EnglishGrade 4ages 9–10
🏠 A room sentence
English sentences follow a strict, fixed word order that can't be rearranged the way Hebrew sentences sometimes can, which is exactly where a Hebrew-speaking child's instincts can lead them astray.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- In English every sentence has a fixed order, and it cannot be shuffled.
- First comes the word The and after it the thing itself.
- Then comes is, which says the thing is somewhere.
- And only at the end comes the place: in the room, by the door.
The mistake most kids make here
Ordering the words the Hebrew way instead of the English way.
Try one question
A chair by the door. Which sentence is right?
Chair by door
- Chair the door is
- The chair is by the door
- Is the by chair door
Answer
The chair is by the door — Yes. The thing, then is, then where.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: What is the order of an English sentence about a place?
How to help at home
An English sentence about where something is follows the same order every time: first the thing itself (with 'the'), then is, and only at the end the place — 'The chair is by the door.'
This fixed order is different from Hebrew, where word order can be more flexible, so it's natural for a child to try rearranging the English words the way they might in Hebrew.
Practice by building the sentence in three chunks, in order, every time: the thing → is → the place. 'The chair' + 'is' + 'by the door.' Say each chunk slowly and in that exact sequence.
A good sign they've got it: they can build a new sentence about a different object and place, keeping the same order (thing, then is, then place), without needing to be reminded of the pattern.
Questions parents ask
- Why does my child put English words in the wrong order?
- Hebrew allows more flexibility in word order, so a child naturally tries applying that same flexibility to English. But English sentences follow one fixed order that can't be rearranged the same way.
- What is the fixed order for a sentence about where something is?
- First the thing itself (The chair), then is, and only at the end the place (by the door). The three parts always come in that order: thing, then is, then place.
- What's a good way to practice this at home?
- Build sentences in the same three chunks every time — the thing, then is, then the place — using different objects and locations around the house.
- How does Maya teach this differently from a translation drill?
- Maya asks the child to pick the correctly ordered sentence about a real object, with options that show the wrong orders too, so they recognize the fixed pattern instead of just translating word by word.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreMore English lessons
- There is a chairGrade 4
- I am eatingGrade 4
- a big catGrade 4
- becauseGrade 4
- She sitsGrade 3
- table chair doorGrade 3
- I have / she hasGrade 3
- in on underGrade 3
Sources: English Curriculum 2020 for elementary school – Israeli Ministry of Education