Writing: Build a Sentence

Writing: Build a Sentence belongs to the Writing component of TOEFL iBT. The task gives you 6 minutes to write. Your result counts the questions you answer correctly.

Time
6 minutes
Prompts here
22 published

Learn the connectors and structural words this task rearranges — the pieces that decide where a clause can legally go in an English sentence.

ETS describes this task as testing the reconstruction of sentence structure rather than free vocabulary production. The words that matter are the ones with fixed positions: subordinators, correlatives and linking adverbs.

The items in this set10 turns

  1. 1Why were you so late this morning?

    The was · I usually · bus · cancelled · that · take · were again.

  2. 2Have you heard anything about the results?

    They said · would not · the marks · be published · publish yet.

  3. 3Is the seminar still on Thursday?

    Could tell me · you · the seminar · where · is · was held?

  4. 4Did you manage to see the exhibition?

    It by the time · closed · had · already · we · have arrived.

  5. 5What are your plans for next year?

    I considering · am · a year · studying · consider abroad.

  6. 6Can I use the lab this afternoon?

    You unless · cannot · you · use it · book it · can first.

  7. 7How did the presentation go?

    What everyone · was · surprised · how quickly · he · were finished.

  8. 8Who is speaking at the department tonight?

    The whose · professor · we read · book · is speaking · which tonight.

  9. 9You missed the beginning, didn't you?

    Had known · I · would have · I · come · had earlier.

  10. 10Was the repair expensive in the end?

    Little realise · she · did · how much · it would · does cost.

Try one yourself, under the clock

A sample answer shows you the target. It cannot tell you whether your own writing hits it — that is an estimated 0–5 score for each task, with feedback on what earned it.

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Common questions
What level does this task cover?
ETS targets it across roughly A1 to C2, so it ranges from simple clause order up to complex subordination.
Is this a vocabulary task?
Partly. It tests structure, but structure in English is carried by particular words — and knowing what each connector demands after it is what makes the ordering obvious.
21 more Build a Sentence prompts in the bank2 free
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 1
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 2
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 3
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 4
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 5
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 6
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 7
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 8
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 9
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 10
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 1
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 2
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 3
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 4
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 5
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 6
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 7
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 8
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 9
  • ·Build a Sentence — Test 10
  • ·Build a Sentencefree
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