PTE Select Missing Word

Q: What does the beep replace?

The final word or short phrase of the recording. Your job is to choose what belongs there.

Q: How is it scored?

1 point correct, 0 otherwise, no negative marking, feeding your Listening score. 1–2 per test.

Q: What’s the best technique?

Predict the ending in your own words at the beep, then pick the closest option — direction and tone eliminate most wrong answers.

Q: Should I answer if I’m not sure?

Always — no penalty exists. Eliminate what clashes with the speaker’s tone and choose the best remaining.

A recording plays, and at the end a beep replaces the final word or phrase. You pick what the beep stole. The trick: by the time the beep arrives, the answer should already be in your head.

1–2questions per test

Oncethe audio plays

1 ptcorrect / 0

Beepreplaces the end

The thing most people miss: this task isn’t testing your hearing at the moment of the beep — there’s nothing to hear. It tests whether you followed the speaker’s logic well enough to finish their sentence for them, the way you finish a friend’s… sentence. Ride the argument’s direction: if the speaker has spent 40 seconds praising a method, the beeped word continues the praise. No negative marking — always answer.

How to ride the argument

Direction, tone, and the sentence the beep interrupted.

Track direction, not details: is the speaker building toward a benefit, a warning, a cause, a contrast? The ending continues the trajectory — endings rarely U-turn.
The final sentence is the frame: the beep’s sentence usually summarises. Hold its first half in mind and complete it naturally.
Tone check the options: a positive lecture doesn’t end on a negative word. Options that clash with the speaker’s tone eliminate themselves.
Predict before you look: guess the ending in your own words at the beep, then find the option closest to your guess — far more reliable than reasoning backwards from the options.

The mistakes that cost the most points

1. Zoning out until the end

Students treat it as a one-second task and tune in late — but the answer is distributed across the whole recording.

✓ Fix: listen actively from the start: topic, direction, tone. The beep just asks where it was all heading.

2. Reasoning backwards from the options

Reading options first and hunting justification makes every option sound plausible.

✓ Fix: form your own prediction first, then match. Prediction-first is the entire technique.

3. Skipping it when unsure

1/0 with no penalty — blank is the only guaranteed miss.

✓ Fix: eliminate tone-clashing options and pick the best survivor. Always answer.

How to practise it

Prediction is trainable — every recording is a rep.

On The PTE Master, Select Missing Word runs exam-style with instant marking. The habit it builds — predicting where speech is going — quietly improves your whole Listening section, not just this task.

Good news for free users: this task is objectively scored, so the full bank and instant marking are free — no paid plan needed. Paid packs add AI scoring on the speaking and writing tasks.

Practise Select Missing Word

Train the prediction reflex the beep is really testing.

Start practising

Common questions

What does the beep replace?

The final word or short phrase of the recording. Your job is to choose what belongs there.

How is it scored?

1 point correct, 0 otherwise, no negative marking, feeding your Listening score. 1–2 per test.

What’s the best technique?

Predict the ending in your own words at the beep, then pick the closest option — direction and tone eliminate most wrong answers.

Should I answer if I’m not sure?

Always — no penalty exists. Eliminate what clashes with the speaker’s tone and choose the best remaining.

Keep going

Highlight Correct Summary One click, two section scores All 22 PTE question types The complete list, with timings and which tasks feed two scores Listening: Fill in the Blanks Hear it, type it, spell it Write From Dictation The densest points in the exam, right at the end

The PTE Master is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson. "PTE Academic" is a trademark of its owner. Scoring rules, question counts and skills mappings on this page are from Pearson's published Test Taker Score Guide — always check the official Pearson materials for the definitive format before test day. Last updated: 23 July 2026.