In English, the order of words is of the first importance. The following is the usual order of words in an English sentence:-
1. The subject usually comes before the verb; as,
The man ate the apple.
2. The object usually comes after the verb; as,
The queen wears a crown.
3. When there is an indirect object and also a direct object, the indirect precedes the direct; as,
Give me your hat.
4. When the adjective is used attributively, it comes before the noun which it qualifies; as,
Few dogs like cold water.
5. When the adjective is used predicatively, it comes after the noun; as,
The boy is asleep.
6. The adjective phrase comes immediately after the noun; as,
The tops of the mountains were covered with snow.
7. The adverb is generally placed close to the word which it modifies; as,
Rahul is a rather lazy boy.
Note: When an adverb is used to modify the sentence as a whole, it is placed at the beginning of a sentence; as,
Certainly Rebecca made a fool of herself.
8. All qualifying clauses are placed as close as possible to the words they qualify; as,
Mrs. Jeremy Daud died in the village where she was born.
The normal order of words in a sentence is sometimes altered for emphasis; as,
Blessed are the merciful.
Owing to faulty arrangement of words, a sentence may be turned into perfect nonsense; as,
A man has a cow to sell who wishes to go abroad.
To conclude, it is essential that all qualifying words, phrases and clauses should be placed as near as possible to the words to which they refer.