How a sentence is built · CEFR A1 · Starting

Who does what — English sentence structure

English puts the doer first, then the action, then the thing. That order almost never changes.

The shape

subject + verb + object

Put an English sentence in the right order the first time.

In Hindi

अंग्रेज़ी में पहले करने वाला, फिर काम, फिर चीज़। हिंदी उल्टी है — वहाँ क्रिया आख़िर में आती है।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly saidCorrect English

Ram market goes.

Ram goes to the market.

Hindi puts the verb last. English puts it second, right after the subject.

Who does what examples

Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.

  1. We live together.

    हम साथ रहते हैं।

  2. We meet every day.

    हम रोज़ मिलते हैं।

  3. My sister studies English.

    मेरी बहन अंग्रेज़ी पढ़ती है।

  4. He studies with me.

    वह मेरे साथ पढ़ता है।

  5. We talk on the phone.

    हम फोन पर बात करते हैं।

  6. He comes to my house.

    वह मेरे घर आता है।

  7. I love my parents.

    मैं अपने माता-पिता से प्यार कर{ता|ती} हूँ।

  8. My mother cooks good food.

    मेरी माँ अच्छा खाना बनाती हैं।

  9. My father goes to work every day.

    मेरे पिता रोज़ काम पर जाते हैं।

  10. My grandfather lives with us.

    मेरे दादा हमारे साथ रहते हैं।

Easy to confuse with

Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.

Questions people ask

What is the who does what used for?
English puts the doer first, then the action, then the thing. That order almost never changes. In practice: put an english sentence in the right order the first time.
How do you form the who does what?
subject + verb + object.
What is the most common mistake with the who does what?
Saying “Ram market goes.” instead of “Ram goes to the market.”. Hindi puts the verb last. English puts it second, right after the subject.

Where who does what fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

Who does what is a CEFR A1 structure — the starting band — and it belongs to how a sentence is built. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.

Practise the who does what

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