Jim and the Boys

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
/7
boys trouble and were Jim having the
Jim and the boys were having trouble
Listen
2
0
/13
an their on when mansion were They old visited boss on repairs working
They were working on repairs on an old mansion when their boss visited
Listen
3
0
/8
man across always a He comes difficult as
He always comes across as a difficult man
Listen
4
0
/14
told fast not they with they and He them working were him enough argued
He told them they were not working fast enough and they argued with him
Listen
5
0
/15
They Let's with along they said him talk over finally wanted it to so get
They wanted to get along with him so they finally said Let's talk it over
Listen
6
0
/10
and boss Their stood up and agreed left he suddenly
Their boss agreed and suddenly he stood up and left
Listen
7
0
/16
had back returned brought with them a and pizza minutes he to share Fifteen later he
Fifteen minutes later he returned and he had brought back a pizza to share with them
Listen
8
0
/12
get along after he decided that to with was all easy They
They decided that he was easy to get along with after all
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