TOEIC Part 5 — Incomplete Sentences
TOEIC Part 5 presents 30 sentences with a single blank, each with four answer choices. The test taker selects the choice that grammatically and contextually completes the sentence. Part 5 is the most concentrated grammar section on the test.
Format
Text-only. No audio. Self-paced — Part 5 questions are not timed individually. Most test takers spend 15–18 minutes on Part 5; high scorers spend 10–12.
Common pitfalls at the 600–800 band
- Form-vs-function confusion. Part 5 frequently offers four words from the same root (analyze, analyst, analysis, analytical) and the answer depends on whether the blank is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Test takers who guess by meaning rather than syntactic function miss these.
- Subject-verb agreement across modifiers. A long modifier between the subject and verb hides the agreement cue. Test takers who don't isolate the subject pick the verb form that agrees with the nearest noun, which is often wrong.
- Subjunctive after specific verbs. Verbs like 'recommend', 'suggest', 'insist', 'require' trigger subjunctive in the dependent clause ('that he attend', not 'that he attends'). This is one of the most consistently missed Part 5 patterns at the 800 band.
High-scorer strategy
- Decide the part of speech first. Look at the blank's position in the sentence — between articles and nouns it's an adjective, before a verb it's an adverb or a noun subject. Decide on syntax before reading the answer choices.
- Read the answer choices once, in order. Going back and forth between the sentence and the choices burns time. Resolve the syntactic decision first, then scan the choices.
- Pace at under 25 seconds per question. The Reading section's bottleneck is Part 7 time — every second saved in Part 5 directly buys you another Part 7 question.
Common questions about TOEIC Part 5
How long should I spend on TOEIC Part 5?
TOEIC Part 5 should take a target test taker about 12 to 15 minutes — under 25 seconds per question on average. The Reading section has a 75-minute total budget, and Parts 6 and 7 typically consume the remaining 60 minutes.
Is Part 5 mostly grammar or vocabulary?
TOEIC Part 5 is roughly 60% grammar and 40% vocabulary, by industry consensus on item analysis. The grammar items cover parts of speech, tense, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, and conjunctions. The vocabulary items test business-context word choice.
What's the most common Part 5 mistake?
The most common TOEIC Part 5 mistake is choosing an answer that matches the meaning of the sentence but is the wrong part of speech — for example, choosing 'analysis' (noun) when the blank requires 'analytical' (adjective). Deciding the syntactic role of the blank before looking at the answers eliminates this trap.
Related guides
Practice TOEIC Part 5 adaptively
TOEIC Ready selects Part 5 items at the difficulty that moves your score fastest. Free diagnostic, then adaptive practice.
Download on theApp Store