PTE التحدث guide
PTE Respond to a Situation: Format, Scoring and Tips
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PTE Academic & PTE Core
Respond to a Situation describes an everyday situation (you read it and hear it) and asks you to say what you would say to the person involved. Being appropriate — polite, clear and at the right level of formality — matters as much as what you say.
How the task works
- Prompt
- A situation of up to 60 words, shown on screen and read aloud
- Preparation
- PTE Academic: 10 seconds before and 10 seconds after the audio. PTE Core: 20 seconds before and 20 seconds after.
- Response
- Up to 40 seconds of recording
- Scored on
- PTE Academic: content, pronunciation and oral fluency. PTE Core: appropriacy, pronunciation and fluency.
- Counts for
- التحدث
Strategies that help
- Work out who you are talking to — a manager, a friend, a neighbour — and match your tone to them.
- Cover every part of the situation: greet, explain the problem or request, and suggest a next step.
- Use polite phrases: “I’m sorry to bother you, but…”, “Would it be possible to…?”.
- Speak as if to a real person, at a natural pace, until close to the end of the 40 seconds.
Common mistakes
- Describing the situation instead of speaking to the person.
- Being too informal with a manager or too formal with a friend.
- Missing one of the things the situation asks you to do.
Example
“Hi Sam, I’m really sorry, but I can’t make it to the meeting this afternoon because my train has been cancelled. Could you share the slides with me afterwards? I’m happy to call you this evening to catch up on anything I missed.”
Apology and reason, a polite request, and a next step — at a friendly but professional level.
Related guides
More on this skill: التدرّب على المحادثة في PTE · All question type guides
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