What order do you arrange words when describing something in Japanese?

Answer 1

The order that a typical Japanese sentence takes is subject-object-verb (SOV), as opposed to English which forms sentences by placing the object last (SVO). The subject may sometimes be omitted if it's meaning can be assumed. For example, it is typically assumed that a person is talking about themselves if they just say "namae wa... desu" ([my] name is...).

Example

(私は)りんごを食べました ([watashi wa] ringo o tabemashita)

私は (watashi wa): I (may be omitted; already assumed) - topic (what's being talked about)

りんご (ringo): apple - object (thing that's being affected by action)

ã‚’ (o) - object marker

食べました (tabemashita): ate - action/verb (thing that's affecting the object)

Translation: "I ate an apple"

Japanese sentence structure is actually quite flexible. The only thing that is set in stone is that the verb must come at the end of the sentence. Most other parts can be mixed and matched in a sentence. For example, places (marked byで, に, へ) can come before or after the topic or object. The same goes for adverbs.