Avoid mistakes using the correct worder
1. Sentences
| correct word order | incorrect word order | tip |
|---|---|---|
| I was shopping in Leipzig. | I was in Leipzig shopping. | 1 |
| He played football yesterday. | He played yesterday football . | 2 |
| Yesterday he played football. | ||
| Dan rode his bike carefully. | Dan rode carefully his bike. | 3 |
| He often reads books. | He reads often books. | 4a |
| He Is always late. | He always is late. | 4b |
| tip | Be careful! | detailed explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | main verb before place | Word order: subject-verb-object-place-time |
| 2 | place before expression of time | Word order: subject-verb-object-place-time |
| 3 | object before adverb of manner | Position of adverbs |
| 4a | adverb of frequency before main verb | Position of adverbs of frequency |
| 4b | adverb of frequency after form of to be | Position of adverbs of frequency |
2. Questions
| correct word order | incorrect word order | tip |
|---|---|---|
| Do you play football or handball? | Play you football or handball? | 5 |
| When did you see Peggy yesterday? | When did you yesterday see Peggy? | 6 |
| tip | Be careful! | detailed explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Start the question with the auxiliary do. | Questions in the Simple Present |
| 6 | Put the expression of time (yesterday) at the end of the question. | Questions in the Simple Past |
LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE. Word order — Test A — Form statements using the following words /phrases. 1) she / writes / letters / often _____. 2) to music / Marlen / is listening / now _____. 3) play / they / handball / in the evening / always _____. 4) did / I / my homework / do / in my room / not _____. 5) in Berlin / can / his uncle / he / visit _____. 6) lunch / we / not / yesterday / have / at school / did _____. 7) often / it / in Scotland / rains _____. 
Victoria Station / leaves / the bus / at 7 o’clock _____. 9) he / speaks / well / French _____. 10) Alex / under the shower / the song / sang / loudly _____. B — Form questions using the following words /phrases. 1) when / get up / you / in the morning / do _____. 2) like / they / do / cola _____. 3) who / the window / broke _____. 4) Kaito and Sakura / from Tokyo / are _____. 5) why / James / so tired / is _____. 6) you / your homework / have / done / yet _____.
Complex Test Word order in English Author: Joerg Poehland — englisch-hilfen.de Subject: Worksheet — Word order in English — Test Keywords: Word order; English; Test; Worksheets; Download Created Date: 6/17/2008 8:02:01 PM
Transcription of Word order — Test — Englisch-Hilfen
1 LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE. Word order — Test A — Form statements using the following words /phrases. 1) she / writes / letters / often _____. 2) to music / Marlen / is listening / now _____. 3) play / they / handball / in the evening / always _____. 4) did / I / my homework / do / in my room / not _____. 5) in Berlin / can / his uncle / he / visit _____. 6) lunch / we / not / yesterday / have / at school / did _____. 7) often / it / in Scotland / rains _____. Victoria Station / leaves / the bus / at 7 o’clock _____. 9) he / speaks / well / French _____. 10) Alex / under the shower / the song / sang / loudly _____. B — Form questions using the following words /phrases. 1) when / get up / you / in the morning / do _____. 2) like / they / do / cola _____. 3) who / the window / broke _____. 4) Kaito and Sakura / from Tokyo / are _____. 5) why / James / so tired / is _____. 6) you / your homework / have / done / yet _____.
2 7) what / Angela / like / for breakfast / does _____. How / your grandmother / is _____. 9) where / has / bought / John / his car _____. 10) the girls / text messages / are / writing _____. C — Rewite the sentences/questions using the words /phrases in brackets. 1) Have you been to Canada? (ever) _____. 2) We watched the film. (last weekend) _____. 3) The cat is playing. (in the garden) _____. 4) The boy ran out of the room. (quickly) _____. 5) Rita speaks English. (fluently) _____. 6) We have met him. (before) _____. 7) Did you see Mr Fisher? (yesterday morning) _____. They are flying. (to Rome / on Tuesday) _____. 9) She goes to school by bus. (always) _____. 10) He is late. (never) _____. LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE. Word order — Test — page 1. LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE. D — Which sentence is correct? 1) Which sentence is correct? 6) Which sentence is correct? a) She always arrives late in the morning.
3 A) My friend gave me a book. b) She arrives always late in the morning. b) My friend gave a book to me. c) Both sentences are correct. c) Both sentences are correct. 2) Which sentence is correct? 7) Which sentence is correct? a) Who are you? a) He’s going to buy a present for his sister. b) Where are you? b) He’s going to buy his sister a present. c) Both sentences are correct. c) Both sentences are correct. 3) Which sentence is correct? Which sentence is correct? a) Where are you from? a) They play hockey in the stadium every Friday. b) From where are you? b) Every Friday they play hockey in the stadium. c) Beide Fragen sind richtig. c) Both sentences are correct. 4) Which sentence is correct? 9) Which sentence is correct? a) In the evening I watch TV. a) Judy reads often magazines. b) I watch TV in the evening. b) Judy often reads magazines. c) Both sentences are correct.
4 C) Both sentences are correct. 5) Which sentence is correct? 10) Which sentence is correct? a) Who are you waiting for? a) We saw last Wednesday a film. b) For who are you waiting? b) Last Wednesday we saw a film. c) Both sentences are correct. c) Both sentences are correct. E — Define the unerlined words /phrases. 1) We often play in the gym. 6) Do you like cornflakes? a) subject a) auxiliary b) verb b) object c) adverb of frequency c) subject d) place d) verb 2) I can sing well. 7) James is telling jokes. a) auxiliary a) subject b) verb b) verb c) adverb c) object d) subject I can’t go to the party. 3) Who was in the cinema? a) subject a) verb b) auxiliary b) place c) place c) question word d) verb 4) Every Friday he goes to the club. 9) Why do you buy comics? a) time a) auxiliary b) subject b) question word c) place c) subject d) verb d) object e) verb 5) Emma often arrives late at school.
5 A) subject 10) Jack flew to Detroit in 2004. b) adverb of frequency a) subject c) place b) time d) verb c) verb e) time d) place LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE. Word order — Test — page 2.
In English, the word order is strict. That means we can’t place parts of the sentence wherever we want, but we should follow some certain rules when making sentences. These rules apply not only to formal language but also to everyday spoken English. So, we should learn and always follow them.
Direct word order and inversion
When the sentence is positive (affirmative), the word order is direct. That means the verb follows the subject.
Examples
Caroline is a local celebrity. Caroline = subject, is = verb
We work remotely. We = subject, work = verb
You have been learning Spanish for two years. You= subject, have been learning = verb
In questions (interrogative sentences) the subject and the verb swap places. We call it indirect word order, or inversion.
Examples
Am I right? WRONG I am right?
How old are they? WRONG How old they are?
What day is it today? WRONG What day it is today?
If there is an auxiliary verb, its first word will precede the subject.
Examples
Are you sleeping?
Have you read my message?
Will you help me, please?
Has anyone been looking for me?
Will he have finished the job by 5 o’clock?
Direct and indirect objects
The object normally goes right after the verb. We don’t put any other words between them.
I like my job very much. WRONG like very much my job
He meets his friends every Friday. WRONG meets every Friday his friends
In the examples above, the object is direct. A direct object answers the question «whom» or «what» and there is no preposition after the verb. If we can’t put the object without a preposition (talk to smb, agree with smb, rely on smb), the object is indirect.
I’m not satisfied with my test score.
Let’s talk about the new project.
Now, if we have two objects, one is indirect and the other is direct, then the direct object has the priority to go first.
The professor explained the concept to the students. WRONG to the student the concept
He said nothing about those errors. WRONG about those errors nothing
If there are two direct objects and one of them is a pronoun, the pronoun goes behind the verb.
Could you show me the way, please? WRONG the way me
They wished her luck. WRONG luck her
Place and time
Expressions of time and place usually go together after the verb and the object (if there is one). We first indicate the place (where, where to) and then the time (when, how often, how long).
Examples
We go {to the theatre} {every month}. where=to the theatre, how often=every month
There were lots of people {in the park} {on Sunday}. where=in the park, when=on Sunday
Jim will give me a lift {to the station} {after the meeting}. where to=to the station, when=after the meeting
lt is often possible to put time at the beginning of the sentence.
At this time tomorrow, we’ll be going to the airport.
Sometimes I want to be alone.
Summary
Let’s briefly sum up the rules:
- Positive sentence: subject + verb. Question sentence: verb + subject
- Do not split the verb and the object
- Direct objects go before the indirect objects
- If one of two direct objects is a pronoun, it goes first
- Place goes before time
English
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English Grammar ExercisesThe boxed number (
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Normally, sentences in the English language take a simple form. However, there are times it would be a little complex. In these cases, the basic rules for how words appear in a sentence can help you.
Word order typically refers to the way the words in a sentence are arranged. In the English language, the order of words is important if you wish to accurately and effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas.
Although there are some exceptions to these rules, this article aims to outline some basic sentence structures that can be used as templates. Also, the article provides the rules for the ordering of adverbs and adjectives in English sentences.
Basic Sentence Structure and word order rules in English
For English sentences, the simple rule of thumb is that the subject should always come before the verb followed by the object. This rule is usually referred to as the SVO word order, and then most sentences must conform to this. However, it is essential to know that this rule only applies to sentences that have a subject, verb, and object.
For example
Subject + Verb + Object
He loves food
She killed the rat
Sentences are usually made of at least one clause. A clause is a string of words with a subject(noun) and a predicate (verb). A sentence with just one clause is referred to as a simple sentence, while those with more than one clause are referred to as compound sentences, complex sentences, or compound-complex sentences.
The following is an explanation and example of the most commonly used clause patterns in the English language.
Inversion
InversionThe English word order is inverted in questions. The subject changes its place in a question. Also, English questions usually begin with a verb or a helping verb if the verb is complex.
For example
Verb + Subject + object
Can you finish the assignment?
Did you go to work?
Intransitive Verbs
Some sentences use verbs that require no object or nothing else to follow them. These verbs are generally referred to as intransitive verbs. With intransitive verbs, you can form the most basic sentences since all that is required is a subject (made of one noun) and a predicate (made of one verb).
For example
Subject + verb
John eats
Christine fights
Linking Verbs
Linking verbs are verbs that connect a subject to the quality of the subject. Sentences that use linking verbs usually contain a subject, the linking verb and a subject complement or predicate adjective in this order.
For example
Subject + verb + Subject complement/Predicate adjective
The dress was beautiful
Her voice was amazing
Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are verbs that tell what the subject did to something else. Sentences that use transitive verbs usually contain a subject, the transitive verb, and a direct object, usually in this order.
For example
Subject + Verb + Direct object
The father slapped his son
The teacher questioned his students
Indirect Objects
Sentences with transitive verbs can have a mixture of direct and indirect objects. Indirect objects are usually the receiver of the action or the audience of the direct object.
For example
Subject + Verb + IndirectObject + DirectObject
He gave the man a good job.
The singer gave the crowd a spectacular concert.
The order of direct and indirect objects can also be reversed. However, for the reversal of the order, there needs to be the inclusion of the preposition “to” before the indirect object. The addition of the preposition transforms the indirect object into what is called a prepositional phrase.
For example
Subject + Verb + DirectObject + Preposition + IndirectObject
He gave a lot of money to the man
The singer gave a spectacular concert to the crowd.
Adverbials
Adverbs are phrases or words that modify or qualify a verb, adjective, or other adverbs. They typically provide information on the when, where, how, and why of an action. Adverbs are usually very difficult to place as they can be in different positions in a sentence. Changing the placement of an adverb in a sentence can change the meaning or emphasis of that sentence.
Therefore, adverbials should be placed as close as possible to the things they modify, generally before the verbs.
For example
He hastily went to work.
He hurriedly ate his food.
However, if the verb is transitive, then the adverb should come after the transitive verb.
For example
John sat uncomfortably in the examination exam.
She spoke quietly in the class
The adverb of place is usually placed before the adverb of time
For example
John goes to work every morning
They arrived at school very late
The adverb of time can also be placed at the beginning of a sentence
For example
On Sunday he is traveling home
Every evening James jogs around the block
When there is more than one verb in the sentence, the adverb should be placed after the first verb.
For example
Peter will never forget his first dog
She has always loved eating rice.
Adjectives
Adjectives commonly refer to words that are used to describe someone or something. Adjectives can appear almost anywhere in the sentence.
Adjectives can sometimes appear after the verb to be
For example
He is fat
She is big
Adjectives can also appear before a noun.
For example
A big house
A fat boy
However, some sentences can contain more than one adjective to describe something or someone. These adjectives have an order in which they can appear before a now. The order is
Opinion – size – physical quality – shape – condition – age – color – pattern – origin – material – type – purpose
If more than one adjective is expected to come before a noun in a sentence, then it should follow this order. This order feels intuitive for native English speakers. However, it can be a little difficult to unpack for non-native English speakers.
For example
The ugly old woman is back
The dirty red car parked outside your house
When more than one adjective comes after a verb, it is usually connected by and
For example
The room is dark and cold
Having said that, Susan is tall and big
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