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TOEFL iBT

Build a Sentence

Word order in questions, replies and reported speech.

12 minutes · A free lesson from Writing

You see one person's line and a set of words and phrases. You put them in order to make the other person's reply. It tests grammar — especially word order.

Lesson quiz

Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.

Quick check: Which is correct?

  1. She told us it would be open.
  2. She told us would it be open.
  3. She told us it be would open.
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A: She told us it would be open. — Reported speech uses statement order, not question order.

Quick check: Which sentence follows the usual order, with place before time?

  1. I went yesterday to the library.
  2. Yesterday to the library I went.
  3. I went to the library yesterday.
Show the answer

C: I went to the library yesterday. — Place usually comes before time at the end of a sentence.

Quick check: What should you find first?

  1. The longest word
  2. The subject and the verb
  3. The last word
Show the answer

B: The subject and the verb — Build the core of the sentence, then add the rest.

Practise: Build a Sentence
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