CDS English · Sentence Rearrangement
Join the subject to its verb
A jumbled sentence is rebuilt around its core: find who or what the sentence is about, join it to the verb that agrees with it, then attach the other parts.
Why this matters
CDS English papers set a block of items where one sentence is cut into four parts, P, Q, R and S, and you pick the right order from four options. In most of them the fastest first move is the subject and its verb. Once those two parts are locked together, two or three options usually fall away at once.
Concept 1 of 2: A subject needs its verb
Definition
The item:
- One sentence is cut into four parts, labelled P, Q, R and S. Sometimes a few words are printed before P; then the sentence starts with them.
- Four options give four orders, such as (a) RQSP. Only one of them makes a correct, natural sentence.
The terms:
- Subject: the person or thing the sentence is about: the members of the club, fruit and vegetables, some archaeologists.
- Verb: the word that says what the subject does or is: have sent, are, held.
- Lock a pair: decide that two parts must sit side by side, one right after the other.
The routine:
- Find the part that holds the subject. It is usually a noun phrase with no verb of its own.
- Find the part that holds its verb. The verb must agree: a plural subject takes are, have, were; a singular one takes is, has, was.
- Lock the pair: subject part, then verb part.
- Now look at the options. Keep only those that have the pair side by side, in that order. Usually one or two survive.
- Attach the other parts where they make sense, then read the survivor from start to end as one sentence.
- If one part holds both the subject and its verb (he wrote, the camel uses), it usually opens the sentence. Then ask what must come after that verb.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Sentence Rearrangement · Subject and Verb (PQRS)
Agreeing with the nearest noun
Opening with a verb part
Two noun phrases, one subject
Stopping after the pair
Concept 2 of 2: Is, has, has been: finish the verb
Definition
The terms:
- Helping verb: a short verb such as is, was, are, has, has been, will be or should have been. It joins the subject to a description, or helps a main verb (has brought, is practised).
- Complement: the word or phrase after is, was, seems or becomes that says what the subject is: the road was narrow; he became a captain.
The method:
- Spot a part that ends on a helping verb.
- It needs something right after it: a complement (an adjective or a noun phrase), or the main verb (brought back, considered).
- Find the part that can follow it, and lock the pair.
- A part that ends on a helping verb can never close the sentence. Strike any option that puts it last.
- 'there is', 'there will be' need the thing that exists right after them: there will be a meeting.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Sentence Rearrangement · Subject and Verb (PQRS)
Putting the helping-verb part last
Taking the wrong word after the helping verb
there is with a plural noun
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 (7)
- Agreeing with the nearest noun→ A subject needs its verb
- Opening with a verb part→ A subject needs its verb
- Two noun phrases, one subject→ A subject needs its verb
- Stopping after the pair→ A subject needs its verb
- Putting the helping-verb part last→ Is, has, has been: finish the verb
- Taking the wrong word after the helping verb→ Is, has, has been: finish the verb
- there is with a plural noun→ Is, has, has been: finish the verb
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.