The most striking difference between English and Latin lies in syntax — the way words show their relationship to each other in a sentence. A word sitting by itself has a meaning, but that's all. When it's in a string with other words, though, it has to have a way to show how it interacts with the other words around it. Exactly how that relationship is shown doesn't matter. What matters is that all the speakers of the language agree on the rules.

When you speak or write English, words just seem to come out and fall into place in a way that makes sense. In fact, the key to English syntax really is “place”! Consider these two sentences:

Take a closer look at those examples. Who did something? What did he do it to? Who benefited from his action? Where did it happen? Now for the big question: How do you know any of these things? Both sentences contain the same words; the only difference is word order. Languages that rely on word order to make sense are called analytical.

Using word order to show the relationship between words is an arbitrary way to do it. It's just what English speakers all agree to do. Take a look at the concept of this sentence: Mark loves the dog. Does Mark come first in time? Does the dog? They are all there; they all “happen” simultaneously. Since they are all there together at the same time, there is no real reason for Mark to have to come first in the sentence. The only reason he comes first is because the rules of English dictate that if he is the one with the affection, he has to come before the verb in the sentence. Swap the word order — the dog loves Mark — and the meaning changes dramatically.