Completing Sentences — Rules, Structures & Exercise

Completing sentences gives you one clause and asks for the other. Almost every question is built on a fixed structure whose second half is predictable — "so … that", "such … that", "lest … should", "no sooner … than", "It is high time + past tense", "would rather … than". Recognise the structure from the clue word, then supply the half that structure requires.

Where it is set: SSC & HSC English 2nd Paper — Grammar

Recognise the structure from its clue word

Completing sentences gives you half a sentence and asks for the rest. Nearly every question is built on a fixed structure, and the half you are given contains a clue word that identifies it. Once you recognise the structure, the form of your answer is determined — you only have to supply sensible content.

So the first move is never to start writing. It is to find the clue word and name the structure.

• ✓ He is so weak ___ → that he cannot walk. — so signals the “so … that” structure
• ✓ It is high time ___ → we changed our habits. — “It is high time” takes a past tense

Structures that take a particular tense

The clue word fixes the tense of your answer

• ✗ Unless you do not work hard, you will fail. ✓ Unless you work hard, you will fail. — unless already means “if … not”
• ✓ I wish I had listened to my teacher. — regret about the past

Structures of degree and result

A second family expresses that something reached a degree sufficient to cause a result. The difference between so and such is purely grammatical: so attaches to an adjective or adverb, such attaches to a noun phrase.

• ✗ It was so a hot day that we stayed in. ✓ It was such a hot day that we stayed in. — such goes with a noun phrase
• ✓ The box is too heavy for me to lift.

Structures with a fixed second half

A third family is almost formulaic: the clue word tells you not only the tense but the shape of the words that follow. These are the easiest marks in the item and the ones most often lost by writing from instinct.

• No sooner had + subject + past participle than + past indefinite: No sooner had he arrived than it rained.
• Hardly / Scarcely had + subject + past participle when + past indefinite.
• Would rather + base form than + base form: I would rather walk than take a rickshaw.
• Had better + base form: You had better see a doctor.
• As soon as + present/past … main clause: As soon as he came, we started.
• In spite of / Despite + noun or gerund: In spite of being poor, he is happy.
• So that / In order that + subject + can/could/may/might: He works hard so that he can succeed.
• Since / As + reason clause: Since he was ill, he did not come.

• ✗ No sooner had he come when it rained. ✓ No sooner had he come than it rained.
• ✗ I would rather to walk than to ride. ✓ I would rather walk than ride.

Making the completion make sense

Marks are given for grammar and for meaning together. A completion that fits the structure but says something absurd or contradicts the first half will lose part of the mark, so read your finished sentence once as a whole.

• Keep the subject consistent unless the structure requires a change.
• Keep the tense of your half consistent with the structure, not with the first half by default.
• Say something plausible: “It is high time we changed our habits” scores; “It is high time we ate the moon” does not.
• Keep it short. A completion of six to twelve words is enough, and a long one only creates more chances to make an error.
• Do not repeat the first half’s words back; the examiner is looking for a genuine continuation.

• ✓ He works hard so that he can support his family. — grammatical and plausible
• ✓ If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

Practice

Work through these before you check the answers — the reasoning matters more than the answer.

1. It is high time we ___.
2. He is so weak that ___.
3. Unless you start now, ___.
4. No sooner had the bell rung ___.
5. I wish ___.
6. Walk carefully lest ___.
7. If I had known his address, ___.
8. He talks as if ___.

Answers

1. changed our bad habits — “It is high time” takes the past indefinite.
2. he cannot walk without help — “so … that” takes a result clause.
3. you will miss the train — “unless” takes no second negative.
4. than the students left the room — the pair is “no sooner … than”.
5. I were a doctor — an unreal wish takes the past indefinite and were.
6. you should slip on the wet floor — “lest” takes “should”.
7. I would have written to him — an unreal past condition.
8. he knew everything about the matter — “as if” takes the past indefinite.