How does word order change the meaning of “the dog chased the cat” and “the cat chased the dog”?

In English, word order is a primary device for establishing the structural or grammatical meaning of a sentence. While the two sentences "the dog chased the cat" and "the cat chased the dog" contain the exact same words, they differ in meaning because the word order dictates which noun functions as the subject and which functions as the object.1

In the first sentence, "the dog" occupies the initial position, identifying it as the subject performing the action, while "the cat" follows the verb, identifying it as the object receiving the action. Transposing these nouns changes the grammatical relationship: in the second sentence, "the cat" becomes the subject performing the chase, and "the dog" becomes the object being chased.21

This reliance on word order is a fundamental feature of English syntax. In contrast, languages that utilize case markers—such as Latin—can maintain the same meaning regardless of word order because the grammatical role of each noun is indicated by its specific ending.21