CDS English · Sentence Rearrangement
Put the describer next to what it describes
Who, which and where clauses, with-phrases and -ing phrases describe the noun right before them, so each must sit beside the noun it is about.
Why this matters
Here two or three options may all look grammatical. The right one puts every describing part next to the noun it describes. The wrong ones attach it to the wrong person or thing, and the sentence ends up saying something silly. Reading for meaning is the move that decides.
Concept 1 of 3: Who, which, where follow their noun
A part that starts with who, which, where or whom describes a noun. It must come right after that noun, or the sentence describes the wrong thing.
Definition
The terms:
- Relative word: who (for people), which (for things), where (for places), whom or that, when it starts a clause that describes the noun just before it: the soldier who saved the boy.
The method:
- Spot a part that starts with who, which, where or whom.
- Ask: who? which thing? which place? Find its noun: a person for who, a thing for which, a place for where.
- The part that ends on that noun comes right before it. Lock the pair.
- A relative clause may run on into the next part ('who has his eyes' | 'fixed on the goal'). Finish it before the main verb.
- When the sentence starts with printed words such as 'The lady', a who-part often comes straight after them, and the main verb comes after the clause.
Worked example
The sentence begins: 'The pilot'. P: was given a medal / Q: who landed the damaged plane / R: by the President / S: safely on the river. Options: (a) QSPR (b) PRQS (c) QPRS (d) SQPR
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2022 · CDS (II) 2022 — English · Q32Moderate
Example 1 · Sentence Rearrangement · Modifier Placement (PQRS)
Directions: arrange jumbled parts P, Q, R, S of a sentence
P: he urged so many to get involved
Q: who has left his mark
R: this is the final word of an educational philosopher
S: on a world in which
Grammatical but about the wrong person
A who-clause placed after the wrong noun still reads as English. But it describes the wrong person. Always ask who the clause is about, and check that the clause touches that noun.
who for things, which for people
who points to a person and which to a thing. If the only noun before a who-part is a thing, that order is wrong.
Cutting the clause short
A relative clause needs its own verb and its own end. If 'who has his eyes' is followed by the main verb, the clause is left unfinished. The part that completes it ('fixed on the goal') must come first.
Concept 2 of 3: Describing phrases sit beside their noun
Not every describer starts with who. 'with noisy exhausts', 'bulging with sandwiches' and 'one of the greatest poets' describe a noun too. Each one must sit beside the noun it is about.
Definition
The terms:
- Modifier: any word or phrase that describes something.
- Participle phrase: a describing phrase built on an -ing or -ed form of a verb: bulging with food, living on its surface, channelled into rivers.
- Appositive: a noun phrase that renames the noun beside it: Iqbal, one of the greatest poets of modern India.
- Misplaced modifier: a modifier put next to the wrong noun, so the sentence says something you did not mean.
The method:
- For each describing part, ask: who or what is described?
- Put it right after that noun (an appositive or a phrase with a comma may sit right before it).
- If two orders are both grammatical, read both and ask what each one says. Keep the one where every describer touches its own noun.
- 'such as' gives examples of the noun just before it: organs, such as the lungs or the liver.
Worked example
Arrange the parts into one sentence. P: grazing in the meadow / Q: from the top of the hill / R: we saw / S: a herd of deer. Options: (a) QRSP (b) RSQP (c) QSPR (d) PQRS
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (II) 2017 — English · Q33Moderate
Example 2 · Sentence Rearrangement · Modifier Placement (PQRS)
Directions: rearrange jumbled parts P,Q,R,S
The dentist
P: with a severe tooth-ache
Q: when he was brought to hospital
R: extracted Manish's tooth
S: and relieved his pain
Two grammatical orders
When two options both read as English, do not pick the first one. Ask what each one says. The wrong one usually gives a feature to the wrong person: a shivering coat, a hill full of grazing deer.
A dangling -ing phrase at the start
An -ing phrase that opens the sentence describes the noun right after the comma. 'Grazing in the meadow, we saw the deer' makes us the grazers. Move the phrase next to its real noun.
Splitting a phrase from its noun
A time or place phrase pushed between a noun and its describer ('the deer from the hill grazing') breaks the link. Keep the noun and its describer together and put the other phrase elsewhere.
Concept 3 of 3: Time, manner and agent phrases: where they cannot mislead
Phrases that say when, how much or by whom can move about more freely than other parts, but not anywhere. Put each one next to the word or event it belongs to, so the sentence cannot be misread.
Definition
The terms:
- Adverbial: a word or phrase that tells when, where, how, how much or by whom: in 1965, by the committee, only, quietly.
The method:
- Ask what the adverbial belongs to: the whole action, one verb, or one word.
- A time phrase for the whole action goes at the end or at the start. If there are two events, each time phrase sits next to its own event.
- A word that limits, such as only, just or even, sits right before the word it limits: only two guards.
- A by-phrase that names the doer follows its passive verb: was approved by the committee.
- If an adverbial could belong to two verbs, choose the place where it can only mean one thing.
Worked example
Arrange the parts into one sentence. P: who had served in the war / Q: in 1965 / R: the village honoured the soldiers / S: at a function last week. Options: (a) RPQS (b) RQPS (c) RSPQ (d) RPSQ
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (I) 2017 — English · Q1Moderate
Example 3 · Sentence Rearrangement · Modifier Placement (PQRS)
Directions: rearrange jumbled parts P,Q,R,S into correct sentence
P: he
Q: almost
R: planned the entire strategy of operation
S: single-handed
A time phrase next to the wrong event
With two events in one sentence, a time phrase dates the event it touches. Put each time phrase beside its own event, or the sentence gives the wrong date.
A limiting word in the wrong slot
'Only the captain spoke to the men' and 'the captain spoke only to the men' mean different things. only, just and even limit the word right after them.
Choosing an order that can be misread
Sometimes two orders are both grammatical. The answer is the one that cannot be misread: each phrase sits where it can belong to only one word.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Watch out for (9)
- Grammatical but about the wrong person→ Who, which, where follow their noun
- who for things, which for people→ Who, which, where follow their noun
- Cutting the clause short→ Who, which, where follow their noun
- Two grammatical orders→ Describing phrases sit beside their noun
- A dangling -ing phrase at the start→ Describing phrases sit beside their noun
- Splitting a phrase from its noun→ Describing phrases sit beside their noun
- A time phrase next to the wrong event→ Time, manner and agent phrases: where they cannot mislead
- A limiting word in the wrong slot→ Time, manner and agent phrases: where they cannot mislead
- Choosing an order that can be misread→ Time, manner and agent phrases: where they cannot mislead
Test yourself on Sentence Rearrangement
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.