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Question 1:
Choose the sentence with the right word order
A. Julia bought eleven yellow amazing tulips.
B. Julia eleven amazing yellow tulips bought.
C. Julia bought eleven amazing yellow tulips.
Feedback English has a rigid word order that cannot be changed without changing the meaning of the sentence.In the test we are given a declarative sentence (statement). The standard word order in declarative sentences is SUBJECT + PREDICATE (Verb) + object + adverbial modifier. We are to find the subject, the predicate, the object and/or the adverbial modifier in the test sentence.The subject is placed at the beginning of the sentence and is usually expressed by a noun or a pronoun. In the test we are given two nouns: the proper noun ‘Julia’ and the common noun ‘tulips’. When looking for the subject in a sentence, we need to look for the verb first. A verb is a word that helps a subject perform an action (ran, drank, fights, swims). In the test sentence there is only one action verb ‘bought’ that is in the past simple tense, thus, it is the predicate. The predicate stands after the subject and is usually represented by a main verb or by the combination of an auxiliary or modal verb with a main verb.As ‘tulips’ cannot ‘buy’, we understand that in the test sentence ‘Julia’ (who?) is the subject and ‘tulips’ is the object in the test sentence (Julia bought what? → …tulips). Thus, we found the subject,the predicate and the object of the test sentence: ‘Julia bought…tulips.’. We are given two ANSWERS with this order: ANSWER 1 and ANSWER 3.Then, we need to choose the right adjective order before the common noun ‘tulips’: ‘yellow amazing tulips’ or ‘amazing yellow tulips’. When more than one adjective comes before a noun, the adjectives are normally in a particular order. The most usual sequence of adjectives is the following: 1. general opinion (good, lovely, nice, etc.); 2. specific opinion (We only use such adjectives that give a specific opinion to describe particular kinds of noun (delicious, friendly); 3. size (big, tall); 4. physical quality (thin,untidy); 5. shape (round); 6. age (young, old); 7. colour (green, pastel); 8. origin (Dutch, northern); 9.material (metal, wood); 10. type (general-purpose, four-sided); 11. purpose (folding, work).Thus, for the test sentence we need to choose ANSWER 3: Julia bought eleven amazing (1. General opinion) yellow (7. colour) tulips.
D. Julia eleven yellow amazing tulips bought.

These questions are from this test. Would you like to take a practice test?

Test 2-Word order | Intermediate English