Words Need an Order

Words in a pile

Read this.

“song a sings Ava”

Every word you need is right there. Four words. But it says nothing. Your brain trips over it.

Now read the same four words in a different order.

“Ava sings a song.”

Nothing was added. Nothing was taken away. Only the order changed, and now it works.

Order is part of the sentence

Words in English go in a certain order. When they do, a reader can follow them. When they do not, the reader has to stop and guess.

So a sentence needs two things:

• the right words
• those words in an order that makes sense

Having the right words is not enough on its own.

Say it out loud

Reading out loud is the fastest way to hear a bad order. Try these.

Words	How it sounds	In order
naps dog small the	bumpy and stuck	The small dog naps.
cold are hands my	backwards	My hands are cold.
fast runs Leo	almost right	Leo runs fast.

Look at the last one. It was close. Only one word was out of place. A group of words can be nearly right and still not work.

Words to know

• word order: the order the words go in
• makes sense: a reader can follow it without stopping to guess

Your turn

Read each group of words out loud. Say in order or mixed up.

1. “The pot is hot.”
2. “swim ducks six”
3. “Leo drops his cup.”
4. “bus the stops”
5. “My kite flies high.”

Check your answers

1. In order.
2. Mixed up. It should be “Six ducks swim.”
3. In order.
4. Mixed up. It should be “The bus stops.”
5. In order.

Remember

• Having all the right words is not enough.
• The words have to go in an order a reader can follow.
• Reading out loud helps you hear when the order is wrong.