Why small words cost marks: how PTE Repeat Sentence is scored
Repeat Sentence content is scored word by word against the sentence you heard. The top content score needs every word, in order. A response that keeps every noun and verb but drops one "the" is no longer "all words", so it cannot score 3 for content.
✗ Carved wooden gears transferred rotational energy from central shaft to millstone.
✓ Carved wooden gears transferred rotational energy from the central shaft to the millstone.
Every content word is there, but two omissions (the, the) mean not all words: content drops from 3 to 2. Sentence from the BandLadder set Historical Windmill Mechanics and Use.
Across 10–12 items, those lost points add up in two skills at once. The good news: small words are a short, closed list, and they behave in predictable ways. If you want to know how to improve Repeat Sentence in PTE quickly, start here. Train your ear for them once and they come back in every sentence. Repeat Sentence also feeds your Listening score; for every task that does, see PTE Listening 79.
Weak forms in English: why you don't hear the small words
English is a stress-timed language. Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives) get the beat; function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries) are squeezed between the beats. To fit, they lose their full vowel and shrink to a quick "uh" sound, the schwa /ə/. That shrunken version is the weak form.
If you learned English mostly from reading, you know "of" as /ɒv/ and "to" as /tuː/. In a recording you hear /əv/ and /tə/: quieter, shorter and glued to the next word. Your brain is listening for a sound that never comes, so the word seems to vanish.
Weak forms in English with examples
| Word | Strong form | Weak form you hear | In a phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | /eɪ/ | /ə/ | a major cause → uh-MAY-jer |
| the | /ðiː/ | /ðə/ | the central shaft → thuh-SEN-trul |
| of | /ɒv/ | /əv/ or just /ə/ | most of the time → MOST-uv-thuh |
| to | /tuː/ | /tə/ | want to leave → WON-tuh |
| and | /ænd/ | /ən/ or /n/ | salt and water → SALT-n |
| have | /hæv/ | /əv/ or /v/ | waters have changed → WA-terz-uv |
| has | /hæz/ | /əz/ or /z/ | the price has risen → PRICE-iz |
| can | /kæn/ | /kən/ | you can park → yuh-kn-PARK |
| for | /fɔː/ | /fə/ | wait for news → WAIT-fuh |
| from | /frɒm/ | /frəm/ | far from home → FAR-frum |
| at | /æt/ | /ət/ | look at the map → LOOK-ut-thuh |
| that | /ðæt/ | /ðət/ | the idea that it works → thut-it |
| was / were | /wɒz/ /wɜː/ | /wəz/ /wə/ | it was built → it-wuz-BILT |
| are | /ɑː/ | /ə/ | the roads are closed → ROADZ-uh |
Southern British pronunciation. Bold syllables carry the stress. This table is BandLadder teaching material, not part of the score guides.
How to remember a repeat sentence in PTE: chunking tips
Holding every word of a long sentence one at a time is hard. Holding three or four chunks is not: a chunk is a stressed word with its small words attached. "With the rising" is one chunk, not three words. Remember the chunk and the small words come back with it. The method below is BandLadder advice.
Four steps for every Repeat Sentence
- 1
Catch the beats. While the audio plays, notice the stressed words: these are your anchors (calendar, rising, brightest, star).
- 2
Hear the glue. Listen for the weak sounds between the anchors: uh, thuh, uv, tuh, n. Each one is a word you have to say.
- 3
Say it in chunks. Repeat chunk by chunk with the same rhythm: small words quick and light, but present. Do not stop to search for a word; pauses hurt fluency.
- 4
Let grammar check you. In practice, replay your answer: does each singular countable noun have a, an or the? Did an /əv/ before a past participle become "have"? Add only what grammar forces.
Fluency matters here too. Content ignores hesitations, but the Oral Fluency scale counts them: level 5 asks for "smooth rhythm and phrasing" (Academic guide p. 46; Core guide p. 40). Chunking keeps you moving, so it helps both scores at once.
PTE Repeat Sentence examples: small words marked
Three sentences from BandLadder's own Repeat Sentence sets. The small words learners lose are highlighted, with the chunks marked by a slash.
Ancient Egyptian astronomers / aligned theirweak civil calendar / with theglue rising / of theuv-thuh brightest star.
- → Heard as: …calendar wi-thuh RISing uv-thuh BRIGHTest STAR.
- → Typical answer: "…with rising of brightest star": two omissions, so content 2, not 3.
- → Fix: learn "with the rising" and "of the brightest star" as two chunks. Grammar backs you up: "rising" is a noun here (the rising of a star) and "brightest" is a superlative, so both need "the".
Warmer coastal waters have/əv/ accelerated / the reproductive cycles / of several common jellyfish species.
- → Weak "have" is /əv/ and glues to "waters": WA-terz-uv. Many learners drop it and say "waters accelerated" (omission), or hear it as "of" (replacement).
- → Grammar tells you what /əv/ is: between two nouns it is "of"; before a past participle it is "have". But "waters accelerated" is also correct English, so grammar cannot rescue a "have" you never heard. This one is for your ear.
Several countries resisted the new calendarthe / for centuriesno the / because of religiousno the differences.
- → Only one "the" in this sentence. A common answer adds two: "for the centuries", "because of the religious differences". Two insertions: content 2, not 3.
- → Plural nouns used in general (centuries, differences) take no article. If you did not hear /ðə/, do not add it.
✗ Modern slipways allow rescue vessels enter turbulent waters within minutes an alert.
✓ Modern slipways allow rescue vessels to enter turbulent waters within minutes of an alert.
"to" (/tə/) hides before "enter"; "of an" links into one sound, uv-uh-nuh-LERT. Grammar helps: "allow" + noun needs "to". From the BandLadder set Coastal Rescue and Lifeboat Operations.
Practise on these sets in Repeat Sentence practice. When you practise with BandLadder AI scoring, your result flags words it heard you skip and extra words you added, so you can see which small words you lose most often. For the delivery side, see Read Aloud fluency: the same chunking works in both tasks.
Your turn: Repeat Sentence small words check
Answer each question, then reveal the answer. Use the scoring rule and the weak-forms table above.
- The sentence is "The results were published in a leading medical journal." You say "The results were published in leading medical journal." What is the highest content score this can get?
- A. 3
- B. 2
- C. 1
- D. 0
Show answer
2
One omission (a) means not all words, so not 3. More than 50% of the words are in the correct sequence, which is the description for 2.
- You hear "The parcels /əv/ arrived at the depot." Which word is /əv/?
- A. of
- B. have
- C. are
- D. a
Show answer
have
It comes after a plural subject and before a past participle (arrived), so it is the auxiliary "have". "Of" sits between two nouns.
- Which of these is an error in Repeat Sentence content scoring?
- A. A short pause before the last word
- B. Saying "the" as /ðə/
- C. Adding "the" before "centuries" when the speaker did not say it
- D. Saying "to" as /tə/
Show answer
Adding "the" before "centuries" when the speaker did not say it
Insertions count as errors (Academic guide p. 16; Core p. 25). Pauses are ignored for content, and weak forms are normal English.
- In "Volunteers can join the crew after one training day", how will "can" most likely sound?
- A. /kæn/ with a full vowel
- B. /kən/, short and unstressed
- C. /kɑːnt/
- D. It is not pronounced
Show answer
/kən/, short and unstressed
Positive "can" before a main verb is normally weak. A full vowel would suggest "can't", which changes the meaning.
- "Several countries resisted the new calendar for centuries." You are unsure whether you heard "for the centuries". What should you say?
- A. for the centuries
- B. for centuries
- C. the centuries
- D. for a centuries
Show answer
for centuries
You did not clearly hear /ðə/, and a plural noun used in general needs no article. Adding "the" would be an insertion.
BandLadder questions
Practise it now
Use the method on original BandLadder questions. Attempt them free and see your score.
Questions
FAQ
Why do I miss small words in PTE Repeat Sentence?+
Because English speakers say them in weak forms: "of" becomes /əv/, "to" becomes /tə/, "the" becomes /ðə/. They are short, unstressed and glued to the next word, so if you listen for the full forms you will not notice them.
Does missing one word reduce the Repeat Sentence score?+
Yes. Content 3 needs all words from the prompt in the correct sequence, and omissions count as errors (PTE Academic Score Guide p. 16; PTE Core Score Guide p. 25). One missing "the" means the response can no longer score 3 for content.
How do I remember a repeat sentence in PTE?+
Remember it in chunks of meaning rather than single words: a stressed word with its small words attached, such as "with the rising" or "of the brightest star". Three or four chunks are far easier to hold than a long string of separate words.
Should I add articles if I am not sure I heard them?+
No. Insertions count as errors, exactly like omissions. Use grammar to rebuild only what is forced, such as an article before a singular countable noun, and never add "the" to plural nouns used in general.
How many Repeat Sentence questions are in the PTE exam?+
10–12 in both PTE Academic and PTE Core, and each one is scored for Listening and Speaking (PTE Academic Score Guide p. 16; PTE Core Score Guide p. 25).
What are weak forms in English?+
Weak forms are the reduced versions of function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries) used in normal speech, usually with the vowel /ə/. For example, "can" is /kən/ and "for" is /fə/ in most sentences.
Sources
- PTE Academic Score Guide for Test Takers (July 2025): pp. 16–17 (Repeat Sentence: items, skills, content scale); p. 45 (Pronunciation); p. 46 (Oral Fluency)
- PTE Core Score Guide for Test Takers (January 2026): pp. 25–26 (Repeat Sentence: items, skills, content scale); p. 39 (Pronunciation); p. 40 (Fluency)
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