Lessons / Listening / Sentence completion
IELTS Listening
Sentence completion
Finish full written sentences with a word or two from the recording.
The instructions, word for word as the test writes them
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
What this task is
Each question is a complete sentence with one gap. The frame is the test's words. The missing word is the speaker's.
That gap between the written frame and the spoken words is the actual skill being tested. Listen for the meaning, then catch the one word that carries it.
The traps
These are built in on purpose. Know them by name and half the danger is gone.
Wait to hear the sentence read aloud and you will wait forever. The sentence says "too costly". The speaker says "the budget wouldn't stretch to it". Match ideas, not words.
The completed sentence must be correct English. A verb where a noun belongs means you misheard, or grabbed the wrong word.
What to do next time
- In the preview, underline the key idea of each sentence and guess the word class of the gap.
- After writing an answer, read the whole sentence back with your word in it. If it does not work as English, it is not the answer.
- These sentences take longer to read than notes, so the group stays small. Use the extra preview time they give you.
Now meet it under a clock. Start a free mock. Every sentence completion question you get wrong comes back with the sentence that proves the answer, and the reason the trap was tempting.