Complete the Words — grammar, not searching
What Complete the Words asks
- A short text with letters or whole words missing, which you supply.
- It tests grammar and vocabulary, not finding information. You are not hunting through a passage.
- Spelling counts. A word with a letter missing is a wrong word.
Decide the word class first
- The words around the gap usually fix the word class before the meaning.
- After the you need a noun. After very an adjective. After to a base verb. After has a past participle.
- Narrowing to one class turns "what word?" into "which of these few words?" — a much easier question.
Practice
'The results were very ______.' What kind of word belongs in the gap?
'Very' modifies adjectives and adverbs. Fixing the word class first removes most of the wrong answers before you think about meaning.
Use the whole sentence, not the gap
- Read to the end of the sentence before choosing. The clue is often after the gap, not before it.
- Watch the small grammar signals: a plural verb means a plural subject; a means a singular countable noun.
- Signals of contrast — but, however, although — mean the missing word is the opposite of what came before.
Practice
'The first trial failed, but the second was ______.' What does 'but' tell you?
A contrast word promises a change of direction. That is a free clue and it appears constantly in this task.
Read it back
- Say the completed sentence to yourself. If it does not sound like English, it is not.
- Check the ending: -s, -ed, -ing are where Chinese candidates lose most of these marks.
- Never leave a gap empty. There is no penalty, and a guess from the right word class is often right.
Practice
A correct word with one letter missing still earns the mark.
Spelling counts in this task. Reading the sentence back is what catches a missing -s or -ed.
Practice
If you cannot work out the word, leaving the gap empty is safer than guessing.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank scores exactly what a wrong guess scores: nothing. Guess from the word class.
How to practise
- Take any short English text, delete every seventh word, leave it a day, then fill the gaps.
- Practise with everyday texts as well as academic ones — the 2026 Reading section uses both.
- Format facts checked on the ETS website on 13 September 2026.