Beginner Grammar
Mongolian SOV Word Order
Mongolian is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language. That means the verb almost always comes at the very end of the sentence, after the subject and everything else. English puts the verb in the middle (“I read books”); Mongolian says, in effect, “I books read”: Би ном уншдаг.
Because Mongolian uses suffixes to mark each word’s role, you also get some freedom. Time and place words usually sit between the subject and the object, and words can be moved to the front for emphasis. The one rule that holds almost everywhere is that the verb closes the sentence.
Describing words come before the word they describe. Adjectives precede nouns (шинэ ном, “new book”), and a possessor precedes what it owns (миний ном, “my book”). Once you have this pattern, the case suffixes on the following pages (accusative, dative-locative and the rest) slot into place.
Rules & Suffixes
| Slot | What goes here | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Subject | Who or what does the action | Би (I), Бат, Багш (teacher) |
| 2. Time / place | When or where (often with -д/-т) | өчигдөр (yesterday), сургуульд (at/to school) |
| 3. Object | What the action affects | ном (a book), талх (bread) |
| 4. Verb | The action, always last | уншдаг (reads), идсэн (ate), явна (will go) |
Modifiers such as adjectives and possessors come before the noun they describe: шинэ ном (a new book), миний ном (my book).
Example Sentences
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Би ном уншдаг.
Bi nom unshdag.
I read books.
-
Бат талх идсэн.
Bat talkh idsen.
Bat ate bread.
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Манай багш монгол хэл заадаг.
Manai bagsh mongol khel zaadag.
Our teacher teaches Mongolian.
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Би өнөөдөр сургуульд явна.
Bi önöödör surguuild yavna.
I will go to school today.
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Сараа цай ууж байна.
Saraa tsai uuj baina.
Saraa is drinking tea.
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Бид өчигдөр кино үзсэн.
Bid öchigdör kino üzsen.
We watched a movie yesterday.
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Хүүхдүүд цэцэрлэгт тоглодог.
Khüükhdüüd tsetserlegt toglodog.
The children play at kindergarten.
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Эрдэнэ шинэ ном авсан.
Erdene shine nom avsan.
Erdene got a new book.
Romanization is simplified to help you read along; it is not an official standard.
Common Mistakes
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Incorrect Би идсэн талх.
Correct Би талх идсэн.
The verb must come last. Copying the English Subject–Verb–Object order puts the verb in the middle.
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Incorrect Би явна сургуульд.
Correct Би сургуульд явна.
Place words such as сургуульд (to school) come before the verb, not after it.
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Incorrect Би ном шинэ авсан.
Correct Би шинэ ном авсан.
An adjective that describes a noun goes in front of it. (When the adjective is the whole predicate, as in Энэ ном шинэ, meaning "This book is new", it comes last.)
Practice SOV Word Order
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