TOEFL Build a Sentence Practice Exercises

TOEFL Build a Sentence practice is most useful when you explain the order rather than recognize it. ETS lists Build a Sentence in the current TOEFL iBT Writing section. The exercises here are original and use campus situations only as training contexts; they are not predictions of test content.

Arrange every chunk into one complete sentence. For this independent exercise set, use neutral subject-first order in statements and question-word-first order in direct questions; do not front an optional time, method, or location phrase. Capitalization is omitted so it cannot reveal the first piece. This convention gives each item one checkable order while the official task remains governed by the instructions shown on your test. Use the TOEFL vocabulary practice hub for related task guides.

Set 1: statements and complements

1. the workshop / has been moved / to a larger room
2. students can reserve / through the library website / a study space
3. the adviser recommended / before registration closes / checking the prerequisites
4. the revised schedule / several evening sessions / includes

Answers and reasons

1. The workshop has been moved to a larger room. Subject + passive verb + destination.
2. Students can reserve a study space through the library website. Modal + base verb + object; the method phrase follows naturally.
3. The adviser recommended checking the prerequisites before registration closes. Recommend takes the gerund phrase here; the time clause modifies the action.
4. The revised schedule includes several evening sessions. Singular subject + verb + object.

Set 2: direct questions

1. does / when / the application period / end
2. which laboratory / will host / the orientation session
3. why / was / the lecture / canceled
4. how many credits / do students need / to complete the program

Answers and reasons

1. When does the application period end? Question word + auxiliary + subject + base verb.
2. Which laboratory will host the orientation session? Which laboratory is the subject, so no extra subject follows.
3. Why was the lecture canceled? The passive auxiliary comes before the subject.
4. How many credits do students need to complete the program? The measured object begins the question; do carries present tense.

Set 3: embedded questions

1. could you tell me / where / the equipment desk is
2. whether / I am not sure / the fee includes materials
3. do you know / when the results / will be available
4. the message explains / why / the room assignment changed

Answers and reasons

1. Could you tell me where the equipment desk is? The outer clause carries question order; the embedded clause uses subject–verb order.
2. I am not sure whether the fee includes materials. Whether introduces the unknown alternative.
3. Do you know when the results will be available? Do not invert will and the results inside the embedded clause.
4. The message explains why the room assignment changed. Why links the reason clause to explains.

Set 4: modifiers and relative clauses

1. the seminar / scheduled for Thursday / requires advance registration
2. students who need accommodation / should contact / the accessibility office
3. the book / that the professor recommended / is currently unavailable
4. located beside the main entrance / the help desk / opens at eight

Answers and reasons

1. The seminar scheduled for Thursday requires advance registration. The reduced relative phrase modifies seminar.
2. Students who need accommodation should contact the accessibility office. The relative clause stays beside its noun.
3. The book that the professor recommended is currently unavailable. The embedded verb recommended belongs inside the relative clause; is is the main verb.
4. The help desk located beside the main entrance opens at eight. The reduced relative phrase stays beside help desk, the noun it modifies.

Set 5: meaning and collocation

1. the department will / students of the change / notify
2. the deadline / has been extended / by three days
3. take advantage of / participants are encouraged to / the feedback session
4. the maintenance work / access to the east entrance / may temporarily restrict

Answers and reasons

1. The department will notify students of the change. The pattern is notify someone of something.
2. The deadline has been extended by three days. A duration after by gives the amount of change.
3. Participants are encouraged to take advantage of the feedback session. Keep the multiword unit intact after to.
4. The maintenance work may temporarily restrict access to the east entrance. Restrict access to is the complete partnership; the adverb modifies the verb.

Mixed challenge

Arrange: could you confirm / whether students who register late / will still receive / the preparation materials.

Answer: Could you confirm whether students who register late will still receive the preparation materials? The outer request uses question order. Inside it, students is followed by its relative clause, then the future verb and object.

For every error, underline the finite verb, box the subject, and circle any chunk that must stay intact. This turns the item into a reusable grammar decision instead of a one-time puzzle.

Practice the error type you found with Lyra Practice's question word-order guide, modifiers and clauses guide, or collocation guide.

Sources

• TOEFL iBT test content
• TOEFL iBT Writing section

Related

• TOEFL Build a Sentence: word order in questions
• TOEFL Build a Sentence: modifiers and clauses
• TOEFL Build a Sentence: collocations that fit
• TOEFL writing vocabulary

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