Content questions are questions that cannot be answered with a ‎simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ To determine the word order within such questions, it is necessary to examine questions that contain a transitive verb (V) and both a subject/agent (S) and object/patient (O) expressed by a noun. [1] If the sentence contains an auxiliary verb (Aux), it should be considered equivalent to V for the purposes of this parameter; otherwise, the main verb serves as V.[2] Word order is based on the relative position of the S, V, and O; the question word and other elements in the sentences are not considered. If more than one word order is possible, the most neutral order should be listed.

Types:

NoBWO: There is no basic word order in the given language in general.[3]

SV~O: In the basic word order of content questions, S precedes V, but the position of O may vary relative to these two items.[4]

VS~O: In the basic word order of content questions, V precedes S, but the position of O may vary relative to these two items.

SO~V: In the basic word order of content questions, S precedes O, but the position of O may vary relative to these two items.

OS~V: In the basic word order of content questions, O precedes S, but the position of V may vary relative to these two items.

VO~S: In the basic word order of content questions, V precedes O, but the position of S may vary relative to these two items.

OV~S: In the basic word order of content questions, O precedes V, but the position of S may vary relative to these two items.

VSO: The basic word order of content questions is VSO.

SVO: The basic word order of content questions is SVO.

SOV: The basic word order of content questions is SOV.

VOS: The basic word order of content questions is VOS.

OVS: The basic word order of content questions is OVS.

OSV: The basic word order of content questions is OSV.

[1] Content questions for consideration may include questions words such as Where? When? With whom? How? Why?, but not Who? What? or Whom?

[2] To reflect this, the “V” in parameter labels should read as “the auxiliary verb, if present; otherwise, the main verb of the sentence.”

[3] This value also applies to languages in which S and O can only be determined by contextual cues, such as Boumaa Fijian.

[4] If O is restricted from appearing in one of the three possible positions (before, between, or after S and V), this should be included in the commentary. This applies to all other values in which the position of one item (not necessarily O) varies, while the other two are fixed.