Sentence and paragraph order tactics for CUET English
The method and the traps for both kinds of CUET order question on one page: jumbled parts of a sentence and jumbled sentences of a paragraph. Read it the night before; the two chapter lessons have the worked examples.
This is the short version of the two order lessons. An order question should take about a minute. The options do most of the work: you rarely need to build the whole answer yourself.
What is the method?
| Step | Jumbled sentence | Jumbled paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find the subject and its verb | Find the sentence that names the topic in full |
| 2 | Pick the opening part; strike options that start elsewhere | Pick the opener; strike options that start elsewhere |
| 3 | Fix one sure join and strike again | Fix one sure pair and strike again |
| 4 | Read the option that is left as one sentence | Read the option that is left as one paragraph |
Which joins settle a jumbled sentence?
- the, a, his, every at the end of a part: a noun comes next.
- of, in, for, with, from: a noun or an -ing word comes next.
- has, had, was, will, can: the rest of the verb comes next.
- who, which, that: a verb or a clause comes next, right after the noun it describes.
- and, but, so at the start of a part: it cannot open the sentence.
- A comma at the end of a part: the sentence cannot end there.
Which pairs fix the order?
neither ... nor · either ... or · not only ... but also · so ... that · such ... that · no sooner ... than · hardly ... when · scarcely ... when · the more ..., the more ... · it was only after ... that.
Which openings turn the verb round?
hardly · scarcely · seldom · rarely · never · little · not only · not until · only when · only after · on no account · under no circumstances · so strong was ... that.
A part that starts with one of these almost always opens the sentence, and its verb comes before its subject: "seldom have I seen".
Which links settle a jumbled paragraph?
- Pronouns (he, it, they, this, these) point back to what was just named.
- "The" after "a": a pot, then the pot.
- Turn: but, however, yet, in fact. Result: so, as a result, that is why. Addition: also, another, too.
- Time and steps: first, next, then, finally; at first, later, today.
- Patterns: question then answer; problem then solution; belief then evidence.
Which wrong options come up again and again?
- The right opener, then two parts or sentences swapped.
- A part or sentence that looks like a start but needs something before it: "she got up early", "every citizen to".
- A "who", "which" or "that" part moved onto the wrong noun.
- A conclusion ("so", "that is why") placed in the middle.
- An order that depends on a common mistake, such as "since three years ago".