PTE Fill in the Blanks Collocation Practice

PTE fill-in-the-blanks collocation practice is not solved by topic alone. The correct word must fit the grammatical slot, form a natural partnership, and preserve the passage logic. Pearson's official format pages include fill-in-the-blanks work in Reading and Listening; this independent set uses entirely original sentences.

Continue through the PTE Academic vocabulary hub. For every item, name the collocation and the grammar clue before checking the answer.

Set 1: verb–noun partnerships

1. The committee will ______ a review of the safety procedure to identify outdated steps. (conduct / manufacture / translate)
2. The change could ______ pressure on already crowded services. (place / build / push)
3. Researchers must ______ a distinction between correlation and cause. (draw / paint / put)
4. The insulation helps ______ heat loss during winter. (reduce / descend / narrow)
5. The findings ______ doubt on the earlier explanation. (cast / throw / send)

Answers: 1 conduct; conduct a review. 2 place; place pressure on. 3 draw; draw a distinction. 4 reduce; heat loss is lowered. 5 cast; cast doubt on. The alternatives share broad meanings but not the required conventional partnership.

Set 2: adjective–noun partnerships

1. The sample was too small to support a ______ conclusion. (definitive / finished / closed)
2. Residents expressed ______ concern about water quality. (widespread / broadening / stretched)
3. The two values show only a ______ difference. (marginal / border / corner)
4. Repairs caused ______ disruption to rail services. (significant / tall / weighted)
5. The team faced ______ constraints on time and equipment. (severe / sharp-edged / dense)

Answers: 1 definitive means conclusive. 2 widespread concern is shared by many. 3 marginal names a small difference. 4 significant disruption is substantial enough to matter. 5 severe constraints strongly limit action.

Set 3: word form plus collocation

Use the correct form of the word in parentheses.

1. Demand increased ______ after the price reduction. (substantial)
2. The plan remains financially ______ under the revised budget. (viability)
3. The treatment produced a measurable ______ in symptoms. (improve)
4. The groups differed ______ in their initial scores. (slight)
5. Staff questioned the ______ of the estimate. (reliable)

Answers: 1 substantially, an adverb modifying increased. 2 viable, an adjective after remains. 3 improvement, a countable noun after a measurable. 4 slightly, an adverb modifying differed. 5 reliability, a noun after the.

Set 4: passage logic

Choose from consequently, nevertheless, similarly, for example.

1. The initial trial involved only twelve people. ______, its findings should be interpreted cautiously.
2. Solar output varies with daylight. ______, wind generation changes with weather conditions.
3. The route is longer than the original one. ______, it may be safer because it avoids a busy junction.
4. Several design features can reduce heat. ______, external shading blocks direct sunlight.

Answers: 1 Consequently, because the caution follows from the small trial. 2 Similarly, because a parallel is drawn. 3 Nevertheless, because the safety benefit contrasts with length. 4 For example, because shading illustrates the category.

Set 5: one complete paragraph

Choose from pose, informed, mitigate, access, provisional, evidence.

The city introduced a ______ weekend timetable while it collected more passenger data. Limited evening transport can ______ a barrier to employment for some residents. Extra services may ______ that problem, although they cannot remove every constraint. Officials therefore sought ______ from ticket records and community surveys. The findings could help them make an ______ decision about permanent routes and improve ______ to late shifts.

Answers: provisional, pose, mitigate, evidence, informed, access. The timetable is operative but temporary; barriers are posed; problems are mitigated; evidence informs a decision; people gain access to work. Each blank is fixed by both phrase and paragraph meaning.

Make review productive

For a wrong answer, write the complete partnership—not the isolated word—and one contrasting sentence. Example: cast doubt on a claim, but express doubt about a claim. Then revisit the item later without its options.

Move to the matching Lyra Practice task guide: Reading and Writing fill in the blanks, Reading drag-and-drop blanks, or Listening fill in the blanks.

Sources

• PTE Academic Reading test format
• PTE Academic Listening test format

Related

• PTE Reading and Writing fill in the blanks
• PTE Reading fill in the blanks
• PTE Listening fill in the blanks
• PTE Reading vocabulary by question type

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