Үг зүйн дараалал: субъект–объект–үйл үг
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Би ном уншина.
I will read a book.
Маргааш би Улаанбаатарт явна.
Tomorrow I will go to Ulaanbaatar.
Том улаан байшин.
A big red building.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Үг зүйн дараалал: SOV
Mongolian is strictly SOV — verb always last.
Within S, order: Time → Place → Subject → Object → Verb.
Modifiers precede their head nouns.
Common Error Patterns
Placing verb before object (SVO word order, e.g., *Би уншина ном instead of Би ном уншина).
Placing location before time (e.g., *Улаанбаатарт маргааш явна instead of Маргааш Улаанбаатарт явна).
Би ном уншина.
I will read a book.
S(Би) + O(ном) + V(уншина). Verb is always last — this is strict in Mongolian.
Маргааш би Улаанбаатарт явна.
Tomorrow I will go to Ulaanbaatar.
Time(Маргааш) + S(би) + Place(Улаанбаатарт) + V(явна). Time always before place.
Том улаан байшин.
A big red building.
Adjectives precede the noun they modify, just like in English.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises