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
her heard talked Yet everyone when she
Yet when she talked everyone heard her
Listen
3 ✓ ✗
0
/13
was the her tone it for important not that was was It volume
It was not the volume that was important for her it was tone
Listen
4 ✓ ✗
0
/14
it very tone the that message important Colleen conveyed was said her When something
When Colleen said something her tone conveyed the message that it was very important
Listen
5 ✓ ✗
0
/12
She did said to know properly officials talk that not how many
She said that many officials did not know how to talk properly
Listen
6 ✓ ✗
0
/23
and the with They volume much they too enough things and when did it they not stress said importance things urgency of said
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
flatly said she louder things noise that volume the When with people was Saying only more disagreed and increases said important her
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
strong had opinions She
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: