Build a Sentence 2 — embedded questions and clauses (B1–B2)

Build a Sentence fills ten of the twelve items in the writing section of the TOEFL iBT® test since the January 2026 revision. You receive the pieces of one everyday sentence and put them in order; the item is scored by machine, one point, right or wrong.

This second set sits in the middle of the range, roughly B1 to B2, where the errors are no longer about single adverbs but about how clauses fit together. Every item starts from a short everyday exchange: a coworker checking whether a meeting is still on, a stranger asking for directions, a roommate asking about the mail, a neighbor asked to look after a cat.

The twelve items cover embedded questions after "whether" and after "Could you tell me", where the question keeps statement order; a relative clause that must sit directly after its noun, or it describes the wrong thing; a long adjective string ending in a material word; "still" before a negative auxiliary; a question tag after a negative statement; "look after", which never splits; reported questions without inversion; "not only... but also" in the right places; "such a" before an adjective and noun; a preposition left at the end of a relative clause; and "It is important to..." with the time adverb after the object.

Each wrong option is a genuine ordering error, such as a misplaced modifier, direct-question inversion inside an embedded clause, or an adverb between a verb and its object. Each explanation names the rule, then explains why each other ordering fails.

On test day you put the given pieces into place yourself. Here you see the pieces and four complete orderings, and you choose the one that works. Recognizing a correct sentence is easier than assembling it, so read the context and the pieces first, build the sentence in your head, and only then look at the options. The material also comes with flashcards that restate the rules in one line each, so you can review them away from the questions. The quiz and the flashcards are the two formats offered.

Every sentence and item here is written by Zestly. No ETS test material is reproduced, and facts about the test format are paraphrased from the published specification rather than copied from it. TOEFL iBT is a registered trademark of ETS; this material is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS.

• Keep statement order in embedded questions after "whether" and "Could you tell me"
• Attach a relative clause directly to the noun it describes
• Build a question tag after a negative statement
• Keep an inseparable phrasal verb such as "look after" together
• Report a question without inversion
• Place "not only... but also", "such a", "still" and a stranded preposition correctly

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the ETS description of the Build a Sentence task in the TOEFL iBT specification revised in January 2026.