In What Is a Sentence? you learned that a sentence tells who or what, and what happens. The words also need to go in an order that makes sense.
Most telling sentences start with who or what, then tell what happens, then tell more, like where.
| Who or what | What happens | More |
|---|---|---|
| The dog | digs | in the yard. |
| Grandma | bakes | a cake. |
| A bird | sings | in the tree. |
Key idea
Put the words in an order that makes sense: usually who or what first, then what happens. Read it aloud to check.
Why it works
In English, the order of words carries meaning. “The dog chased the cat.” and “The cat chased the dog.” use the same words, but they tell different stories. Mixed-up words leave the reader guessing.
Worked example: Fix the order
The words are mixed up: “sings bird a tree the in”
- Who or what? A bird.
- What happens? It sings.
- Where? In the tree.
- Put them together and add a capital and a period.
Answer: “A bird sings in the tree.”
Common mistake
Writing words in the order you think of them, like “Ball the kicked Sam.” Read your sentence aloud. If it doesn’t sound like talking, move the words around.
For the grown-up. Writing sentences on strips of paper and cutting them into word cards makes a good game. Mix them up and let your child rebuild the sentence, then read it aloud together.