24 original Build a Sentence prompts (24 questions) written for the current TOEFL iBT format, each with a full explanation. Free, with no account needed.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 1, 2026
How to use this page
Read the other speaker’s line, then build the reply by tapping tiles into the blanks. Some sets include one tile you do not need. Check the finished sentence for word order and agreement.
Check each answer to see whether you are right; the explanation opens automatically and covers every option, not just the correct one. New to the task? Read the Build a Sentence guide first for the format and strategies.
24 questions to try
1. Do you know whether each of the rooms has its own bathroom
1 question
Someone saysI've put the north building down as my first choice for housing next year.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Do you knowofown bathroom?
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Do you know whether each of the rooms has its own bathroom?
After 'Do you know', a yes/no question is embedded with 'whether' and keeps statement order: 'whether' + subject + verb. The subject is 'each of the rooms', so the fixed word 'of' must sit between 'each' and 'the rooms'. Because the head of the subject is 'each', the verb is singular 'has', and the possessive that refers back to it is 'its' ('its own bathroom'). No other placement works: 'its' needs a noun or 'own' after it, and 'the' must come directly before 'rooms'.
Structure: Do you know + [whether] + [each] of [the rooms] + [has] + [its] own bathroom? Singular 'each' controls 'has' and 'its'.
2. Did they mention how long the repair is going to take
1 question
Someone saysI finally reported our broken heater to the housing office.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Did they mentionto take?
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Did they mention how long the repair is going to take?
After 'Did they mention', the question about duration becomes an embedded question, so it keeps statement order: 'how long' + subject 'the repair' + 'is going' + the fixed 'to take?'. The tile 'does' is not used. 'How long does the repair take' is direct-question order and cannot combine with 'going'; 'how long is the repair going to take' also inverts the verb and subject inside the embedded clause, which standard English does not allow after 'mention'.
Structure: Did they mention + [how long] + [the repair] + [is going] + to take? Embedded wh-clause in statement order; 'does' is surplus.
3. Is that the book you have been waiting for all month
1 question
Someone saysThe library just emailed to say my hold is ready.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Isfor all month?
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Is that the book you have been waiting for all month?
The question starts with the fixed 'Is', so 'that' must be the subject ('Is that ...?') and 'the book' the complement. 'You have been waiting for' is a relative clause with the relative pronoun left out: 'the book (that) you have been waiting for all month'. The present perfect progressive needs 'have been' + the -ing form. The trap is 'Is the book that you have been waiting for all month?', which is not a complete question because the book is given no description after the relative clause.
Structure: Is + [that] + [the] [book] + [you] [have] [been] [waiting] + for all month? Present perfect progressive in a contact relative clause.
4. Is the kitchen in your new dorm that much bigger than ours
1 question
Someone saysI'm thinking of having everyone from the choir over on Friday.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Is the kitchenbigger than ours?
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Is the kitchen in your new dorm that much bigger than ours?
The fixed 'Is the kitchen' begins a yes/no question, and the subject's place modifier comes straight after the noun: 'the kitchen in your new dorm'. 'That much' (= by a large amount) modifies the comparative and must come directly before the fixed 'bigger than ours'. All tiles are used.
Structure: Is the kitchen + [in] [your] [new] [dorm] + [that] [much] + bigger than ours? Post-noun prepositional modifier; 'that much' directly before the comparative. *'in that new dorm your much' has no possible reading.
5. Isn't she the one who ran the film nights last spring
1 question
Someone saysThe new president of the photography club seems really organized.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Isn'tthe film nights last spring?
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Isn't she the one who ran the film nights last spring?
The negative question 'Isn't she ...?' needs the subject 'she' directly after 'Isn't', then the complement 'the one'. 'The one' is described by a relative clause in which the relative pronoun is the subject of 'ran', so it must be 'who'. 'Whom' is used only when the pronoun is the object ('the one whom we elected'), so it is the surplus tile here.
Structure: Isn't + [she] + [the one] + [who ran] + the film nights last spring? Subject relative pronoun 'who'; 'whom' is surplus.
6. Do you want me to show you how the scanner works
1 question
Someone saysI have to get all these old journal articles into a PDF by tonight.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Do you wantscanner works?
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Do you want me to show you how the scanner works?
'Want' takes an object plus a to-infinitive when someone else will do the action: 'Do you want me to show you ...?' The verb 'show' then takes the person ('you') and an embedded question ('how the scanner works') in statement order. 'Showing' is the surplus tile because 'want me showing you' is not a standard pattern. 'Do you want you to show me' is ungrammatical because 'want' does not take an object that repeats its own subject.
Structure: Do you want + [me] + [to show] + [you] + [how the] + scanner works? want + object + to-infinitive; 'showing' is surplus.
7. Would you happen to know which floor the course reserves are on
1 question
Someone saysHi there. Is there something I can help you with?
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Would you happen to know whichon?
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Would you happen to know which floor the course reserves are on?
After 'Would you happen to know which', the question is embedded, so it keeps statement order: 'which floor' + subject 'the course reserves' + verb 'are', with the preposition 'on' left at the end. 'Does' is the surplus tile: an affirmative embedded question takes no do-support (*'which floor does the course reserves are on'), and 'reserves' is plural in any case. Only a negative embedded question keeps do-support (doesn't/didn't), because 'not' needs it, as in 'why the café doesn't open on Mondays'; be, have and modals stay in any embedded question, after the subject, as in 'where I can get a copy'. *'which floor are the course reserves on' keeps direct-question order inside the embedded question.
Structure: Would you happen to know which + [floor] + [the] [course reserves] + [are] + on? Embedded wh-clause with a stranded preposition; 'does' is surplus.
8. What will you do if there aren't any singles left
1 question
Someone saysI'm going to ask the housing office for a room to myself next term.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Whatany singles left?
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What will you do if there aren't any singles left?
The fixed 'What' begins a direct question, so the auxiliary 'will' comes before the subject: 'What will you do ...?' The condition follows as an if-clause in statement order: 'if there aren't any singles left'. The noun after the gap, 'singles', is plural, so the verb must be 'aren't'; 'isn't' is the surplus tile.
Structure: What + [will you do] + [if there aren't] + any singles left? Direct question + first-conditional if-clause; plural 'singles' requires 'aren't'.
9. I'd go if it weren't for my shift on Saturday
1 question
Someone saysAre you coming camping with the mountaineering group this weekend?
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
I'dfor mySaturday.
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I'd go if it weren't for my shift on Saturday.
'I'd go' is the result of an unreal condition, so the condition uses the past subjunctive fixed phrase 'if it weren't for' + noun: 'if it weren't for my shift'. The fixed words 'for my' must follow 'weren't', and the remaining tiles form 'shift on' before 'Saturday'. No other order produces a complete conditional sentence.
Structure: I'd + [go] + [if it weren't] + for my + [shift on] + Saturday. Unreal condition 'if it weren't for' + noun phrase.
10. How much has the number of members grown since then
1 question
Someone saysThe debate team moved into a far larger room in January.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
How muchsince then?
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How much has the number of members grown since then?
The fixed 'How much' begins a direct question, so the auxiliary comes before the subject: 'How much has the number of members grown ...?' The subject is 'the number of members', whose head noun is the singular 'number', so the auxiliary is 'has'. 'Have' is the surplus tile; it would agree with 'members', which is only inside the prepositional phrase.
Structure: How much + [has] + [the number of members] + [grown] + since then? 'The number of' + plural noun takes a singular verb; 'have' is surplus.
11. Not once did I find an empty table upstairs
1 question
Someone saysHow did studying at the library go during finals week?
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Not onceupstairs.
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Not once did I find an empty table upstairs.
When a negative expression such as 'Not once' is placed at the start of a sentence, the auxiliary comes before the subject, and in the past simple the auxiliary is 'did': 'Not once did I find ...'. After 'did', the main verb is the base form 'find', so 'found' is the surplus tile. The object is 'an empty table', with 'an' required before the vowel sound of 'empty'.
Structure: Not once + [did I] + [find] + [an empty table] + upstairs. Negative inversion with do-support; 'found' is surplus.
12. Had you signed up by the time they rescheduled it
1 question
Someone saysThe chess club switched its meetings to Thursday nights.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Had youit?
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Had you signed up by the time they rescheduled it?
'Had you signed up' is the past perfect, which describes an action completed before another past event. That later event appears in the time clause 'by the time they rescheduled it', so the verb there must be past simple 'rescheduled'; present 'reschedule' is the surplus tile. The particle 'up' belongs with 'signed' ('sign up'), and 'the time' must follow 'by'.
Structure: Had you + [signed up] + [by the time] + [they rescheduled] + it? Past perfect in the main clause, past simple in the time clause; 'reschedule' is surplus.
13. Just put it in the small blue box that sits next to the printer
1 question
Someone saysWhere should I leave the key to the supply cabinet?
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Just put it inthatthe printer.
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Just put it in the small blue box that sits next to the printer.
Before the noun 'box', the determiner comes first and then the adjectives in the usual English order: size before colour, so 'the small blue box', not 'the blue small box'. The fixed word 'that' then begins a relative clause describing the box, and its verb is singular 'sits' because 'that' refers to 'box'. The location phrase 'next to' comes directly after the verb and before the fixed 'the printer'.
Structure: Just put it in + [the small blue box] + that + [sits next to] + the printer. Determiner + size + colour + noun, then a subject relative clause.
14. Isn't that what the language exchange is for
1 question
Someone saysI'd love to practice speaking Spanish with someone outside of class.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Isn't thatfor?
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Isn't that what the language exchange is for?
'Isn't that ...?' needs a noun-like complement. 'What the language exchange is for' is a free relative clause meaning 'the purpose of the language exchange'. Inside it, the words keep statement order ('the language exchange is for'), with the preposition 'for' left at the end. 'Which' is the surplus tile: it cannot stand for 'the thing that' the way 'what' can. 'What is the language exchange for' is direct-question order and cannot follow 'Isn't that'.
Structure: Isn't that [what] [the] [language exchange] [is] for? 'language exchange' is one tile; 'which' is the unused tile.
15. Will we have to pay for every single page
1 question
Someone saysThe library is going to start charging for printing next month.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Willpage?
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Will we have to pay for every single page?
After the fixed 'Will', the subject 'we' comes first, then the semi-modal 'have to' + base verb 'pay'. 'Pay for' takes the object 'every single page', where 'single' intensifies 'every' and must sit between 'every' and the fixed word 'page'. 'Paying' is the surplus tile because 'have to' requires the base form.
Structure: Will + [we] + [have to pay] + [for] + [every single] + page? have to + base verb; 'paying' is surplus.
16. Do you have any idea whose it could be
1 question
Someone saysSomeone left a laptop charger in the robotics lab after our meeting.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Do you have?
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Do you have any idea whose it could be?
'Any idea' is followed by an embedded question, so the clause keeps statement order: 'whose it could be' (subject 'it', then 'could be'). 'Who's' sounds the same but is short for 'who is' or 'who has', and neither leaves a place for 'could be'; it is the surplus tile. 'Whose could it be' is direct-question order and is not used inside an embedded question.
Structure: Do you have + [any idea] + [whose] + [it could be]? Embedded wh-clause in statement order; the sound-alike 'who's' is surplus.
17. Would it be okay if I shared the work with a friend
1 question
Someone saysThe drama society needs someone to design posters for its spring show.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Would itthe work with a friend?
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Would it be okay if I shared the work with a friend?
The question asks for permission with 'Would it be okay if ...?'. After 'would', the hypothetical if-clause uses a past-tense verb: 'if I shared the work'. 'Shares' is the unused tile: it is present tense and does not agree with 'I'.
Structure: Would it [be] [okay] [if] [I] [shared] the work with a friend? Unused tile: 'shares' (does not agree with 'I').
18. I think it's so that they can decide which hours to extend
1 question
Someone saysWhy is the library asking everyone to fill out that survey?
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
I think it'sto extend.
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I think it's so that they can decide which hours to extend.
'So that' introduces a purpose clause: 'so that they can decide ...'. After the modal 'can', the verb is the base form 'decide'. 'Decide' then takes 'which hours to extend', an embedded wh-phrase with a to-infinitive, so 'which hours' comes directly before the fixed 'to extend'. The trap is to reverse the connector (*'that so they can decide').
Structure: I think it's + [so] [that] + [they] [can] [decide] + [which] [hours] + to extend. Purpose clause with 'so that' + modal.
19. Doesn't everyone who borrows gear have to sign it out
1 question
Someone saysThe equipment closet for the hiking group is a total mess.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Doesn'tsign it out?
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Doesn't everyone who borrows gear have to sign it out?
After 'Doesn't', the subject is 'everyone who borrows gear', and the main verb is the base form 'have' ('Doesn't everyone ... have to sign it out?'). Inside the relative clause, 'who' refers to 'everyone', which is singular, so its verb is 'borrows', not 'borrow'; 'borrow' is the surplus tile. 'Have to' must come directly before the fixed 'sign it out'.
Structure: Doesn't + [everyone] + [who borrows gear] + [have to] + sign it out? Singular 'everyone' takes 'borrows' in the relative clause; 'borrow' is surplus.
20. So which building are they holding it in now
1 question
Someone saysThe club fair got moved indoors because of the wind.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Soin now?
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So which building are they holding it in now?
The fixed 'So' is followed by a direct wh-question, so 'which building' comes first and the auxiliary 'are' comes before the subject 'they': 'which building are they holding it in now?'. The progressive 'are ... holding' needs 'are', so 'do' is the surplus tile; 'do they holding' is not possible. The preposition 'in' stays at the end with the fixed words.
Structure: So + [which building] + [are they] + [holding it] + in now? Direct wh-question with a stranded preposition; 'do' is surplus.
21. How come the weight room didn't open on time yesterday
1 question
Someone saysI got to the sports center at seven yesterday, and the doors were still locked.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
How comeon time yesterday?
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How come the weight room didn't open on time yesterday?
'How come' asks why, but unlike 'why' it is followed by ordinary statement order: subject 'the weight room' + 'didn't open'. The tile 'does' is not used: 'How come does the weight room open' inverts the verb and subject, which 'how come' does not allow, and present-tense 'does' clashes with 'yesterday'.
Structure: How come + [the weight room] (subject) + [didn't open] (past negative) + on time yesterday? 'does' is surplus.
22. Is it worth paying for a meal plan for just one term
1 question
Someone saysI'm only on campus until December, and then I'm switching schools.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Is it worthfor just one term?
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Is it worth paying for a meal plan for just one term?
The adjective 'worth' is followed by an -ing form, so the verb is 'paying', and 'pay' takes 'for' before its object 'a meal plan'. The tile 'to pay' is not used: 'worth to pay' is a common learner error.
Structure: Is it worth + [paying] + [for] + [a meal plan] + for just one term? 'to pay' is surplus.
23. Do you know where I can get my bike looked at near campus
1 question
Someone saysYou're walking to class today? That's not like you.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Do you knownear campus?
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Do you know where I can get my bike looked at near campus?
A notices that B is walking to class, which is unusual for B. B explains indirectly by asking where B's own bike can be checked. After 'Do you know', the question 'where can I ...' becomes an embedded question in statement order: 'where I can'. The causative 'get + object + past participle' gives 'get my bike looked at' (someone else checks it). The tile 'look at' is not used: 'get my bike look at' is not English, and *'where can I get my bike looked at' keeps direct-question order inside 'Do you know'.
Structure: Do you know + [where] + [I can] (statement order) + [get my bike looked at] (causative, past participle) + near campus? 'my bike' = B's bike, the reason B is walking. 'look at' is surplus.
24. You haven't signed the medical waiver yet, have you
1 question
Someone saysThe team manager wants everyone's paperwork in by Friday.
Arrange the words and phrases to complete the response. Fill every blank and use each tile no more than once.
Youyet, have you?
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You haven't signed the medical waiver yet, have you?
The fixed tag 'have you?' must match the auxiliary of the main clause, and 'yet' calls for the present perfect, so the clause is 'You haven't signed the medical waiver'. The tile 'didn't' is not used: it would need the tag 'did you?' and a base verb, not 'signed'. 'You' is in the frame so the object cannot be fronted.
Structure: You + [haven't signed] (present perfect, matching the tag) + [the medical waiver] + yet, have you? 'didn't' is surplus. 'You' is fixed so that the topicalized order *'The medical waiver you haven't signed yet, have you?' cannot be built.