Listen once, then repeat this sentence exactly:
The lab attributed the lower error rate to the revised checklist.
A tempting response is: “The lab said the revised checklist caused the lower error rate.” That is a reasonable paraphrase. It is still the wrong action for Listen and Repeat. The wording, grammar, and direction changed.
In the TOEFL iBT format in use from January 2026, Listen and Repeat presents short sentences that you repeat exactly as heard. ETS says the task measures processing of spoken English and accurate, clearly intelligible production. The lexical decision is therefore unusual: understand the meaning, but do not replace the language with your own.
Meaningful chunks help. Instead of holding every sound as a loose chain, hear a small unit such as attributed / the lower error rate / to the revised checklist. Then reproduce every word in that unit. The six expressions below are practice material, not predictions about test content.
You can explore more task-focused work in the TOEFL vocabulary practice hub and place this task within the wider Exam English collection.
Six chunks to preserve exactly
1. Account for
Account for + result often identifies a cause or circumstances that explain an observed fact: “The shaded seats may account for the temperature difference.” It can also mean constitute a share, as in “Online orders account for 40% of sales.” Here we use the causal sense.
Explain is broader and overlaps with this sense. It can make an idea clear or identify a cause. So this is not a rule that one word is always better. In exact repetition, though, account for and explain are different sound sequences. If you hear account for, keep both words, especially for.
2. Attribute to
The frame is attribute X to Y: regard X as caused by, explained by, or produced by Y. “Researchers attributed the decline to cooler weather” places the result after attribute and the proposed cause after to.
Compare stem from: “The decline stemmed from cooler weather.” The same causal relationship can be expressed, but the grammatical direction changes. With attribute, an analyst assigns result X to cause Y. With stem from, result X is the subject and the cause follows from. That boundary helps you hear the sentence, but it never gives permission to paraphrase it.
3. Contingent on
Contingent on means dependent on a condition that is not yet settled: “The field trip is contingent on the weather warning being lifted.” Keep the whole frame be contingent on + condition.
Dependent on can express the same conditional relationship. The overlap is real. During repetition, the job is not to rank the two. It is to retain the version spoken, including on.
4. Predicated on
Predicated on means founded, based, or made dependent on a premise, fact, or condition: “The estimate is predicated on stable enrollment.” It often describes the foundation of an argument or plan.
Based on overlaps broadly. In a meaning question, both may fit. In this task, predicated on has three words and a fixed on; replacing it with the shorter synonym changes the transcript.
5. Give rise to
Give rise to + noun phrase means cause something to happen or exist: “Repeated outages can give rise to safety concerns.” The direction is cause first, outcome second. The fixed form uses rise, no article, then to.
Cause overlaps in the core causal sense. Yet its grammar can differ: “The outage caused the staff to evacuate” takes a person plus an infinitive, a pattern give rise to cannot take. When both introduce a noun outcome, either may express the idea, but only the heard wording is an exact repeat.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →6. Commensurate with
Commensurate with means corresponding in size, degree, or measurable standard: “The response should be commensurate with the risk.” Preserve with.
Proportional to strongly overlaps with this meaning. Do not invent a false contrast. For repetition, the practical boundary is form: commensurate with is not proportional to, and commensurate to changes the preposition.
Eight original sentences in meaning chunks
Treat each slash as a listening handhold, not a pause you must exaggerate.
Exact transcript: The new ventilation system may account for the lower humidity.
Chunks:The new ventilation system / may account for / the lower humidity.Exact transcript: Evening workshops account for one third of all registrations.
Chunks:Evening workshops / account for / one third / of all registrations.Exact transcript: The researchers attributed the rapid recovery to earlier treatment.
Chunks:The researchers / attributed the rapid recovery / to earlier treatment.Exact transcript: The outdoor ceremony is contingent on the rain ending by noon.
Chunks:The outdoor ceremony / is contingent on / the rain ending / by noon.Exact transcript: The budget forecast is predicated on stable housing costs.
Chunks:The budget forecast / is predicated on / stable housing costs.Exact transcript: The revised bus route could give rise to longer waits downtown.
Chunks:The revised bus route / could give rise to / longer waits / downtown.Exact transcript: The scholarship should be commensurate with the student’s documented need.
Chunks:The scholarship / should be commensurate with / the student’s documented need.Exact transcript: Access to the archive is contingent on completing the safety orientation.
Chunks:Access to the archive / is contingent on / completing / the safety orientation.
The slashes reveal structure. Subjects form one unit. Fixed expressions keep their particles and prepositions. Complements stay attached to the relationship they complete.
Three substitutions that remain errors
| Heard transcript | Changed repeat | Error | Why it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| The new system may account for the decrease. | The new system may explain the decrease. | Near-synonym substitution | Explain can fit the meaning, but it is not the wording heard. |
| The forecast is predicated on stable costs. | The forecast is predicated upon stable costs. | Preposition substitution | Upon can occur in English, but the transcript contained on. |
| The researchers attributed the recovery to earlier treatment. | The recovery gave rise to earlier treatment. | Direction reversal | The heard sentence makes treatment the proposed cause. The repeat makes recovery the cause of treatment. |
Small function words matter too. “The ceremony is contingent rain ending” drops on. “The policy gave rise concerns” drops to. These fragments remain understandable, but they do not preserve the sentence.
A weaker and a more precise method
Weaker method: Remember the general idea, then rebuild it: “Something about treatment improving recovery.” This invites synonyms, missing articles, and reversed relationships.
More precise method: Hear and retain a sequence of grammatical units: The researchers / attributed the rapid recovery / to earlier treatment. Reconnect those same units in the same order.
Chunking is not paraphrasing. It is a temporary memory structure for exact language.
Listen-cover-repeat self-check
Use the eight original sentences above with a partner or a text-to-speech tool.
- Listen while the transcript is hidden.
- Mark two to four meaning chunks in memory.
- Repeat the full sentence once.
- Uncover the exact transcript.
- Compare word by word: content words, articles, auxiliaries, particles, prepositions, and order.
- Circle one mismatch and repeat the original once more.
This is a practice check, not an official scoring formula. Do not award yourself points or guess a score. Its purpose is narrower: identify whether meaning caused you to rewrite the sentence.
Common mistakes
- Replacing a difficult chunk with a familiar synonym, such as
based onforpredicated on. - Dropping a short but structural word:
for,to,on, orwith. - Keeping the nouns but reversing the causal direction.
- Changing tense or modality:
may account foris notaccounted for. - Adding certainty:
could give rise tois notwill cause. - Treating a slash as permission to pause so long that the sentence loses its shape.
Quick check
You hear: The workshop’s location may account for the low attendance. Which repeat is exact?
A. The workshop’s location may explain the low attendance.
B. The low attendance may account for the workshop’s location.
C. The workshop’s location may account for the low attendance.
D. The workshop location accounts to the low attendance.
Answer: C. A substitutes an overlapping word. B reverses the relationship. D drops the article, changes the modal and verb form, and changes the preposition.
Fresh practice prompt
Have someone read this once while you look away:
The size of the grant should be commensurate with the project’s verified costs.
Repeat it, then write the chunks you held. Finally compare every word with the transcript. If you said proportional to, your meaning survived, but the exact language did not.
Sources
Related
- TOEFL Build a Sentence: Collocations That Fit
- TOEFL Complete the Words: Vocabulary in Context
- Why One Example Sentence Is Not Enough
- TOEFL Take an Interview: Answering with Specific Examples
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