PTE Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield PTE facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Read this sentence: "The committee's decision was predicated on the assumption that funding would be secured." What does "predicated on" mean? → Based on or dependent upon
2. Which PTE Academic communicative skill is specifically assessed by the Highlight Correct Summary listening task? → Listening comprehension and ability to identify the best overall summary
3. Poems that combine dancing and music with a strong romantic theme. → Odes
4. A passage states: 'The renaissance of urban farming is _______ to technological advances in hydroponics and LED lighting.' Which word best fits? → attributable
5. Which word is closest in meaning to "ubiquitous" as used in academic texts? → Present everywhere
6. Which sentence uses the correct form of the verb? → She will go to the store.
7. What is the importance of using linking words in your essay? → To connect ideas clearly and show the relationship between them.
8. In PTE Academic Listening, the "Highlight Correct Summary" task requires test takers to: → Select which written summary best matches the audio recording
9. The word "hypothetical" in academic writing means: → Relating to a hypothesis or imagined scenario
10. Which sentence demonstrates correct use of a concessive clause? → Although the results were inconclusive, the study was well-designed.
11. For the PTE Academic Repeat Sentence task, which pronunciation feature is most important for a high score? → Accurate reproduction of the content with natural rhythm and stress
12. Which conjunction best completes this academic sentence: "The experiment yielded significant results; ______, further research is needed." → therefore
13. In PTE Academic, what is the recommended word count range for the Essay writing task? → 200–300 words
14. A PTE Academic audio states: "Contrary to the earlier study, the 2019 research found no correlation." What detail confirms this is a contrasting finding? → The phrase "Contrary to the earlier study"
15. A text states: 'The proliferation of misinformation on social media has exacerbated public distrust in scientific institutions.' The word 'exacerbated' means: → Made worse or more severe
16. What is the typical maximum length of the audio clip in the PTE Re-tell Lecture task? → Up to 90 seconds
17. A student writes a summary that omits the main point of the passage but uses perfect grammar. What score dimension suffers most? → Content
18. What distinguishes a high-scoring Content response from a partial-credit Content response in Summarize Written Text? → Whether all key points are captured versus only some key points
19. What type of ID is required to sit the PTE Academic exam at a test center? → A government-issued photo ID such as a passport
20. In the PTE 'Write from Dictation' task, what is penalized? → Spelling errors and missing words
21. What happens to the Form score in Summarize Written Text if a test-taker writes more than one sentence? → The Form criterion receives a score of zero
22. In PTE Academic essay assessment, what does "vocabulary range" measure? → The variety of words used, including academic and less common vocabulary
23. Which verb form correctly completes: "The data ______ that climate change is accelerating." → suggests
24. If the engineers _____ the design flaw earlier, the product recall could have been avoided. → had recognized
25. What is a "compound sentence" in the context of PTE Academic grammar? → A sentence joining two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction
26. In PTE Academic, what is the maximum score for each of the four communicative skills? → 90
27. How should you approach reading comprehension questions in the PTE exam? → Read the passage carefully and answer questions based on the content.
28. What does "intonation" refer to in English pronunciation? → The rise and fall of pitch across a sentence
29. If the organization _____ more resources into staff training, employee retention would improve. → invested
30. When completing a PTE 'Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks' task, which strategy is most helpful for choosing between two grammatically correct options? → Test each option against the surrounding context for meaning and collocation