How to Tackle 11+ Shuffled Sentences: A Parent’s Guide

Of all the verbal reasoning questions in the 11+ exam, the shuffled (or jumbled) sentence is one of the most common and one of the most challenging.

At first glance, it looks like a simple word puzzle. But in reality, it’s a complex task that tests multiple skills at once: vocabulary, grammar, logic, and a child’s ability to hold and manipulate information in their head. A child must understand the role of different word types (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and the rules of sentence construction, all while working against the clock.

This is why many children find them so tricky. However, like all verbal reasoning questions, they can be mastered with a clear, logical method.

At elevenplus.com, we believe in breaking down complex problems into simple, repeatable steps. This guide will provide you with a definitive framework to help your child unscramble any sentence with confidence.

In this definitive guide, you will learn:

• The two main types of shuffled sentence questions.
• A simple 4-step method to solve the most common question type.
• Expert clues for spotting the extra word.
• A clear worked example showing the method in action.

The Two Main Types of Shuffled Sentence Questions

First, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. Shuffled sentence questions usually come in two formats.

1. Find the Extra Word: Your child is given a set of jumbled words that form a grammatically correct sentence, but with one extra word that doesn’t fit. Their task is to mentally form the sentence and identify the leftover word.
2. Form a Sentence and Find a Code: This is a more complex variation where the words are numbered. Your child must form the sentence and then use the numbers of the words in the correct order to answer a question or crack a code.

This guide will focus primarily on the most common type: Find the Extra Word.

The 4-Step Method to Unscramble Any Sentence

Rushing is the enemy of this question type. A random, trial-and-error approach rarely works. Teach your child this systematic 4-step method to bring order to the chaos.

Step 1: Deconstruct – Find the Word Pairs

Before trying to form the whole sentence, become a detective and look for smaller clues. The most powerful technique is to find words that are almost certainly paired together.

• Look for Articles and Nouns: Scan for ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘the’. These will almost always be followed by a noun (e.g., the cat, an apple).
• Look for Adjectives and Nouns: Scan for describing words (adjectives). These will sit next to the noun they are describing (e.g., lazy cat, big dog).
• Find the Subject and the Verb: Now, look for the main action (the verb) and who or what is doing it (the subject).

Step 2: Build the Core Sentence

Once you have your key pairs and the main subject/verb, try to build a simple sentence around them. Who is doing what, and to what? This creates the main clause and gives you a foundation to build on.

Step 3: Add the “Dressing”

Now, look at the remaining words. These are usually the “dressing”—adverbs and prepositions that add more detail. Start placing them where they make grammatical sense. How did the action happen? (e.g., sat happily). Where did it happen? (e.g., on the mat).

Step 4: Identify the Intruder

By this stage, you should have a complete, grammatically correct sentence. The one word left over—the one that has no logical place—is your answer. Read the final sentence aloud in your head one last time to make sure it makes sense without the extra word.

A Worked Example

Let’s apply the 4-step method to a typical question.

Question: Find the extra word in the following jumbled sentence.

cat the mat on sat lazy the happily dog

1. Deconstruct – Find the Word Pairs:

• Article + Noun: We see two thes. Let’s pair them: the cat, the mat.
• Adjective + Noun: We see lazy. This describes a noun: lazy cat.
• Subject & Verb: The clearest action is sat. Who sat? The lazy cat.

2. Build the Core Sentence: Let’s start with our main pair: “The lazy cat sat.” Where did it sit? “The lazy cat sat on the mat.” This sounds like a solid core sentence.

3. Add the “Dressing”: We have the word happily left over (along with dog).

• happily is an adverb. How did the cat sit? Happily. “The lazy cat sat happily on the mat.”

4. Identify the Intruder: We have formed a perfect sentence: “The lazy cat sat happily on the mat.” The only word left over that doesn’t fit is dog.

[Image: A graphic showing the jumbled words at the top, and the final sentence constructed below with the word “dog” circled as the extra word.]

How to Spot the Intruder: Two Key Clues

If you’ve formed a sentence but are left with two words that could be the intruder, look for these two classic traps.

1. Conflicting Ideas: The jumbled words might include two words with opposite or conflicting meanings, where only one can logically fit. For example, a sentence might contain both morning and afternoon, or summer and winter. One of these is likely the extra word.
2. Conflicting Tenses: Look at the verbs. If you have two verbs in different tenses (e.g., walked and run), and only one fits the tense of the rest of the sentence, the other is probably the intruder.

Expert Tips for Success

• Look for the Capital Letter: In many questions, one word will have a capital letter. This is a huge clue that it’s the first word of the sentence.
• Grammar is Your Guide: A strong understanding of word classes is a superpower. Knowing that an adverb (like happily) describes a verb (like sat) allows your child to form word pairs much more quickly and accurately.
• Use a Pencil to Cross Out: As your child mentally places a word into the sentence, encourage them to lightly cross it out on the question paper. This makes it much easier to see which words are left.

Shuffled sentences are a test of logic and order. By replacing guesswork with a clear, step-by-step method, your child can learn to confidently deconstruct these puzzles and secure the marks.

Ready to practice this technique?

➡️ Our Verbal Reasoning Practice Packs are filled with shuffled sentence questions to help your child master this tricky topic and build their confidence for the exam.