Like English, D'ni is a Subject-Verb-Object language. Subjects are always followed by verbs, which are in turn followed by their objects. The bond between verb and object is very strong; even modifiers and modifying phrases will never come between a verb and its direct and indirect objects. The indirect object almost always precedes the direct object, unless it is modified by an adjective or adjectival phrase; in this case, the direct object's distance from the verb would obscure the relationship between the two, so the direct object comes first.

Modifiers also tend to follow the word(s) they modify; of these, adverbs are more flexible in their location, appearing before and after to reflect nuances of meaning. Modifying phrases can occur anywhere in a sentence but always appear close to the word they modify, adjacent if possible. When an appositive phrase or vocative modifies an implied subject, it appears near to where the implied subject would have appeared. A full discussion of modifiers can be found here.

Dependent clauses in general always precede or follow but never split up the complete independent clause.

Even with these general rules, sentence structure in D'ni can be remarkably fluid and flexible. This flexibility can lead to very complex constructions, and at times it is difficult to track the relationships between sentence elements. Caution must be exercised in these cases, since the chain of antecedental reference can at times be confusing and potentially misleading.