Speaking & Writing
Repeat Sentence
You hear a sentence of about 3–9 seconds, once, and repeat it as soon as the microphone opens.
- Listening
- Speaking
- Items on a test
- About 10–12
- Audio
- 3–9 seconds
- Prepare
- None — speak immediately
- Skills
- Listening and Speaking
Item counts vary slightly by test form. The ranges follow Pearson’s PTE Academic test-taker score guide.
What this task asks
The audio starts by itself. When it ends you hear a short tone, the microphone opens, and you repeat the sentence. You cannot replay the audio or re-record.
There are more Repeat Sentence items than any other speaking type, and each one contributes to both Listening and Speaking. It is worth practising even when the sentences feel short.
How scoring works
Content is scored from the words of the prompt that appear in your response in the correct sequence. The score guide uses four levels: 3 if all of the prompt words are present in order, 2 if at least half of them are, 1 if fewer than half are, and 0 if almost nothing from the prompt is there.
Pronunciation and oral fluency are scored as well. A fluent sentence that shares few words with the original still loses the content points.
Pronunciation and oral fluency are each scored from 0 to 5. A high pronunciation score means vowels, consonants and word stress are easy for a regular speaker of English to understand. Pearson accepts regional and national varieties of English when most listeners can understand them. A high oral fluency score means a steady pace and natural phrasing, without long pauses, repetitions or false starts.
Timings and scoring follow Pearson’s published format for Speaking & Writing.
Tips that match the task
- 1
Listen for phrases, not a string of isolated words. “Next week’s tutorial / on Tuesday / has been cancelled” is three chunks, and chunks are easier to hold than ten separate words.
- 2
Copy the stress pattern you hear. The stressed words are usually the ones that carry the sentence, and they are the ones people drop when they panic.
- 3
Start speaking as soon as the tone sounds. Waiting eats into the recording window.
- 4
Repeat the sentence in the same order. The content levels depend on words from the prompt in the correct sequence.
- 5
If you miss the ending, say the part you remember cleanly and stop. Inventing a plausible ending adds words that are not in the prompt.
- 6
Keep the pace close to the speaker. Rushing to “get it out” produces reductions and dropped endings, which costs pronunciation as well as content.
- 7
Train with sentences slightly longer than you can currently hold. The audio is only a few seconds, so short daily drills add up across the 10–12 items.
Common mistakes
- Waiting to be sure before speaking, then losing the first words.
- Paraphrasing. This task wants the sentence you heard, not a summary.
- Restarting halfway through. A false start hurts oral fluency and often knocks the remaining words out of sequence.
- Dropping unstressed words such as articles and auxiliaries. They still count toward the content sequence.
- Saying a fluent sentence on the same topic that does not use the original wording. That can score 0 for content.
Frequently asked questions
How is PTE Repeat Sentence scored?
Content is 3, 2, 1 or 0 according to how much of the sentence you repeat in the correct sequence: all of the words, at least half, less than half, or almost nothing. Pronunciation and oral fluency are each scored from 0 to 5. The item contributes to Listening and Speaking.
Can I take notes in Repeat Sentence?
The sentence is only 3–9 seconds and the microphone opens as soon as it ends, so there is no separate preparation time for notes. Remember the phrase as you hear it and speak immediately.
Does a pause lower my Repeat Sentence score?
Pauses, repetitions and false starts lower oral fluency. Content looks at whether the prompt words are present in order. A long hesitation can also cause the recording to finish before you have said the rest of the sentence.
Practise Repeat Sentence on a real question
Open a free practice question in the LearnPTE app and try this task with instant feedback.