Asking For Trouble

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 common phrasal verbs fit into sentences
  • Develop a natural feel for correct English structure
  • Improve both listening and grammar simultaneously
1
0
/14
on to were problems be Tucker there boss told site going the construction his
Tucker told his boss there were going to be problems on the construction site
Listen
2
0
/14
hanging young for Several men several site the gate hours around the of were
Several young men were hanging around the gate of the site for several hours
Listen
3
0
/10
didn't the called boss He believe but him his boss
He called his boss but the boss didn't believe him
Listen
4
0
/20
thought he A boss and to the up check while later figured called had he young men out his again
A while later he thought he had figured out the young men and called his boss again to check up
Listen
5
0
/12
his boss men local the said a enough mafia Sure from were
Sure enough his boss said the men were from a local mafia
Listen
6
0
/20
said would there then Tucker to asking and it wanted battle out that his for be but trouble right boss
Tucker wanted to battle it out right there and then but his boss said that would be asking for trouble
Listen
7
0
/18
decided for to police away to young the the come send and and wait they Tucker agreed men
Tucker agreed and they decided to wait for the police to come and send the young men away
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 common phrasal verbs 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