Verb before the subject
For practice, I'm reading the Reina Valera, which is a Spanish translation of the Bible. (By the way, for those who are looking for a long text with Spanish and English translations for practice and cross-checking, I suggest the Bible. It's legally free, and available just about anywhere.)
I observed that, at least in the Book of Genesis, the verb often went before the subject. For example:
En el principio crió Dios los cielos y la tierra.
(In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.)
Y dijo Dios: Sea la luz: y fué la luz.
(And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.)
And God blessed the seventh day.
(Y bendijo Dios al día séptimo.)
At first, I chucked it to the Bible's more liberal and poetic language; but then I checked out the Spanish Wikipedia and saw these:
1911 - Muere Reinhold Begas, pintor y escultor neobarroco alemán.
1944 - Nace Nino Bravo, cantante español.
So when should the verb go before the subject? Or can it be used as commonly as the subject-before-verb position?
|