Grammar
How to learn word order in a new language
English, German, Japanese and Turkish all place the verb differently. Practice beats explanation.
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Updated · by the 4ToSpeak team
Lesson preview
Step 4Estoy cansado.
I am tired.
- Order
- Translate
- Listen
- Speak
Say it out loud. Green landed, yellow was close.
Start freeWhat works
- Rebuild shuffled sentences from a word bank.
- Translate in both directions, not just into English.
- Say the sentence afterwards so the order is in your mouth, not only your eyes.
- Notice patterns: where the verb goes, where the adjective sits.
Examples of different orders
English puts the verb second in simple sentences. German also places the verb second in main clauses but sends it to the end in many others. Japanese and Korean place the verb last. Spanish often drops the subject pronoun.
Should I learn grammar rules first?
A short overview helps. Most of the skill, though, comes from meeting and producing many sentences.
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Now say it out loud
Reading teaches you what it looks like. Speaking teaches you to say it. Practise in full sentences, free, no card.