Word Order Practice B1

Unscramble the tiles to build correct English sentences and questions.

📐 Word Order in English

English has one of the strictest Most rigid; allowing the least freedom. From strict = exact, with no exceptions. Portuguese: mais rígido. word orders among major world languages. Unlike Spanish or Portuguese — where you can often move words around for emphasis without changing the meaning — English relies on Depends on; needs something in order to work. Example: "She relies on her dictionary." Portuguese: depende de. position to signal To show or communicate something. Used here as a verb. Example: "A red light signals danger." Portuguese: indicar, sinalizar. who does what to whom. Move a word to the wrong place and the sentence can sound unnatural, confusing, or even mean something completely different.

In Spanish or Portuguese, a sentence like "O café bebo eu de manhã" or "El café lo tomo yo por la mañana" is perfectly natural — the object is fronted Moved to the front (beginning) of the sentence for emphasis. Portuguese: topicalizado, colocado no início. for emphasis and the meaning is still clear. In English, that flexibility The ability to change or adapt easily. The adjective is flexible. Portuguese: flexibilidade. simply doesn't exist at the same level. The basic rule is fixed: Subject → Verb → Object → (Place) → (Time). Time markers and frequency adverbs have specific slots Fixed positions in a sentence where a word must go — like a seat assigned to you. Portuguese: posições fixas. , and helping verbs in questions must come before the subject — always.

LanguageWord orderExample
English Very fixed — position carries meaning "She sent the report yesterday." — no variation possible
Portuguese Flexible — pro-drop A language is "pro-drop" when the subject pronoun can be left out because the verb ending already shows who is speaking. E.g., Portuguese: "Fui ao mercado" (no eu needed). , topicalization Moving a word or phrase to the beginning of a sentence to give it extra emphasis or focus. Common in Portuguese and Spanish; very limited in English. common "O relatório ela enviou ontem." — fronting the object is natural
Spanish Flexible — subject often dropped or moved "El informe lo envió ayer." — object can lead the sentence
⚠️ Questions are even stricter.
In statements, a time phrase can sometimes move to the front — "Yesterday I saw him" is perfectly natural. But in English questions, the word order is completely fixed: Wh- word → auxiliary → subject → main verb. There is no flexibility at all. You cannot say "She where works?" or "Where works she?" — both are ungrammatical in English, even though similar structures are possible in Spanish ("¿Dónde trabaja ella?" feels natural with verb before subject) or Portuguese. In English questions, every word has one fixed place, and that place never changes.
💡 word = tap or hover for a definition
💡 How to use: Click a word tile to move it to the answer box. Click it again to send it back. You can also drag and drop. Build the sentence, then press Check.
time / frequency word helping verb Wh- word other word
Correct: 0 / 15
Part 1 — Statements: Time Markers & Objects

Exercise Complete!