Complete the Words — an original ten-gap passage · Completa las Palabras — un pasaje original de diez espacios
Restore a rain-garden explanation one word at a time
- Use the original paragraph’s meaning as well as its visible letters. Complete the gaps before using the later grammar review; the review explains the answers.
This is site-created practice for the 2026 TOEFL iBT Complete the Words task, not an ETS question. The original paragraph below is about 90 words. Its first sentence is intact; in the next stretch, the latter half of every second word is missing. There are ten gaps. Type only the missing letters in each exercise, not the whole word.
Rain gardens are shallow planted areas that collect water flowing off roofs and paths during a storm. Plants abs___ (1) some wa___ (2) while ro___ (3) create nar___ (4) spaces th__ (5) help ra__ (6) move thr____ (7) the so__ (8) more slo___ (9) after sto___ (10). Researchers can compare how much water leaves two similar paths, one beside a rain garden and one without it. Such a comparison must account for the size of each paved area and the intensity of each storm. A single wet afternoon does not prove that the garden will perform equally well in every season.
The passage is a small explanation of how a rain garden can slow runoff and how researchers might compare two places. The whole topic is in the first sentence; no specialist knowledge is needed.
The missing letters did not leave a forwarding address, but they left grammar clues.
Read around a gap before you type
Try an unscored miniature example: The roots ret___ some water. The visible ret narrows the possibilities, roots · raíces is the subject, and some water is the object. Retain makes sense, so the missing letters are ain. Notice that the answer is only the missing part.
In the longer passage, scan for a subject and a verb. A prefix such as ro may suggest several words on its own. The phrase after it tells you what those things do, and the preceding clause tells you what is being contrasted or added. Read both sides of each gap.
Let the paragraph settle close choices
If a completion seems grammatically possible but makes the explanation strange, keep reading. The later sentences repeat important ideas: water leaves paths, paved area and storm intensity affect comparisons, and one afternoon is weak evidence for all seasons. These ideas help you check whether your reconstructed sentence belongs in the paragraph.
Do not change the printed prefix. Do not write an entire word where only letters are requested. After each entry, mentally join the letters and read the result as a complete sentence.
Fill the ten gaps
Use the ten checks below in passage order. They test the letters you add; for example, if a word appeared as pla___, you would type only its missing ending. The explanations appear after each check so you can compare your reasoning with the evidence in the passage.
The printed prefix is part of the answer. Typing the whole word in a missing-letters box changes the task and will not match the key.
Gap 1, abs___: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 1, abs___: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
Plants absorb some water. The prefix abs plus orb forms absorb, a verb that fits plants and water. · Las plantas absorben algo de agua. El prefijo abs más orb forma absorb, un verbo que encaja con plantas y agua.
Gap 2, wa___: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 2, wa___: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
The first sentence names water flowing off surfaces; some water is then absorbed. Wa plus ter restores water. · La primera oración nombra el agua fluyendo sobre superficies; luego se absorbe algo de agua. Wa más ter restaura water (agua).
Gap 3, ro___: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 3, ro___: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
Roots are the plant parts that create spaces in the next clause. Ro plus ots restores the plural subject roots. · Las raíces son las partes de la planta que crean espacios en la cláusula siguiente. Ro más ots restaura el sujeto plural roots (raíces).
Gap 4, nar___: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 4, nar___: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
Narrow describes the spaces made by roots. Nar plus row produces an adjective before spaces. · Narrow describe los espacios creados por las raíces. Nar más row produce un adjetivo antes de spaces (espacios).
Gap 5, th__: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 5, th__: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
The clause identifies spaces that help rain move. Th plus at forms the relative word that. · La cláusula identifica espacios que ayudan a que la lluvia se mueva. Th más at forma la palabra relativa that (que).
Gap 6, ra__: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 6, ra__: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
The first sentence mentions a storm and water; the spaces help rain move. Ra plus in forms rain. · La primera oración menciona una tormenta y agua; los espacios ayudan a que la lluvia se mueva. Ra más in forma rain (lluvia).
Gap 7, thr____: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 7, thr____: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
Rain moves through the soil, not merely towards it. Thr plus ough restores the preposition through. · La lluvia se mueve a través del suelo, no simplemente hacia él. Thr más ough restaura la preposición through (a través de).
Gap 8, so__: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 8, so__: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
The rain moves through the soil beneath the planted area. So plus il forms soil. · La lluvia se mueve a través del suelo debajo del área plantada. So más il forma soil (suelo).
Gap 9, slo___: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 9, slo___: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
More slowly tells how rain moves; slowly is an adverb modifying move. Slo plus wly restores it. · Más lentamente indica cómo se mueve la lluvia; slowly es un adverbio que modifica move (moverse). Slo más wly lo restaura.
Gap 10, sto___: type only the missing letters. · Espacio 10, sto___: escribe solo las letras que faltan.
The sentence says after storms. The passage also mentions a storm at the start and each storm later, confirming the topic. Sto plus rms forms storms. · La oración dice después de tormentas. El pasaje también menciona una tormenta al inicio y cada tormenta posteriormente, confirmando el tema. Sto más rms forma storms (tormentas).
Review a wrong gap as a sentence problem
For every missed gap, write down the printed prefix, your completed word, and the phrase on both sides. Ask which clue you overlooked: letters, grammar or meaning. This is more useful than memorising ten endings from one paragraph.
The passage is an original approximation of the published task, not an adaptive score estimate. A single ten-gap text cannot predict a TOEFL Reading score.
Task mechanics checked on 23 September 2026: ETS updated TOEFL iBT overview, Reading sample tasks.
Use grammar to check the rain-garden explanation
- The passage says plants absorb water while roots create narrow spaces. Plants and roots are plural subjects; the present-tense verbs do not add a singular -s.
- “More slowly” explains how water moves through the soil. An adjective such as slow cannot take that adverb’s job in this sentence. Identify the role before deciding the missing letters.
- A correct gap does not prove you understood the experiment. The comparison also has to account for paved area and storm intensity.
- Reconstruct each word, read the entire sentence and identify why that form fits.
- Try the transfer checks below before returning to the explanation. These are original self-checks, with no official score conversion.
Match the three distinctions from the worked case.
“More slowly” explains how water moves through the soil. An adjective such as slow cannot take that adverb’s job in this sentence. Identify the role before deciding the missing letters.
In the rain-garden text, what does “more slowly” describe?
The passage says plants absorb water while roots create narrow spaces. Plants and roots are plural subjects; the present-tense verbs do not add a singular -s. “More slowly” explains how water moves through the soil. An adjective such as slow cannot take that adverb’s job in this sentence. Identify the role before deciding the missing letters.
Complete the worked-case label: plants absorb → ____. Use the phrase in the diagram.
Reconstruct each word, read the entire sentence and identify why that form fits.