Ordering of Words in a Sentence
~13 min read
- What: Ordering of Words gives a jumbled sentence in four labelled parts (P, Q, R, S). Four sequence options follow; pick the correct order that produces a grammatical English sentence.
- Why it matters: NDA carries 5 Ordering items in almost every paper from 2015 onward. The block is among the highest-yield blocks for grammar-confident candidates because the logic is deterministic once you see it.
- Key habit: Don't try all 24 permutations in your head. Find one anchor — usually the part that contains the subject or the part that begins with "to" / a conjunction — and build outwards from it.
Ordering of Words in a Sentence (sometimes called Jumbled Sentences or Sentence Re-arrangement) is one of the most stable NDA English blocks. From 2015-II onwards, the format and instructions have not changed: a sentence's parts are labelled P, Q, R, S and four sequences are offered. The block usually carries 5 items.
The block rewards a method-first approach. Trying to "read all four sequences and feel which sounds right" is slow and error-prone. The PQRS method below — find anchor, find subject, find modifier targets, confirm — converts the block from feel-based to logic-based.
Pair this page with Ordering of Sentences in a Passage (which applies the same logic at paragraph level) and Parts of Speech (which tells you what each part contributes).
What This Topic Covers
NDA Ordering of Words — Question Format
- Item type: A sentence's parts are labelled P, Q, R, S in jumbled order. Four sequence options follow (e.g., PQRS, QPRS, SRPQ, RPSQ).
- Instruction: "Re-arrange the jumbled parts and select the correct sequence."
- Number: 5 items per paper since 2015-II; consistent stable pattern through 2024.
- Difficulty: Roughly 2 easy + 2 medium + 1 hard. Hard items have two grammatically plausible orderings; the right one is decided by collocation or natural English rhythm.
Exam Pattern & Weightage
Across our extracted 11 papers (2015-II to 2024-I), the block has been consistent.
| Year / Paper | No. of Items | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-II | 5 | Standard 4-part PQRS format |
| 2016-I/II | 5 each | Continued pattern |
| 2017-I/II | 5 each | Continued pattern |
| 2018-I/II | 5 each | Continued pattern |
| 2019-I/II | 5 each | Continued pattern |
| 2020-I / 2021-I/II | 5 each | Stable through COVID era |
| 2022-I/II / 2023-I/II / 2024-I/II | 5 each | Stable through 2024 |
The 4-Step PQRS Method
- Find the anchor. Scan the four parts for the one that must come first or last. A part that contains the subject (a noun + tense-finite verb) is usually first; a part that begins with "to + verb" (an infinitive purpose) is often last.
- Find the subject and main verb. Locate the part that contains "the doctor", "his uncle", "she", "they", etc. — the agent of the sentence. That part is usually first or near-first.
- Find what each modifier targets. Some parts are modifiers (relative clauses, prepositional phrases, adverbial clauses). Each must attach to the right noun or verb. "Who was a self-made man" attaches to a person, not a thing.
- Confirm by reading the candidate sequence aloud. Once you have a sequence, plug it in and read. If it flows as natural English, mark it. If it bumps anywhere — usually at a modifier — re-check.
Anchors NDA Always Uses
- Part beginning with "to + verb" (infinitive of purpose) — usually goes last. "to depend on his own efforts" / "to leadership in politics".
- Part beginning with a relative pronoun ("who", "which", "that") — must follow its noun antecedent immediately.
- Part beginning with a conjunction ("and", "but", "until", "when") — connects to the previous clause, never opens the sentence (in NDA jumbles).
- Part containing the subject and main verb — usually first or near-first.
Six Grammar Rules That Decide the Order
Rule 1 — Modifier Sticks to Its Target
A relative clause (who, which, that) sits immediately after the noun it describes. A participial phrase (peering through the window) sits next to its agent.
NDA PYQ: "his uncle / who was a self-made man" — the "who" clause must follow "his uncle" (the person, not the result, not the success).
Rule 2 — Subject Before Verb Before Object
English sentences obey Subject-Verb-Object order. The subject sits at the front of the main clause. If one part contains the subject and a finite verb, it almost always anchors the order.
Rule 3 — Time / Place Adverbials at Endpoints
Time and place adverbials (yesterday, in the meeting, at the airport) usually sit at the start or end of a sentence — not in the middle.
Rule 4 — Infinitive of Purpose at the End
A part beginning with "to + verb" expressing purpose ("to depend on his own efforts") usually closes the sentence.
Rule 5 — Coordinator-Led Part Cannot Open
A part beginning with and, but, or, until, when, while attaches to the previous clause — it cannot be the opener of the sentence in NDA jumbles.
Rule 6 — Article + Adjective + Noun Stays Together
If a noun phrase is split across parts (e.g., one part has "the old" and another has "woman"), they must adjoin. Don't sequence them apart.
Worked Examples from NDA PYQs
Worked Example 1 — NDA 2015-II, Q11
Parts:
P: His uncle for success in life,
Q: always advised his son,
R: who was a self-made man
S: to depend on his own efforts
Options: (a) SQPR (b) RQSP (c) PRSQ (d) QPSR
Step 1 — Anchor: S = "to depend ..." → infinitive of purpose → last.
Step 2 — Subject: "His uncle" (P) → opens. But P also has "for success in life," which modifies the advising — so P provides subject + a purpose phrase.
Step 3 — Modifier: "who was a self-made man" (R) — must follow "his uncle" (the person being described). So PR adjacent.
Step 4 — Try sequences: (c) PRSQ → "His uncle [for success in life], who was a self-made man, to depend on his own efforts, always advised his son" — order wrong, verb at end.
Try PRQS — not offered. (a) SQPR places "to depend" first — impossible. (d) QPSR places Q first, with "always advised his son" — but where is the subject? Q has no explicit subject. The subject must come from P.
Re-arrange: anchor is "His uncle ... always advised his son ... to depend on his own efforts" — so P first → then we need "who was a self-made man" (R) right after "his uncle" to describe the uncle. Combined: P + R + Q + S = "His uncle [, for success in life,] / who was a self-made man / always advised his son / to depend on his own efforts."
That gives PRQS — but it's not in the offered options. Looking again at the options, (b) RQSP starts with R, which is a relative clause "who was a self-made man" — that cannot open. The puzzle's offered options include (c) PRSQ. Plugging in: "His uncle [for success in life] / who was a self-made man / to depend on his own efforts / always advised his son." Still awkward — the "for success in life" phrase is the modifier of "advised" (to depend ... for success in life).
Answer: (c) PRSQ. (Within the offered options, (c) gives the best fit because PR keep the relative clause attached to the uncle.) Note: NDA's published answer key lists this as (c).
Lesson: When given options that none of them give the perfectly natural order, find the one that obeys the modifier-attachment rule first.
Worked Example 2 — NDA 2015-II, Q12
Parts:
P: The doctor did not like the behavior of the patients
Q: who was very competent in his profession
R: when they talked at length
S: about their problems
Options: (a) RPSQ (b) SRPQ (c) QPRS (d) PRQS
Step 1 — Anchor: P has subject + verb ("The doctor did not like ...") → opens.
Step 2 — Modifier attach: Q "who was very competent in his profession" — singular "was", referring to "the doctor" (singular), not "patients" (plural). So Q follows "the doctor". But P ends with "patients" — if Q comes right after P, Q would seem to describe patients. Awkward.
Step 3 — Test PQRS reading: "The doctor did not like the behaviour of the patients / who was very competent in his profession / when they talked at length / about their problems." Reading the original published sentence: "The doctor, who was very competent in his profession, did not like the behaviour of the patients when they talked at length about their problems." So we want PQ adjacent — but P would need Q embedded within it. The NDA jumble forces us to put Q after P even though the natural reading is "doctor, who, did not". The published answer is PQRS.
Answer: (d) PRQS.
Lesson: Some NDA jumbles have an awkward order forced by the parts being chosen. Use the modifier rule (Q describes the doctor → Q should be near "the doctor") to pick the sequence that obeys grammar best.
Worked Example 3 — NDA 2015-II, Q13
Parts:
P: from leadership in culture
Q: in military situations and in face-to-face small groups
R: leadership has wide range of expressions
S: to leadership politics
Options: (a) RSQP (b) PQRS (c) RPSQ (d) SQRP
Step 1 — Anchor: R has the subject + main verb ("leadership has..."). Opens.
Step 2 — Structure: "leadership has wide range of expressions" then "from leadership in culture / to leadership politics" (paired construction "from ... to ..."), and Q provides further examples in apposition.
Step 3 — Order: R first, then P (from), then S (to), then Q (examples).
Answer: (c) RPSQ.
Lesson: "From X to Y" is a fixed paired construction. P and S must be adjacent in that order.
Worked Example 4 — NDA 2015-II, Q14
Parts:
P: He sat glancing occasionally
Q: peering through the window
R: at the figure of the old woman
S: until he was clear with the cold
Options: (a) RSQP (b) QRPS (c) SPRQ (d) PRSQ
Step 1 — Anchor: P has subject + main verb ("He sat glancing..."). Opens.
Step 2 — Modifier attach: R "at the figure of the old woman" — modifies "glancing" (glancing at the figure). So PR adjacent.
Step 3 — Remaining: Q "peering through the window" describes an additional action of "He sat". S "until he was clear with the cold" is a time clause. Both attach to the main verb. Q before S because temporal sequence: peering action first, then completion clause.
Answer: (d) PRSQ.
Traps NDA Exploits
- The wrong-modifier-attachment trap. A relative clause is placed near a noun it does not describe. Who was very competent placed near patients (plural noun, but verb is singular).
- The "split-noun-phrase" trap. An article in one part, its noun in another, far away. Always keep article + adjective + noun together.
- The "purpose-infinitive-mid-sentence" trap. An option places "to + verb" in the middle when it should close the sentence.
- The "conjunction-as-opener" trap. A sequence that opens with a part beginning "and / but / until / when" — these never open the sentence in NDA jumbles.
Preparation Strategy
3-Week Ordering Plan
- Week 1: Learn the 4-step PQRS method and the six grammar rules. Practise 5 items / day from PYQs.
- Week 2: Build pattern recognition for the four common anchor types (purpose-infinitive last, subject-first, modifier-attachment, paired construction).
- Week 3: Timed practice — 5 items in 3 minutes. Target ≥4/5 reliably.
Drill Ordering of Words
NDA-pattern PQRS items with anchor-tagged explanations. Real PYQs plus close-pattern items.
Start Free Mock TestFrequently Asked Questions
How many Ordering of Words items come in NDA?
5 items per paper since 2015-II. The block has been almost completely stable in format and number through 2024.
What is the fastest way to solve a PQRS item?
Find an anchor first. Look for: a "to + verb" part (usually last), a subject-and-verb part (usually first), a relative clause part (must follow its noun). With one anchor placed, the remaining three options usually shrink to two or one.
What if all four options seem possible?
Apply each grammar rule in order: modifier proximity → SVO order → adverbial endpoints → coordinator-led-parts can't open. By the third rule, you will have eliminated three options.
Should I read the four options first or last?
Last. Read the four parts first and figure out the natural order; then match to an option. Reading the four sequences first leads to second-guessing.
Which NDA English topics connect to Ordering of Words?
Ordering of Sentences in a Passage uses identical logic at paragraph level. Parts of Speech tells you what each part contributes. Spotting Errors tests misplaced modifiers (the same skill).