Nervous Times

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
/18
they fell May to until their rich were going The were through plans Anna be confident and twins
The twins Anna and May were confident they were going to be rich until their plans fell through
Listen
2
0
/21
day during and coming the insurance planned home and poison to collect them on They the husbands their they not counted
They counted on their husbands not coming home during the day and they planned to poison them and collect the insurance
Listen
3
0
/18
their and did might possibility husbands their finish day out They work the husbands one early left that
They left out the possibility that their husbands might finish work early and one day their husbands did
Listen
4
0
/15
of and they run to places are out are running away they to running Now
Now they are running away and they are running out of places to run to
Listen
5
0
/11
while jobs they tough are They hiding in physical are doing
They are doing tough physical jobs while they are in hiding
Listen
6
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/18
but relatives They wait help out they that is will not are some them it hoping fun while
They are hoping that some relatives will help them out but it is not fun while they wait
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