Sentence Completion: Verbal Ability Questions and Answers

Sentence completion is a type of question that can be found in the Verbal Ability section of many competitive tests and exams. The aim is to determine the ability to pick out the right word or words to complete a sentence. To answer this type of question as quickly and as accurately as possible, we should practice strategies such as making educated guesses and using context clues to narrow down our options.

The following article provides various tips and tricks to solve sentence completion questions easily. Practicing different types of questions on this topic will help a candidate score good marks. Sample Questions for sentence completion and paragraph completion are provided here for practice. 

Solve Completing Statements: Tips and Tricks

Sentence completion questions require two skills to answer correctly: vocabulary and reasoning. When unfamiliar words appear, generally the best approach is to eliminate any known words, and then guess the unknown one. However, if there are several unfamiliar words, this could potentially reduce your chances of getting it right. Nevertheless, the goal of these questions is not necessarily about knowing the vocabulary – rather it’s assessing your ability to reason through ideas.

“Paragraph Completion” means completing the given paragraph by filling in the missing sentences. Read the whole paragraph and understand the crux of the paragraph and then read the sentence in question carefully and try to fill the blank with the most suitable option. After choosing the most suitable option, ascertain if it gives the correct meaning to the sentence and is in line with the context of the paragraph. Follow all the grammar rules, e.g., tenses, parts of speech, vocabulary, etc. Last but not least, read the whole paragraph once and check that there are no grammatical errors. 

Sample Questions on Sentence Completion

Fill in the Blanks with the correct option:

Q 1. Despite studying for hours, ___________. 
a. he still failed the test 
b. he got an A+ on the exam 
c. he decided to skip the test 
d. he didn’t feel confident enough to take the test 
e. he aced the test with flying colors

Answer: a. he still failed the test

Q 2. She arrived at the airport ___________. 
a. before the flight had landed 
b. after the flight had left 
c. just in time to catch her flight 
d. without her luggage 
e. with a delay of several hours

Answer: c. just in time to catch her flight

Q 3. The teacher asked the students to ___________. 
a. memorize the entire textbook 
b. complete the assignment by tomorrow 
c. skip the next class 
d. write a book report on their favorite movie 
e. quit the class

Answer: b. complete the assignment by tomorrow

Q 4. The new restaurant in town ___________. 
a. has already become very popular 
b. is struggling to attract customers 
c. serves terrible food 
d. doesn’t have any vegetarian options 
e. has been shut down by the health department

Answer: a. has already become very popular

Q 5. He couldn’t decide which shirt to wear to the party, ___________. 
a. so he wore them all 
b. so he asked his mom to choose for him 
c. so he didn’t go to the party 
d. so he flipped a coin 
e. so he ended up wearing a t-shirt and jeans

Answer: d. so he flipped a coin

Q 6. The company’s profits ___________. 
a. have been steadily increasing 
b. have been steadily decreasing 
c. have remained the same for years 
d. have been affected by the pandemic 
e. have never been disclosed to the public

Answer: a. have been steadily increasing

Q 7. She walked into the room ___________. 
a. with a big smile on her face 
b. with tears in her eyes 
. carrying a heavy backpack 
d. wearing a hat and sunglasses 
e. yelling and screaming

Answer: b. with tears in her eyes

Q 8. The concert was cancelled ___________. 
a. due to bad weather 
b. because the band missed their flight
c. because the tickets sold out too quickly 
d. because of a technical issue 
e. because the venue was too small

Answer: a. due to bad weather

Q 9. He didn’t like the movie ___________. 
a. because it was too long 
b. because it was too short 
c. because it had a happy ending 
d. because it had a sad ending 
e. because it was a comedy

Answer: a. because it was too long

Q 10. She was able to finish the marathon ___________. 
a. despite the hot weather 
b. because she cheated 
c. because she got a ride in a car 
d. because she was injured 
e. because she gave up halfway through

Answer: a. despite the hot weather

Sample Questions on Paragraph Completion

Directions ( Q 11-15 )Choose the correct option to complete the paragraph:

Q 11. This seems even more crucial today given the lack of boundary between home and the outside world. When your authors were growing up, the world beyond their local community only came through the newspapers, radio, and television, with access to the latter two time-limited. Now, with mobile phones, iPads, and other devices, there are no boundaries and few time limits. _____________________________________.

i) The world, for good and bad, is fully accessible, and the primacy of the messages delivered at home is under more challenge.

ii) This act of rebellion changed the course of Harry’s life, enabling him to get an education and do something other than walking a predetermined path.

iii) Like Ellen, Harry was also subject to a prophecy.

iv) Of our interviewers, Ellen was the one who seemed to have been chosen by destiny as a child.

v) None of the above.

Answer: Option- (i) is correct, it suits the meaning and context of the paragraph. 

Q 12. Beyond talking, there is also the question of what is modelled at home. With the rapid growth of the number of women in the workforce and the lessening of the number of women who are continuously at home full-time, many of us would intuitively assume that domestic duties are now more equitably shared. _______________________________________. The peak difference occurs in the age range of 35 to 44 years old, a time when families may need to look after children and spend time caring for ageing parents.

i) Given how grim much of the rest of Ellen’s childhood story is, it is a relief to know there was also some fun and humour.

ii) As well as being formally briefed about the team working, every day she overheard something new and intriguing.

iii) But the statistics show that there is still quite some way to go. A time-use study conducted in the United States in 2018 reveals that, on average, women spend two hours a day more than men on unpaid house and care work.

iv) Partly, it has happened because books and articles on women have caught our eyes.

v) None of the above.

Answer: Option- (iii) is correct, it suits the meaning and context of the paragraph. 

Q 13. At this stage of life, women are performing 8.8 hours a day of free work, while men are contributing 5.2 hours. Even when men and women both work full time, there is a 22 per cent difference in the time devoted to unpaid domestic and caring work. A look at who manages healthcare needs at home also shows substantial differences. ___________________________________________. When a child is too unwell to go to school, 40 per cent of mothers indicate that they are the adult who takes time off work to look after them, whereas only 3 per cent of fathers say that they shoulder that responsibility.

i) Informing these best guesses were two sources of information: our own life experiences and our understanding of the academic studies about women’s leadership.  

ii) Hypothesis might seem like an unusual word to use, but it had been on our lips since we first began to discuss writing this book.

iii) Our shared starting point was a set of best guesses about what might explain the numerical lack of women leaders and the ways we observed that they were treated differently from men.

iv) Around 80 per cent of mothers say that they are the parent who will take children to medical appointments, and over 75 per cent say that they do the follow-up, like ensuring that medication is taken. 

v) None of the above.

Answer: Option- (iv) is correct, it suits the meaning and context of the paragraph.

Q 14. It might be a hard message to absorb for fathers who are not currently regularly wielding a mop, washing the dishes or staying home to look after a sick child, but at-home modelling about sharing domestic duties is another aspect of creating an enabling, non-stereotyped environment. ________________________________________.

i) Research has shown that, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, girls were less likely to confine their answers to stereotypically female occupations if they had a dad who not only said he believed in a more equal distribution of domestic labour but did more tasks at home.

ii) A striking feature of Joyce’s recitation of her life story is the absence of references to her mother.

iii) Harry reminds us, though, that even in families where girls are nurtured and urged to aim high, poverty can flatten everything.

iv) Notably, this spirit of ambition for her was also in her grandmother.

v) None of the above.

Answer: Option- (i) is correct, it suits the meaning and context of the paragraph.

Q 15. __________________________________________________________. A family that creates the kind of free-from-gender-limits environment our women leaders grew up in, will be empowering her to be a leader.

i) This was a decision with formidable ramifications. In her ethnic group, bearing the name of her grandmother is more than symbolic.

ii) Consequently, her grandmother’s will for Joyce to become something else, to have a different life, was strong. 

iii) The ideas were suggested by Joyce, many of these things did not happen.

iv) ‘You go girl’ is a proven hypothesis and a real lesson for the parents and other relatives of young girls. 

v) None of the above.

Answer: Option- (iv) is correct, it suits the meaning and context of the paragraph.

Suitable Approaches for Sentence Completion

Such sentence completion can be greatly helped by having a strong vocabulary. Even without being aware of every option, there are numerous strategies we might employ when answering questions of this nature. Here are a few of them:

• Read the Sentence: Carefully read the sentence to make use of its clues. The sentence’s structure and use of challenging terms could make the inquiry challenging. In order to answer the question even with a word expressing knowledge, one must analyse the statement to determine what matches the best.
• Hints: The above tips might point out what has to be written in the sentence’s blank to make it meaningful. This test will help you find the correct hint. The answer in the blank must also change if we modify the suggestion. By inserting that word or phrase into the blank itself, we can verify the tip.
• Positive and Negative Significance: After identifying the word clues, indicate if the term is positive or negative. Additionally, these symbols might be used to denote antonyms or synonyms.
• Structure Words: Look for and attempt to use words such as but, rather, although, however, and, while, but, consequently, and so on.
• These might make clear how the sentences are put together and how the hint and blank relate to one another. They explain the kinds of words to search for as they alter the sentence’s meaning.
• Visualise: Consider potential words to fill in the blanks before making your selections. It will protect us from making poor decisions. We can simplify the process of elimination if we have a general idea of the kind of terms that are needed. The term we perceive doesn’t have to be complex; a general notion would do.
  Elimination: It’s now simple to rule out the incorrect decisions. But keep in mind that the right response requires that the words appear in the specified order. The response is wrong if there is a single word that makes perfect sense but is not the perfect choice. If you are unsure about a choice’s meaning, don’t discount it. If you have any reservations, walk away and consider other options.
• Working Backwards: Since we have more chances to rule out bad options, the two-blank questions may be simpler. Knowing the other word is not necessary if we can rule out a choice based just on one word. Working backwards is frequently more effective.