Complete the Words — letters, grammar and meaning
What Complete the Words asks
- ETS describes a 70–100-word academic paragraph. Its first sentence is intact; after that, the second half of every second word is deleted until there are ten gaps.
- Type the missing letters, not the whole word. Use meaning, vocabulary, grammar and spelling together.
- Read the intact first sentence for context before you attempt any gap.
The missing halves of words are not hiding under the keyboard.
Start with the printed letters
- In the plants abs___ some water, the visible abs and the sentence point to absorb; you enter orb. A synonym with a different beginning cannot fit.
- Grammar can narrow a choice: after were very in the results were very cle__, an adjective such as clear fits.
- Be careful with rigid shortcuts. The can be followed by an adjective before a noun (the clear result), and to can begin a noun phrase (to the library).
'The results were very ______.' What kind of word belongs in the gap?
After the linking verb 'were', 'very' introduces a description of the results; an adjective fits this sentence.
Use the whole sentence, not the gap
- Read to the end of the sentence before choosing. Later words can rule out a guess that seemed plausible from the prefix alone.
- Check the full phrase: the survey rep_____ a change calls for a reporting verb. Reported fits the given letters and the meaning; another word beginning rep may not.
- Contrast words such as however signal a change in direction, not necessarily an exact opposite. Read the whole thought.
'The first trial failed, but the second was ______.' What does 'but' tell you?
Here 'but' contrasts a failed first trial with a successful second one. Contrast gives a direction, though not every contrast requires an exact antonym.
Read it back
- Join your answer to the printed prefix and read the whole word in its sentence.
- Check endings such as -s, -ed and -ing when the grammar calls for them; do not add one automatically.
- If two completions seem possible, choose the one that fits both the local grammar and the paragraph's meaning.
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.
If you cannot work out the word, leaving the gap empty is safer than guessing.
A blank cannot be correct. Use the printed letters, grammar and paragraph meaning to make a considered guess when you are unsure.
How to practise
- Use a short academic paragraph. Keep the first sentence, then remove the latter half of every second word until there are ten gaps. Restore only those missing letters.
- The next lesson has one complete original passage with ten checked gaps; it needs no specialist knowledge.
- Task mechanics checked on 23 September 2026: ETS 2026 TOEFL iBT overview and ETS Reading section.