Word order in english sentence exercise

The standard order of words in an English sentence is subject + verb + object. While this sounds simple, there are far more complicated sentences where placing the words in the right order may turn out quite challenging. 

Here we have prepared three types of interactive exercises created on Learning Apps and suitable for the Intermediate level.

Task 1. Choose the correct word order of the sentences

This exercise presents two options of sentences in which one sentence has the correct word order while the other does not. Here students get a general understanding of word order in English.

Task 2. Put the words in the correct order

Here students go deeper and have more practice with the word order in English. In the exercise, they will find examples with different types of adjectives, adverbs, indirect questions, etc.

Task 3. Complete the questions with the correct question tags

The last exercise aims to check how well your students know the rules of question tags.

Share with us in the comments below how effective the exercises were and how you usually practise word order with your Intermediate students.

Read as well:

WORD ORDER

1. Put the words in the right order.

1. like, he, his homework, in the evening, doesn’t, he, to do

2. usually, we, on weekends, meet, friends, our

3. is, table, sitting, he, the, at

4. didn’t, to, Peter, party, the, go

5. in, we, New Year, celebrate, December

6. used, children, computer, play, to, games.

7. school, on, weekends, we, don’t, to, go

8. can, help, cake, to, the, I, you, cook

9. are, they, to, next, going, visit, Paris, summer

10. Mike, the, is, Internet, now, surfing

1. Put the words in the right order in sentences.

1. to the park, go, I, won’t, I, have, if, much work

2. the weather, fine, is, if, tomorrow, will go, on, we, a picnic

3. if, save, enough, I, will, money, buy, car, a new

4.pass, my exams, I, if, will, to, I, the University, go

5. I, my work, when, finish, watch, I, TV, will

1. Find mistakes in the sentences and write down correct ones.

1. My mother me walk after 9 o’clock told not to in the evening.

_________________________________________________________________

2. Michael promised with homework to help me.

_________________________________________________________________

3. were reading a book for two hours they.

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. We at 7 o’clock in the morning get up.

__________________________________________________________________

5. I usually don’t go on weekdays to the shop.

__________________________________________________________________

Andy and Jane came home from shopping on Saturday to find their house had been burgled. A police officer has come to investigate the crime.

OFFICER:  You say you’re not sure how the thieves got in. Before I look round, can I ask you a few questions about the house?

ANDY:       Of course.

OFFICER:  (1) Do you lock the front door when you go out? (always)

                   …Do you always lock the front door when you go out?……

ANDY:       (2) Yes, and I locked it yesterday. (definitely)

                   …Yes, and I definitely locked it yesterday. ……

OFFICER:  OK. What about the windows?

ANDY:       (3) Well, the downstairs ones are locked. (always)

                   ……………………………………………………..

JANE:        (4) We have a lock on the little one in the hall. (even)

                   ……………………………………………………..

OFFICER:  And upstairs?

JANE:        (5) Well, I think most of the windows were locked. (probably)

                   ……………………………………………………..

ANDY:       (6) They were locked on Friday. (all)

                   ……………………………………………………..

JANE:        Are you sure?

ANDY:       (7) Yes, I knew we would be out all day, so I checked them all. (both)

                   ……………………………………………………..

OFFICER:  And you didn’t open any on Friday night?

ANDY:       (8) No, I didn’t. (certainly)

                   ……………………………………………………..

OFFICER:  Well, let’s have a look round.

           Упражнения «Порядок слов в предложениях»
(Word order)

1. Расставьте слова в
предложениях по порядку.

1.    
usually / at 10 o’clock / out of the garage / in the morning /
drives / his bike / Fred

2.    
a shower / after dinner / often / Mrs Lewis / takes

3.    
a parking place / near the library / we / find / seldom

4.    
to / I / on / a / night-club / sometimes / Saturdays / go

5.    
fly / my parents / to Australia / sometimes / I / in winter /
and

6.    
enjoys / very much / swimming / in the pool / always / Mary

7.    
hardly / last year / could / skate / I

8.    
is / near / house / there / new / a / our / cinema

9.    
got / my / problems / I / with / have / home-task / some

10. well / think / your / very / I / don’t / sister / drives

11. to / parents / once / the theatre / month / my / a / go

12. his / car / two / ago / Jim / sold / years

13. necklace / can’t / anywhere / Cindy / her / find

14. been / to / India / Mike / has / year / already / this

15. lunch / never / weekdays / she / has / on

2. Переведите.

1.    
Телевизор я смотрю редко.

2.    
На улице темно, и я скоро
поду спать.

3.    
Они что-то очень шумно
обсуждают в спальне.

4.    
Он медленно шел вдоль реки.

5.    
На уроках мы часто поем
песни.

6.    
Я тихо закрыла дверь и сразу
же пошла в ванну.

7.    
Мой дядя очень любит
рыбалку.

8.    
Анна умеет хорошо играть в
теннис.

9.    
Она все время кричит на
детей.

10. Твои книги я положу на стол.

11. Я недостаточно хорошо его знаю.

12. По телевизору много хороших фильмов сегодня.

13. В парке есть красивый фонтан.

14. В прошлый вторник было очень ветрено.

15. Эти туфли я купила в Италии.

3. Выберите верный порядок
слов в придаточной части предложений.

1.    
Could you tell us what time … (it is – is it – does it)?

2.    
Do you know when … (our bus leave – our bus leaves – does our
bus leave)?

3.    
I wonder if … (he is a doctor – is he a doctor – a doctor is he).

4.    
Do you remember what … (did Jane wear – Jane wear – Jane wore)
yesterday?

4. На основе приведенных слов
постройте предложения, соблюдая порядок слов:

1. she, won, easily, the game
2. tennis, every weekend, Ken, plays
3. quietly, the door, I, closed
4. his name, after a few minutes, I, remembered
5. a letter to her parents, Ann, writes, every week
6. some interesting books, found, we, in the library
7. across from the park, they, a new hotel, are building
8. to the bank, I, every Friday, go
9. on Saturday night, didn’t see, at the party, you, I
10. brightly, is, shining, sun, the
11. in, lives, my, sister, New York
12. a, became, doctor, good, Mary
13. a, decided, go, on, picnic, to, we

5. Отметьте предложения, в
которых нарушен порядок слов, и перестройте их в соответствии с правилами:
Образец: Tom walks every morning to work. — Tom walks to work every
morning.

1. Jim
doesn’t like very much baseball. 
2. Ann drives every day her car to work. 
3. When I heard the news, I immediately called Tom. (immediately – сразу)
4. Maria speaks very well English. 
5. After eating quickly my dinner, I went out. 
6. You watch all the time television.
7. Liz smokes about 20 cigarettes every day. 
8. I think I’ll go early to bed tonight. 
9. You should go to the dentist every six months. (should – следует)
10. We went last night to the movies.
11. We go every summer to the sea in August.
12. In the evening my parents go to the cinema with their friends.

6.
Исправьте, если это необходимо, местоположение подлежащего согласно правилу о
порядке слов в предложении.

1.    
Curly hair has her brother.                    

2.    
Steve likes cakes.

3.    
A bad cold has Jessica.

4.    
These exercises I did well.

The right arrangement of words in a sentence is very important, for the whole meaning of a sentence may suffer if the words composing it are not arranged properly.

Study the following groups of words

1. sing the tried crow to foolish
2. bad tools quarrels workman with his a

Now these groups of words do not make any sense.

Why? Because the words are not placed in their right order.

Now put the same words in the right order.

1. The foolish crow tried to sing.
2. A bad workman quarrels with his tools.

Now these groups of words make sense. Each is a sentence, because in each the words are placed in the right order.

The following is the usual order of words in a sentence :

1. The Subject usually comes before the Verb; as,
   The blind beggar cheated us.
   The people loudly cheered the Prime Minister.

Exceptions :

(i) When a sentence is introduced by there, the Subject generally comes after the Verb; as,
There has been a fall in prices.
There will be a holiday tomorrow.

(ii) When a sentence is introduced by it, the real Subject comes after the Verb; as,
It is good to be helpful to others.
It was nice to see her in good health.

1. The Object usually comes after the Verb; as,
   The hunter shot the tiger.
   She sold all her ornaments.
2. When the Verb has two Objects, one direct and the other indirect, the indirect object comes before the direct, as,
   We gave her (indirect) a prize (direct).
   The Headmaster promised the children (indirect) a holiday (direct).
3. The Complement usually comes after the Verb; as,
   They elected him captain.
   The President appointed him Governor.
   The committee appointed Advani secretary of the club.
4. When the Adjective is used attributively, it usually comes before the Noun it qualifies; as,
   The old beggar thanked the kind lady.
   Few servants like cruel masters.
5. When the Adjective is used predicatively (i.e., as part of the Predicate), it comes after its Norm; as,
   The poor beggar was very grateful.
   The children were thirsty and hungry.
6. An Adjective Phrase comes immediately after its Noun; as,
   She was a woman of noble nature.
   The king wore a crown of gold.
   My father was a man of high character.
7. An Adverb is usually placed close to the word it modifies; as,
   She always wears ornaments.
   Nothing ever happens by chance.
   He worked only three sums.
   He is rather slow but works steadily.
   NOTE: When an Adverb is intended to modify the sentence as a whole, it is placed at the beginning of a sentences; as,
   Certainly, he failed to prove his innocence.
   Fortunately all escaped unhurt.
   Possibly your opinion is correct.
8. All qualifying clauses should be placed as close as possible to the words they qualify; as,
   The boy who works hard seldom fails.
   He who is healthy is happy.
   He that is down need fear no fall.
   All that glitters is not gold.
   He died in the village where he was bom.

• The usual order of words in a sentence is sometimes altered for the sake of emphasis; as,

Blessed are the meek.

Fallen, fallen, is Babylon.

Silver and gold have I none.

Sweet are the uses of adversity.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Clashed all their sabres bare.

Slowly and sadly we laid him down.

My right there is none to dispute.

A faulty arrangement of words sometimes turns a sentence into nonsense. For example :

• He thought of marrying his cousin more than once.
• Wanted a nurse for a baby seventy years old.
• He killed a sparrow which was eating some crumbs with a gun.

The correct sentences are :

1. More than once he thought of marrying his cousin.
2. Wanted for a baby a nurse seventy years old.
3. He killed with a gun a sparrow which was eating some crumbs.

It is, therefore necessary that all the qualifying words, phrases and clauses should be placed as close as possible to the words they refer to.

Exercise 1: Rearrange the groups of words given below to form meaningful sentences :

1. together flock of a feather birds
2. me advised he law to study
3. pardon to him the judge prisoner the begged
4. a joy ever for is beauty of a thing
5. your watch by what time is the
6. can tell me you the way nearest station to the
7. prime the minister announced relief the people to all the of district
8. why to see her could not you go personally
9. policeman there stands the directing the traffic
10. have these mangoes flavour what a delicious

Exercise 2: Rewrite these sentences, inverting the usual order of words, to make them more emphatic :

1. Stone walls do not make a prison.
2. The man who has a clear conscience is happy.
3. The peacemakers are blessed.
4. You shall have money.
5. God’s way are just and true.
6. The prayers we said were few and short.
7. The piper stepped into the street.
8. I detest a liar.
9. He is happy who has found his work.
10. I honour two men, and no third.
11. The children ran hither and thither.
12. The balloon went up.
13. The wheels went round and round.
14. Charity is the greatest of these.
15. Isn’t it wonderful?

Exercise 3: Rearrange the words and phrases in the following sentences so as to make sense :

1. Lost a cane by a gentleman with a carved head.
2. Girl wanted a for telephone of decent manners and good looks.
3. A swimming pool has been built by a rich man in the park twenty metres long.
4. We left the hotel where we had been staying in a motor-car during the holidays.
5. We went to see the Taj built by Shah Jahan in our own car.
6. He tore up the affectionate letter which his mother had written to him in a fit of anger.
7. He deposited the money in a bank which he had saved his whole life.
8. The man should be brought before the magistrate who talks such nonsense.
9. His uncle sent him a watch as a birthday present who was very rich.
10. A correspondence clerk wanted for the office who knows shorthand and typewriting.
11. He received the punishment which the Headmaster gave with great cheer­fulness.
12. All the courtiers praised the queen how beautiful she was all the day long.
13. There will be a meeting of all boys in the school hall who play football at 5 o’clock.
14. Lost a ring by a girl having a diamond in it while bathing in the river.
15. I spent all the holidays at Manali in the sweet company of my family which is a hill station.

Adverb Order

Order of Adverbs is very important in English, since Adverbs can be placed in different positions in a sentence in order to obtain proper emphasis. The following represents the normal position Adverbs.

• (a) Adverbs of Manner, Place and Time.
  Examples:
  She spoke well (Manner) at the debate (Place) this evening (Time).
  The children played merrily (Manner) in the park (Place) all day j (Time).
  (b) With Verb of movement, the Adverb of Place comes immediately after the Verb.
  She went to the station by taxi.
  They go to school by bus.
  (c) The Adverb of Time is placed either at the beginning or at the end of a sentence, but not in the middle.
  1.She was born at 12 o’clock on Christmas morning in the year 1940.
  2.He died at 10 p.m. on August 14th in the year 1964.

Exercise 4: Put the adverbs in brackets in the correct places to make sensible sentences :

1. She goes to school (by bus, every morning, at 8 o’clock).
2. I told her (at once, in a loud voice, to go home).
3. Our teacher spoke to us (in class, very angrily, this morning).
4. I saw my uncle off (at 3 o’clock, at the station, this afternoon).
5. She danced (at the Town Hall, last night, beautifully, in the concert).
6. I shall meet you (tomorrow, outside your office, at 5 o’clock.)
7. We are going (fof a fortnight, to Mussoorie, on Wednesday).
8. They played (all day, noisily, in the park).
9. We slept (the whole night, soundly, on the roofs of our houses).
10. He drove (at full speed, immediately, down the road).