The noun comes before the verb because you need to know who or what is doing the action.
Based on the information provided in this excerpt, I would say that Tom is hard-working but he lacked interest in what he's doing because he's not making an effort to understand it. Thank you for posting your question. I hope that this answer helped you. Let me know if you need more help.
It indicates that the author thinks highly of this person or that this person is highly powerful in the story.
Which are scarce in some areas modifies animals.
are protected by state regulation modifies areas.
