CDS English · Sentence Rearrangement
What a verb takes next
Many verbs must be followed by something specific: an object, a that-clause, or to plus a verb. Find the part that supplies it and lock it after the verb.
Why this matters
Once the subject and the verb are joined, the next question is what comes after the verb. A verb like reported, ordered or uses fixes what follows it, so the part that supplies it is the next link in the chain. This settles the options that the subject-and-verb pair alone could not.
Concept 1 of 3: A doing verb takes its object
Many verbs need a noun after them: the thing that is built, sold or visited. If a part ends on such a verb, the next part must give that noun, and nothing else may come between them.
Definition
The terms:
- Object: the noun or noun phrase that receives the action of the verb: they built a bridge; she visited the old fort.
The method:
- Read the last word of each part. A part that ends on a verb like made, built, sold, visit or recognizing wants its object next.
- Find the part that gives a sensible object: something that can be built, sold or visited.
- Lock the pair: verb part, then object part.
- A verb inside a describing clause ('who are building', 'that he ordered') still needs its object right after it.
- Then attach the other parts, such as time, place and reason, after the object.
Worked example
Arrange the parts into one sentence. P: a new bridge / Q: the engineers who are building / R: over the river / S: have asked for more time. Options: (a) QPRS (b) QSPR (c) PRQS (d) QRPS
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (II) 2019 — English · Q76Moderate
Example 1 · Sentence Rearrangement · Verb Patterns (PQRS)
Directions: rearrange the jumbled parts P Q R S
P: the company are often asked
Q: the formal or informal interviews
R: employees who are leaving
S: for their opinions during
A phrase between the verb and its object
'praised in the evening the players' sounds wrong because the object is pushed away from its verb. In these items the object comes straight after the verb; time and place phrases come after the object.
An object that fits the grammar but not the meaning
In 'the farmer sold / the market / his crop', the words 'sold the market' have the right shape but make no sense. Test the meaning of verb + object, not just the grammar.
Missing a verb at the end of a long part
The verb that needs an object may be the very last word of a long part: 'on reaching', 'by recognizing'. Read the last word of each part, not only the first.
Concept 2 of 3: Said, found, suggested: the that-clause follows
Verbs of saying, thinking and finding (said, believe, found out, reported, forecasts) report an idea. The idea comes in a clause that starts with that, and it follows the verb directly.
Definition
The terms:
- That-clause: a group of words that starts with that and has its own subject and verb. It says what was said, thought or found: she said that the road was closed.
The method:
- Spot a part that ends on a reporting verb: said, believe, found out, reported, announced, forecasts, seeing.
- The part that starts with that comes right after it. Lock the pair.
- Then finish the that-clause. It needs its own subject and verb, and often a time, place or comparison to close it.
- that after a noun ('the fact that', 'a quality that') is different. It belongs to that noun, so the noun part comes right before it.
Worked example
Arrange the parts into one sentence. P: that the bridge was unsafe / Q: the engineers reported / R: for heavy trucks / S: after the floods. Options: (a) QPRS (b) QRPS (c) PQSR (d) QSRP
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2024 · CDS (I) 2024 — English · Q28Easy
Example 2 · Sentence Rearrangement · Verb Patterns (PQRS)
Directions: rearrange jumbled parts P,Q,R,S of the sentence
P: a decade sooner than 2050
Q: that the population will peak
R: the second scenario suggested
S: at 8.5 billion by 2040
Splitting the verb from its that-clause
When one part ends on a reporting verb and another starts with that, put them together. An option that pushes a time or place phrase between them is almost always wrong.
Leaving the that-clause unfinished
'that some of the cadets were going to' has no end yet: going to where? The part that finishes the clause comes next, before anything else.
Reading every that as reporting
In 'the fact that' or 'a quality that varies', that describes the noun before it. Do not look for a reporting verb; look for the noun, and lock the noun part before the that-part.
Concept 3 of 3: Verb + to, verb + X as Y
Some verbs and nouns are followed by to plus a verb: ordered to pay, launched to provide. Others take two items joined by as: use X as Y. Know the pattern and two parts click together.
Definition
The terms:
- Verb pattern: what a verb must have after it, fixed by usage: order someone to do something; use something as something.
- To + verb: to followed by the plain form of a verb: to pay, to provide, to think.
How to use the table:
- If a part ends on to, the next part must begin with a plain verb.
- If a part begins with to + verb, find the word that wants it: ordered, launched, guidelines, push someone.
- With use and regard the order is fixed: the verb, then the thing, then as + what it is used or seen as. The as-part never comes before the thing.
| Pattern | What follows | In the tested sentence | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| regard X as Y | the thing, then as + what it is seen as | he regarded his major achievements as mere stepping stones for the next advance | 2019 (II) |
| be ordered to + verb | to + the action required | Pepsico was ordered to compensate the woman for refusing her the prize money | 2019 (I) |
| use X as Y | the thing, then as + its role | the camel uses fat as a source of energy during its long journey in the desert | 2022 (II) |
| guidelines to + verb | to + what the guidelines do | ... were notified in 2020, with guidelines to facilitate the present and prospective entrepreneurs | 2025 (II) |
| push someone to + verb | the person, then to + the action | ... shown in a way that may push the viewers to think that they are watching a programme | 2025 (II) |
| be launched to + verb | to + the purpose | Ujjwala 2.0 was launched in 2021 to provide additional one crore LPG connections | 2025 (II) |
A part ending on to needs a plain verb next. With use and regard, the thing comes before as.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (II) 2019 — English · Q87Moderate
Example 3 · Sentence Rearrangement · Verb Patterns (PQRS)
Directions: rearrange the jumbled parts P Q R S
P: as mere stepping stones
Q: his major achievements
R: for the next advance
S: he regarded
as before the thing
'used as fuel the wood' puts the as-part too early. With use and regard the order is verb, thing, as-part: used the wood as fuel.
Something other than a plain verb after to
In these patterns to is part of the verb: to pay, to provide, to think. A part that starts with a noun or an -ing form cannot follow a part that ends on this to.
A part ending on to placed last
'with guidelines to' or 'push the viewers to' is unfinished. It can never close the sentence; strike any option that puts it last.
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.
Reference tables (1)
Verb + to, verb + X as Y6 rows
| Pattern | What follows | In the tested sentence | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| regard X as Y | the thing, then as + what it is seen as | he regarded his major achievements as mere stepping stones for the next advance | 2019 (II) |
| be ordered to + verb | to + the action required | Pepsico was ordered to compensate the woman for refusing her the prize money | 2019 (I) |
| use X as Y | the thing, then as + its role | the camel uses fat as a source of energy during its long journey in the desert | 2022 (II) |
| guidelines to + verb | to + what the guidelines do | ... were notified in 2020, with guidelines to facilitate the present and prospective entrepreneurs | 2025 (II) |
| push someone to + verb | the person, then to + the action | ... shown in a way that may push the viewers to think that they are watching a programme | 2025 (II) |
| be launched to + verb | to + the purpose | Ujjwala 2.0 was launched in 2021 to provide additional one crore LPG connections | 2025 (II) |
A part ending on to needs a plain verb next. With use and regard, the thing comes before as.
Watch out for (9)
- A phrase between the verb and its object→ A doing verb takes its object
- An object that fits the grammar but not the meaning→ A doing verb takes its object
- Missing a verb at the end of a long part→ A doing verb takes its object
- Splitting the verb from its that-clause→ Said, found, suggested: the that-clause follows
- Leaving the that-clause unfinished→ Said, found, suggested: the that-clause follows
- Reading every that as reporting→ Said, found, suggested: the that-clause follows
- as before the thing→ Verb + to, verb + X as Y
- Something other than a plain verb after to→ Verb + to, verb + X as Y
- A part ending on to placed last→ Verb + to, verb + X as Y
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.