PTE Academic · Speaking task

PTE Academic Repeat Sentence

Repeat Sentence is a PTE Academic speaking task. You hear a sentence of 3 to 9 seconds once; when the audio ends, the microphone opens and you repeat the sentence exactly, within 15 seconds. There is no preparation time and you record once. A test has 10 to 12 Repeat Sentence items.

Each answer is scored on Content from 0 to 3 (how many words of the sentence you repeat, in the right order), Pronunciation (0–5) and Oral fluency (0–5). It counts toward both Listening and Speaking. Recording stops if you do not start within three seconds or stop for three seconds.

Last reviewed 7 October 2026 against the official sources listed below.

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Repeat Sentence at a glance

PTE Academic Repeat Sentence, tests taken from 7 August 2025
Detail	Repeat Sentence
Items in the test	10–12
What you do	Listen to a sentence, then repeat it exactly
Prompt length	3–9 seconds of audio, played once
Preparation time	None: the microphone opens when the audio finishes
Time to answer	15 seconds
Start of recording	Pearson's format page says to speak immediately; there is a short tone
Attempts	One recording. You cannot replay the audio.
3-second rule	Recording stops if you do not start within 3 seconds, or if you stop for 3 seconds while speaking
Scored on	Content 0–3, Pronunciation 0–5, Oral fluency 0–5
Counts toward	Listening and Speaking

Hesitations, filled or unfilled pauses, and anything you say before or after the sentence are ignored when Content is scored. They can still affect Oral fluency.
Repeat Sentence is not one of the tasks Pearson lists for a human review of Content.

Sources: Pearson: PTE Academic test format, Speaking & Writing · Pearson: PTE Academic Test Taker Score Guide (PDF)

How Repeat Sentence is scored

Content counts the words of the sentence you repeat in the correct sequence. Only three kinds of error count: a word replaced, a word left out, and a word added. Pearson's format page adds that having almost nothing from the sentence in your answer lowers the score, and that no credit is given for no response or an irrelevant one.

Pronunciation and Oral fluency use the same 0–5 levels as the other speaking tasks: whether most regular speakers of the language would understand you easily, and whether your rhythm, phrasing and stress are smooth and natural.

Pearson's Repeat Sentence Content levels (0–3), in our words
Content	What the response contains
3	Every word of the sentence, in the correct order
2	At least half of the words of the sentence, in the correct order
1	Fewer than half of the words of the sentence, in the correct order
0	Almost nothing from the sentence

Pearson does not publish how Repeat Sentence scores are weighted into the 10–90 Listening and Speaking scores.

Sources: Pearson: PTE Academic Test Taker Score Guide (PDF) · Pearson: PTE Academic test format, Speaking & Writing

How to approach Repeat Sentence

You have no preparation time, so the work happens while you listen. These steps follow Pearson's own tips.

1
Listen in phrases, not single words
Pearson's example splits "Next week's tutorial / on Tuesday / has been cancelled" into three meaningful chunks. Chunks are much easier to hold in memory than separate words.
2
Notice the stress and intonation
Copy the rhythm of the speaker: which words were stressed, where the voice fell. You do not need to copy the accent.
3
Start right away
Begin as soon as the microphone opens. Waiting three seconds ends the recording.
4
Speak calmly at a natural pace
Pearson's tips say rushing lowers your score because the speech no longer sounds naturally fluent.
5
If you lose a word, keep going
Say the rest of the sentence in order. Do not stop to correct yourself or start again, and do not add words that were not in the audio.
6
Only note what helps
Pearson suggests not taking notes, or writing only key words or the first letter of each word if that works for you.

Common mistakes

Restarting the sentence after a slip
The repetition costs fluency and the slip still counts. Carry on to the end.
Adding words to make it sound complete
An added word is an error in Content, just like a missing one.
Waiting to recall the whole sentence before speaking
Three seconds of silence at the start stops the recording. Start with the first chunk you remember.
Mumbling the parts you are unsure of
Say your best version clearly. A word nobody can make out does not help Content and lowers Pronunciation.
Speaking too fast
Speed does not add points; Pearson's tips say rushing lowers the score.
Imitating the speaker's accent
Pearson says you do not need to. Focus on the words, their order and the stress pattern.

Worked example

A sentence we wrote in the Repeat Sentence style, three possible answers, and where each would sit on Pearson's published Content levels.

Our original example, not a real test item

A change to the library hours

Sentence (heard once, about 5 seconds)

"The library will close early on Friday because of a staff training session." (14 words)

Heard in chunks

The library will close early / on Friday / because of a staff training session.

Answer A

"The library will close early on Friday because of a staff training session."

Answer B

"The library will close early on Friday because of staff training."

Answer C

"The library... close... um... Friday training."

Why it works

Answer A has every word in order: Content 3 on Pearson's descriptors.
Answer B leaves out "a" and "session" but keeps 12 of the 14 words in order, more than half: Content 2.
Answer C keeps 5 of the 14 words in order, fewer than half: Content 1. The "um" is ignored for Content, but the hesitations lower Oral fluency.
These are our readings of Pearson's published levels, for practice. Pearson's machine scoring decides the actual Content score.

Free PTE Academic Repeat Sentence practice videos

New practice questions on YouTube every day: answer out loud before the timer ends, then compare with a model answer. Realistic practice written to the official format, never real test content.

Playlists

PTE Repeat Sentence practice videosListen, repeat and check.

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Repeat Sentence questions

How many Repeat Sentence questions are in PTE Academic?

Pearson's Score Guide gives 10–12 Repeat Sentence items per test. Each sentence is 3 to 9 seconds long.

How long do I have to answer Repeat Sentence?

15 seconds. There is no preparation time: the microphone opens when the audio ends, and you can hear the sentence only once.

How is Repeat Sentence scored?

On Content from 0 to 3, Pronunciation from 0 to 5 and Oral fluency from 0 to 5. Content 3 means every word in the correct order; 2 means at least half of the words in order; 1 means fewer than half; 0 means almost nothing from the sentence.

Does Repeat Sentence count toward Listening?

Yes. Pearson's Score Guide lists Repeat Sentence under both Listening and Speaking.

What if I forget part of the sentence?

Say the words you remember in the order you heard them and keep going. Partial credit applies, so half a sentence in the right order still scores. Do not restart, and do not stay silent for three seconds, because the recording stops.

Do I need to copy the speaker's accent?

No. Pearson's tips say it is not necessary. Copy the stress and intonation pattern, and speak clearly at a natural pace.

Sources

Every timing, count and scoring fact on this page comes from these official pages. Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Test owners change their tests: check the official pages before you book.