Sentence Structure and Word Order
Sentence structure and word order items ask you to reorder words, complete a sentence from Japanese, or transform one structure into another with the same meaning. The exam tests English order (subject–verb–object, modifiers after nouns, question order) and fixed patterns such as relative clauses, indirect questions, comparisons, and infinitives.
Build from the predicate
Find the main verb first. Decide its subject and object. Then attach modifiers: adjectives before nouns, prepositional phrases and relative clauses after nouns. For reordering, place the largest chunk first, not the first word you recognize. For transformation, keep the meaning and change only the required structure.
Patterns that decide order
- Indirect question: “Do you know where he lives?” not “where does he live.”
- Relative clause: “the bookstore where I bought that book”; “the book that I bought.”
- too … to / not … enough to: “He is too young to drive” = “He is not old enough to drive.”
- Question: auxiliary + subject + main verb.
Worked example
Reorder: this is / the bookstore / I / bought / where / that book. Reasoning: “This is the bookstore” is the main clause. The place needs a relative adverb: “where I bought that book.” “That book” is the object of “bought,” so it follows the verb. Answer: “This is the bookstore where I bought that book.” Do not add “that” after “where.”
Traps
Writing Japanese order inside English; leaving out an auxiliary; using “which” for a place when “where” is needed; splitting a phrasal verb; adding or dropping a word during transformation; forgetting agreement after reordering.