# IELTS Matching Sentence Endings: grammar narrows it, meaning decides it

Matching sentence endings asks you to finish each sentence with an ending from a longer list, and the beginnings follow the text. Three worked items and the two-step method.

## Exercises

Exercises marked (free) are open to everyone; a free account opens the rest.

- [Why fairy tales are really scary tales, questions 27-31](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/why-fairy-tales-are-really-scary-tales) (free)
- [TELEPATHY, questions 27-30](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/telepathy) (free)
- [Numeration, questions 27-31](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/numeration) (free)
- [Left or right?, questions 27-30](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/left-or-right) (free)
- [Rethinking the Past, questions 31-34](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/rethinking-the-past)
- [How stress affects our judgement, questions 31-35](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/how-stress-affects-our-judgement)
- [Robots and us, questions 34-36](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/robots-and-us)
- [Is the era of artificial speech translation upon us?, questions 31-34](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/is-the-era-of-artificial-speech-translation-upon-us)
- [Artificial artists, questions 32-37](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/artificial-artists)
- [MAKING THE MOST OF TRENDS, questions 38-40](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/making-the-most-of-trends)
- [SAVING THE SOIL, questions 18-21](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/saving-the-soil)
- [Music and the emotions, questions 37-40](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/music-and-the-emotions)
- [Great Migrations, questions 19-22](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/great-migrations)
- [An Introduction to Film Sound, questions 24-26](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/an-introduction-to-film-sound)
- [The psychology of innovation, questions 31-35](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-psychology-of-innovation)
- [When evolution runs backwards, questions 32-36](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/when-evolution-runs-backwards)
- [A neuroscientist reveals how to think differently, questions 38-40](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/a-neuroscientist-reveals-how-to-think-differently)
- [Biological control of pests, questions 22-26](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/biological-control-of-pests)
- [Makete Integrated Rural Transport Project, questions 36-39](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/makete-integrated-rural-transport-project)
- [Endless Harvest, questions 21-26](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/endless-harvest)
- [GREYING POPULATION STAYS IN THE PINK, questions 23-26](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/greying-population-stays-in-the-pink)
- [What's so funny?, questions 24-27](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/whats-so-funny)
- [HIGHS & LOWS, questions 38-40](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/highs-and-lows)
- [SECRETS OF THE SWARM, questions 7-9](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/secrets-of-the-swarm)
- [The Swiffer, questions 31-34](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-swiffer)
- [Why We Remember Some Dreams, questions 22-24](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/why-we-remember-dreams)

## The short answer

Matching sentence endings gives you the first half of a sentence based on the text, and you complete it by choosing from a list of possible endings. There are more endings than beginnings, so some are never used. The beginnings are in the same order as the information in the text. IELTS names this type for Academic Reading only, and each sentence is one mark out of 40.

## Key facts

- **Paper:** Reading
- **Module:** Academic only
- **Marks:** 1 per sentence, out of 40
- **Endings:** More endings than beginnings
- **Order:** Beginnings follow the text
- **What it tests:** Understanding the main ideas in the text

Formats, timings and marking come from IELTS's own test-format pages, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

IELTS says this type tests your ability to understand the main ideas in the text. Several endings usually fit a beginning grammatically, so grammar narrows the choice and meaning decides it.

The beginnings follow the text, so find the part of the text each one comes from, in order. Then choose the ending that says what that part says.

> Read the beginning, find it in the text, and finish the sentence in your own words before you look at the list. Then pick the ending closest to yours.

## Matching sentence endings examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- a cause**

> Glaciers in the Alps have lost more than half their volume since 1931. The loss is not steady. It speeds up in years with little winter snow, because snow reflects sunlight while bare ice absorbs it. Some ski resorts now cover glaciers with white sheets in summer. The sheets slow melting by up to 60 percent, but they are expensive and protect only small areas. Scientists see them as a way to buy time for tourism, not as a way to save the glaciers.
> 
> Glaciers melt faster after a winter with little snow {1}

Prompt: Choose the ending that completes the sentence, using the text.

- Blank 1: because bare ice absorbs more sunlight than snow. / slows melting, but only over small areas. / is to buy time for tourism. / has stopped glaciers from losing volume. / because ski resorts open later in the year. -- because bare ice absorbs more sunlight than snow.

Model response: A: because bare ice absorbs more sunlight than snow.

Why it scores: Two endings start with because, so grammar leaves a choice of two. Only one is in the text: ski resorts opening later is never mentioned.

**Example 2 -- true, but only in part**

> Glaciers in the Alps have lost more than half their volume since 1931. The loss is not steady. It speeds up in years with little winter snow, because snow reflects sunlight while bare ice absorbs it. Some ski resorts now cover glaciers with white sheets in summer. The sheets slow melting by up to 60 percent, but they are expensive and protect only small areas. Scientists see them as a way to buy time for tourism, not as a way to save the glaciers.
> 
> Covering a glacier with white sheets in summer {1}

Prompt: Choose the ending that completes the sentence, using the text.

- Blank 1: because bare ice absorbs more sunlight than snow. / slows melting, but only over small areas. / is to buy time for tourism. / has stopped glaciers from losing volume. / because ski resorts open later in the year. -- slows melting, but only over small areas.

Model response: B: slows melting, but only over small areas.

Why it scores: D fits the grammar and sounds like the sheets' purpose, but the text says the opposite: they buy time and do not save the glaciers. B keeps both halves of what the text says, the benefit and the limit.

**Example 3 -- the writer's main point**

> Glaciers in the Alps have lost more than half their volume since 1931. The loss is not steady. It speeds up in years with little winter snow, because snow reflects sunlight while bare ice absorbs it. Some ski resorts now cover glaciers with white sheets in summer. The sheets slow melting by up to 60 percent, but they are expensive and protect only small areas. Scientists see them as a way to buy time for tourism, not as a way to save the glaciers.
> 
> According to scientists, the main value of the sheets {1}

Prompt: Choose the ending that completes the sentence, using the text.

- Blank 1: because bare ice absorbs more sunlight than snow. / slows melting, but only over small areas. / is to buy time for tourism. / has stopped glaciers from losing volume. / because ski resorts open later in the year. -- is to buy time for tourism.

Model response: C: is to buy time for tourism.

Why it scores: The beginning comes from the last sentence, which matches the rule that beginnings follow the text. Only C finishes "the main value of the sheets" as a grammatical sentence that says what the scientists say.

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## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Choosing an ending because it is grammatical. | Check it against the text. Several endings fit the grammar; one fits the meaning. |
| Choosing an ending that is true of a different part of the text. | Find where the beginning comes from, and match the ending to that part only. |
| Trying to use every ending. | There are more endings than beginnings. Leftover endings are normal. |
| Searching the whole text for every beginning. | The beginnings follow the text. Start each search where the last one ended. |

**Know what the marks are worth** Reading and Listening are 40 marks each. The band calculator turns a mark out of 40 into a band, and four skill bands into your overall. [Open the IELTS band calculator](/ielts/band-score-calculator)

## How to practice

1. Cover the list of endings. Finish each beginning in your own words from the text, then uncover the list and match.
2. For each set, sort the endings into two piles first: fits the grammar, does not. Then decide on meaning within the first pile.
3. After each set, find the sentence in the text that each beginning came from. Check that they run in order.

## Common questions

### Is matching sentence endings in General Training?

IELTS names it only on the Academic Reading format page. The General Training page does not list it, so General Training candidates can spend that time on the types their paper names.

### Are there more endings than sentence beginnings?

Yes. IELTS says there will be more endings than beginnings, so you will not use all of them.

### Do the sentence beginnings follow the text?

Yes. IELTS says the beginnings are in the same order as the information in the text.

**Sources**
- [IELTS: Academic Reading test format (checked 27 September 2026)](https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-academic-test/ielts-academic-format-reading)

[Practice Matching sentence endings free](https://testmigo.com/ielts)