The Volunteer

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
/10
in a joined his community Alex group city service volunteer
Alex joined a volunteer community service group in his city
Listen
2
0
/14
is neighbourhood and He wants fond of to his even it better very make
He is very fond of his neighbourhood and wants to make it even better
Listen
3
0
/13
old are group cleaning an now up they and down tore The building
The group tore down an old building and now they are cleaning up
Listen
4
0
/17
They needed only taken it on to out this long weekends a and carry service has time
They needed to carry out this service only on weekends and it has taken a long time
Listen
5
0
/26
was down could with didn't the tear old neighbourhood have but volunteers labour not it they to so buildings cheaper afford his to Normally pay for
Normally his neighbourhood could not afford to tear down old buildings but with the volunteers they didn't have to pay for labour so it was cheaper
Listen
6
0
/9
of are proud accomplishment and Alex their friends his
Alex and his friends are proud of their accomplishment
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