PTE Part 1 Item type 3 – Repeating a sentence

PTE Part 1 Item type 3 – Repeating a sentenceOn this page, we will look at PTE Part 1 Item type 3 – Repeating a sentence. Here is the basic information you need to know.

What you have to do for this question type:

In Part 1 of the PTE test, the third question type (PTE refer to question types as ‘items’) is where you need to repeat a sentence that you hear. You will only hear the sentence once and it will NOT appear on the screen.

Task length and timing:

There is no time given for preparation – you hear the sentence and then need to immediately repeat it, which means you will not have enough time to write the sentence down. You will be asked to repeated between 10 and 12 sentences.

More information:

You might hear a range of different accents here – American English, Scottish, Queens English.

Here’s an example of this item type:


The scoring for this question type:

Points earned from Item 3: Repeating a sentence PTE questions:

  • Communicative Skills assessed: Listening and speaking
  • Enabling skills and traits assessed: Content, pronunciation, oral fluency
  • Scoring system: Partial credit

So what does this mean? Well, you will be awarded points for your ability to accurately hear the sentence (listening skills) and repeating out loud what you heard (speaking). For the ‘enabling skills and traits’, content means you have said ALL of the words in the recording but NOT added anything that wasn’t there said. Pronunciation means have you spoken in a way that would be clear to a native English speaker, and oral fluency means have you matched the pace and intonation of the original recording.

This item type has a partial credit scoring system, which means that your skills are assessed on a scale of 1 to 5 for pronunciation and oral fluency. Adding a word that is not in the recording or missing a word that was said (addition or omission) will cost 1 point per error.

Useful techniques:

For some people it can help to put your finger on the desk in front of you and ‘trace’ the intonation of what you hear. That is, if the speaker has a rising intonation on some words but a falling intonation at the end, your finger might go up, then down.