Scrambled Sentences

Students put jumbled words back in order to make a sentence. They tap or drag each word into place, check their answer and see which words are already right. It works on phones, tablets and computers, so students can do it in class or at home.

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Ideas for using it

• Word order practice. Adjective order, adverbs of frequency, question forms, time phrases: anything where English word order trips students up.
• Grammar check. Choose sentences that all use the structure from today's lesson. Students have to notice it to put the words in order.
• Useful phrases. Functional language like agreeing, making suggestions or polite requests. Students unscramble the phrase, then use it in a role play.
• Proverbs and quotes. A quick warm-up: unscramble the proverb, then discuss what it means and whether students agree.
• Homework. Turn on Homework mode when you create the activity. Students send their answers with their name, and you see each student's score and answers in My Activities.
• Lesson review. Take sentences from a text or dialogue you used in class, so students meet the language again.
• Pairs or teams. Students work in pairs on one device and race to finish first. Use Bigger text when you show it on a projector.
• Other languages. It works in any language that puts spaces between words, including Spanish ¿ and ¡ and right-to-left languages.

Tips for good sentences

• Use 5 to 12 words. Longer sentences are hard to handle on a phone.
• Check there's only one sensible order. "Yesterday I went to the cinema" and "I went to the cinema yesterday" are both correct, so the activity would mark one of them wrong.
• The first word keeps its capital letter and the full stop is fixed at the end. That gives beginners a helpful start; for stronger students, choose sentences where the middle is the real challenge.
• Up to 10 sentences per activity keeps it short enough for a warm-up or a homework task.

Make your own

Type your sentences, paste a list, or use Generate to write sentences from a topic and level. Check and edit them, then create the activity and share the link. Tick Homework mode if you want students to send you their answers.

Make a scrambled sentence activity

More in our collections

Scrambled sentences appear in several of our grammar and business English collections, alongside other activities on the same topic.

Past Continuous · Adjectives and Adverbs · Asking Questions · Functional Language · Famous Quotations & Proverbs · Numbers, Time & Dates · All collections

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