Hello Nadine,
I will answer your question myself :-)
I would say that the verb doesn't come in the firs place always.
Example:
akala al-waladu attufaa7ata = The boy ate the apple. (Why for God sake do we always make sentences that are about eating heheh..Actually, we've been repeating that sentence like..forever!)
That sentence could also be:
Al-waladu akala attufaa7ata.
I think that it depends on what part of the sentence you want to put more emphasis, is it the "subject", or the "action".
I hope that I made myself clear enough :-)
(Au plaisir de t'être utile Nadine! Et ne baisse pas les bras pour tetris
Ecrasons Salim hehehe)