TOEFL Build a Sentence: 15 interactive practice tasks
(2026 format)

Build a Sentence is the first Writing task on the redesigned TOEFL iBT introduced on January 21, 2026. You see a short prompt from one speaker and a set of word chunks, and you place the chunks in the correct order to form a grammatically correct response. Below are 15 original practice items modeled on the patterns ETS actually uses on the official exam. Click each chunk in order to fill the blanks. Click Check answer for instant feedback and a grammar explanation. No signup, no email, no limits.

Before you start: the rules of the format

Most prep blogs describe Build a Sentence as a simple word-reordering task with 5 to 7 chunks. That is roughly true on paper, but it misses the pattern that actually trips students up. Look at the items in the official ETS TOEFL preparation materials and you will see the same grammatical structure appear over and over again: reported speech and embedded questions. If you understand that one pattern, you can solve the majority of items on test day in under 20 seconds each.

Source: the official ETS TOEFL Writing lesson plan (PDF) and the ETS TOEFL iBT test information page.

The grammar pattern that solves half the section

Roughly half of all Build a Sentence items involve an embedded clause. The first speaker poses a direct question; you respond by reporting that question as a statement. Direct question word order does not apply inside the embedded clause. Here is the rule, with examples:

1. If the prompt is a direct question, drop the auxiliary in your answer. "Where did I learn Korean" becomes "where I learned Korean." If you find yourself wanting to put "did" or "do" in the middle of the response, you are probably wrong, and "did" or "do" is probably the distractor.
2. Subject comes before the verb in embedded clauses. "What are our requirements" inverts to "what our requirements are" (or "were" for past reporting). "Who is going to lead" inverts to "who is going to lead" — note that the subject "who" stays before the verb, no inversion needed.
3. Backshift the verb when the reporting verb is past tense. "He asked what our requirements were" not "what our requirements are." This is the second-most-common ETS trap after auxiliary inversion.
4. Use "if" or "whether" for reported yes/no questions. "Did we need more time" becomes "if we needed more time." Look for "if" or "whether" in the chunks when the prompt is a yes/no question.

Three more patterns worth recognizing

Embedded questions cover most of what you will see, but four other structures show up regularly. If you can identify which of these patterns the item uses within the first 5 seconds, you have already done the hardest part of the work.

• Relative clauses ("the one that is closest to her office"). The relative pronoun glues two ideas together and stays close to the noun it modifies.
• Conditionals and hypotheticals ("I did not think it would start on time"). Look for "would," "could," or "might" combined with a past reporting verb.
• Future and present perfect ("I will have it ready by the end of the day," "I have not had time to review my notes"). Multi-word verb phrases stay together as a unit.
• Gerund and infinitive phrases ("Working in groups helps students," "She wanted to know if we needed more time"). When you see "-ing" or "to," figure out whether the phrase is acting as a subject, object, or modifier.

How to use these practice tasks

Each task below shows a prompt from one speaker on the left and an empty response line on the right. Click each word chunk in the word bank in the order you want it to appear. The chunk will fill the next available blank automatically. Click any placed chunk to send it back to the bank. When you have filled every blank, click Check answer. You will see your answer marked correct (green) or incorrect (red), along with the correct sentence and a grammar explanation. The progress bar at the top tracks your overall score across all 15 tasks.

Frequently asked questions