in many other cases where in other languages the construction is quite different.
78. Place of the direct complement.—We have stated that the object is placed usually after the verb, but it may equally correctly precede it.
Examples.—Mi lin malamas, or, Mi malamas lin = I detest him. If, however, the object be followed by an explanatory phrase, it is better to place it after the verb, as:—Mi vidis lin kuŝantan sur la lito = I saw him lying on the bed. Mi renkontis ŝin, ĝuste kiam ŝi estis eliranta = I met her just as she was going out (see par. [29]).