Order alphabetically based on the first three letters

Key Notes :

What is Alphabetical Order?

Alphabetical order means arranging words in the order they appear in the alphabet (A, B, C, and so on). Usually, we look at the first letter of each word to decide the order. But what happens when words have the same first letter? Or even the same first two letters? Then we need to look at the third letter!

When to Use the First Three Letters

We use the first three letters to alphabetize words when the first one or two letters are the same. This helps us put words in the correct order in dictionaries, lists, and more. Think of it like this:

  1. First Letter: If the first letters are different, that’s the only letter you need.
  2. Second Letter: If the first letters are the same, look at the second letter.
  3. Third Letter: If the first and second letters are the same, look at the third letter!

Important: If two words have the same first three letters, the one with fewer letters comes first. For Example: will come before .

Examples

Let’s look at some examples:

Example 1:

  • app
  • ape
  • ant

Here, all words start with ‘a’. ‘ant’ comes first because ‘n’ comes before ‘p’ in the alphabet. Now between and , both have , so the third letter decides the order. Since ‘p’ comes after ‘e’, the correct order is:

  1. ant
  2. ape
  3. app

Example 2:

  • comet
  • common
  • commit

All three words start with ‘com’. So, we look at the third letter:

  • comet
  • common
  • commit

‘e’ comes before ‘m’, so ‘comet’ comes first. ‘common’ and ‘commit’ both have ‘m’ as their third letter, so we move to the fourth letter: ‘common’ has ‘m’ and ‘commit’ has ‘m’, so then we move to the 5th letter: ‘o’ comes before ‘i’ so comes before . The correct order is:

  1. comet
  2. common
  3. commit
Time to Practice!

Put these words in alphabetical order based on the first three letters:

Exercise 1:

  • bat
  • bad
  • bag

Exercise 2:

  • cry
  • crab
  • crow

Exercise 3:

  • sun
  • super
  • suppose
Answers

Exercise 1:

  1. bad
  2. bag
  3. bat

Exercise 2:

  1. crab
  2. crow
  3. cry

Exercise 3:

  1. sun
  2. super
  3. suppose
Next Steps

Now that you’ve learned how to alphabetize words using the first three letters, practice with longer lists of words. You can even try alphabetizing names of people or places. Keep an eye out for words with similar beginnings when you’re reading, and try putting them in order. The more you practice, the easier it will become!

let’s practice!