say-past

Word Order Practice

Listen to each sentence and arrange the words in the correct order. Click on words to move them to your answer area.

Green checkmark (✓) means your current word order is correct so far. Red X (✗) means there's an error in the order.

Why Word Order Matters in English

Word order is crucial in English because it affects meaning. Unlike some languages that use case endings or particles to show word relationships, English relies heavily on word order to convey meaning.

This exercise helps you:

  • Internalize English sentence patterns
  • Recognize how grammar patterns fit into sentences
  • Develop a natural feel for correct English structure
  • Improve both listening and grammar simultaneously
1 ✓ ✗
0
/4
softly things said Colleen
Colleen said things softly
Listen
2 ✓ ✗
0
/7
everyone when she Yet talked her heard
Yet when she talked everyone heard her
Listen
3 ✓ ✗
0
/13
for it important It volume that her was not was the tone was
It was not the volume that was important for her it was tone
Listen
4 ✓ ✗
0
/14
message that was tone it something Colleen said the When important very her conveyed
When Colleen said something her tone conveyed the message that it was very important
Listen
5 ✓ ✗
0
/12
how said properly not to talk many did know that officials She
She said that many officials did not know how to talk properly
Listen
6 ✓ ✗
0
/23
things with it too volume they did the importance things they and when enough not much of and stress said said They urgency
They said things with too much urgency and volume and when they said things they did not stress the importance of it enough
Listen
7 ✓ ✗
0
/22
said was people her disagreed louder increases with volume important When she more only noise and the that flatly Saying things said
When people disagreed with her and said that volume was more important she flatly said Saying things louder only increases the noise
Listen
8 ✓ ✗
0
/4
had She opinions strong
She had strong opinions
Listen

Tips for Effective Practice

  1. Always listen to the audio first before attempting to order the words
  2. Pay attention to common patterns like subject-verb-object
  3. Notice how grammar patterns are positioned in sentences
  4. If you make a mistake, use it as a learning opportunity - try to understand why the correct order is different
  5. After completing each sentence, listen to the audio again while reading your correctly ordered sentence

More Grammar Practice

After mastering this word order exercise, continue with these related grammar practice stories: