5.3 Intransitive sentences

In simple neutral intransitive sentences, where the whole sentence is new information (remember, it can answer the question: what happened?), there is a preference in English to place the nuclear accent on the subject, rather than on the verb.

The SUN came out. The maCHINE broke.

In Spanish, on the other hand, the unmarked word-order in many cases is to put the subject in postverbal position, which by virtue of its place in the sentence, will bear the nuclear accent.

Ha salido el SOL. Se ha roto la MÁquina.