PTE Answer Short Question
A short general-knowledge question answered in one or two words. It feeds Speaking and Listening, takes a few seconds, and is the one item where a complete sentence is the wrong answer.
Answer, do not explain
| You hear | Say | Not |
|---|---|---|
| What do you call the person who treats teeth? | A dentist | The person who treats teeth is called a dentist |
| How many days are there in a fortnight? | Fourteen | There are fourteen days in a fortnight |
| What is the opposite of ancient? | Modern | Well, I would say modern |
The recording window is short. A sentence risks being cut off before the answer arrives, which scores nothing.
If you do not know
- Say something plausible immediately. Silence scores nothing and a wrong word costs the same as silence.
- Do not say "I do not know" — it uses the window and gives no content.
- The questions are everyday knowledge, not specialist: colours, jobs, parts of the body, time, weather, simple academic terms.
This item is quick and low-weight individually, but there are several. The habit worth building is answering within a beat of the question ending.
Answer Short Question — FAQs
2 questions
One or two words. Full sentences risk being cut off.
Everyday knowledge rather than specialist — the English is what is being tested.
More speaking & writing question types
Personal Introduction
Unscored, but sent to universities
Read Aloud
Speaking and Reading together
Repeat Sentence
Speaking and Listening together
Describe Image
Speak about a chart or picture
Re-tell Lecture
Listen, then summarise aloud
Summarise Written Text
One sentence, 5–75 words
Essay
200–300 words, 20 minutes
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.