Sentence Completion (完成句子) explained

01 The given half tells you what is coming

Look at the connective. It is nearly always there, and it decides everything.

虽然他很累，＿＿＿。 虽然 promises a 但是, and the two halves must disagree: 但是他还是坚持做完了功课。

因为下雨，＿＿＿。 A cause has been given, so a result must follow: 所以运动会取消了。

Write the partner word. If the given half has 虽然, your half starts 但是. Leaving it out is the commonest lost mark.

A table of Chinese connective pairs for sentence completion: 虽然 with 但是, 因为 with 所以, 不但 with 而且, 只要 with 就, and 一 with 就
If the given half is	Your half must	Example
虽然…	disagree, and start 但是	但是他还是坚持做完了。
因为…	give the result, starting 所以	所以运动会取消了。
不但…	add more of the same, starting 而且	而且还帮妈妈做家务。
只要…	give what follows, starting 就	就一定能取得好成绩。
一…	give what happened next, starting 就	就下起了大雨。

The pairs are fixed, which is what makes the question answerable.

02 Writing the half

Keep it short. One clause is what is wanted. A long addition is more chances to be wrong.

Stay on the subject of the first half. If it is about 他, your half is about 他 too unless the sentence clearly turns.

Use characters you can write. A simple correct clause beats an ambitious one with a wrong character.

Finish the punctuation. The sentence ends with 。 — or ？ if the pattern makes it a question.

Read the whole sentence back. Both halves together should make one sentence that somebody would actually say.

03 How to say them

These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. The respelling is Hanyu Pinyin, with the tone marked over the vowel. Tap the speaker to hear it.

完成句子saywán chéng jù zi
Sentence completion — writing the missing half of a sentence.
关联词sayguān lián cí
A connective such as 虽然 or 因为. They come in fixed pairs.
虽然saysuī rán
Although. Its partner is 但是, and the two halves must disagree.
不但saybù dàn
Not only. Its partner is 而且, and the second half adds more of the same.
只要sayzhǐ yào
As long as. Its partner is 就.

04 What each level is tested on

The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.

P4
Completing a sentence whose first half carries a connective, using the fixed partner word.
Practise P4 Sentence Completion (完成句子) — 8 questions →
20% of P4 papers

05 Mistakes worth knowing about

Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.

“虽然他很累，他休息了。”
虽然 needs a 但是 and a half that disagrees: 但是他还是坚持做完了。
“I wrote the meaning but left out 但是.”
The partner word is part of the answer, and leaving it out is the commonest lost mark here.
“I wrote three clauses to be safe.”
One clause is what is wanted. Each extra one is another chance for a wrong character.
“I changed who the sentence was about.”
Stay with the subject of the given half unless the sentence clearly turns.
“I left off the full stop.”
Finish the sentence. The punctuation is part of what is marked.

Now try it

8 questions across 1 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.

P48 questions