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Practice Sentence Completion questions for the Cognitive Abilities Test — Grade 3 (Level 9). Every question includes a full explanation of why the correct answer is right and why the tempting distractors are wrong.
26 questions available · medium difficulty · CogAT Grade 3 · Free, no registration required
A sentence is given with one word missing and the child chooses the word that best completes it. It tests whether a child can use the logic of a sentence rather than merely its grammar, which is why the wrong answers almost always fit grammatically and fail on sense.
One short sentence, one blank, four or five single-word choices. The context that fixes the answer usually sits right beside the gap, and all the choices are the same part of speech, so grammar alone never narrows them down.
At level 9 — grade 3
Level 9 sentences are short and the context that fixes the answer usually sits right beside the blank. The error that dominates at this grade is simply not reading to the end of the sentence, which is a habit rather than an ability and can be fixed in one sitting.
Every option will sound acceptable, because they are all the correct part of speech. Reading the complete sentence back with the chosen word in place, and asking whether it actually makes sense, is what separates the answer from the ones that merely fit.
The words after the gap frequently decide the answer, and a child who stops reading at the blank to choose is working from half a sentence. Reading to the full stop first costs a second and prevents a whole class of error.
But, although and instead are short and easy to skim past, and each one inverts what the sentence needs. Wrong answers exploit this by offering the word that would be correct if the reversing word were not there.
When you read together, stop occasionally before a word and ask what your child thinks is coming. That is the same skill the subtest measures, minus the answer choices. When practising actual items, insist they read the whole sentence aloud with their chosen word in place before committing - most careless errors do not survive being heard.
No. All the choices are grammatically possible, and that is deliberate. What is being tested is whether the sentence's meaning fixes which word belongs.
They should eliminate what they can and guess, since there is no penalty for a wrong answer. Some items are winnable even with an unknown option, because the sentence rules the others out.
It works on one sentence rather than a passage, and asks what fits rather than what was said. The underlying skill - using context to constrain meaning - is closely related.
10 example questions with full explanations. Use the interactive practice above to work through the complete set.
Correct answer: C
The word 'because' tells you the warm sun is the cause, so the blank must be what warmth does to ice. Warmth makes ice melt, so C is correct. 'Freeze' is the opposite of what warmth causes. 'Float' is something ice already does on water and has nothing to do with the sun. 'Grow' would mean more ice, which warmth does not cause.
Correct answer: D
The two halves of the sentence disagree: Maya wanted one thing and the opposite happened. A contrast word is needed, which makes D correct. 'So' would mean staying in was the result of wanting to play outside, which does not make sense. 'And' simply joins two ideas and loses the contrast. 'Before' would turn it into a sentence about time order rather than a contrast.
Correct answer: D
The waiting stops at the moment the light changes, so the blank needs a word about time. 'Until' marks the point where something stops, making D correct. 'Because' would say the green light caused the waiting, which is backwards. 'Although' sets up a contrast that is not there, and 'so' would make the green light the result of waiting.
Correct answer: A
The clue is that Ben could hardly lift the backpack, so the blank must explain why lifting was hard. Something heavy is hard to lift, making A correct. 'Light' would make lifting easy, which is the opposite of what happened. 'Soft' and 'new' describe the backpack but neither one would stop Ben lifting it.
Correct answer: B
The second half says most students were still writing, so the number who finished must be small. 'Few' means a small number, making B correct. 'Many' would contradict the rest of the sentence. 'Crowd' means a large number, and 'group' is the tempting wrong answer because it sounds reasonable but says nothing about size, so it does not fit the word 'only'.
Correct answer: C
Not oversleeping is the reason Nina set the alarm, so the blank needs a word that introduces a purpose. 'So that' does exactly this, making C correct. 'Because' would mean she set the alarm as a result of not oversleeping, which reverses the order. 'Until' and 'after' both talk about time rather than purpose.
Correct answer: A
Ana had to ask for help, so carrying the box must have been more difficult than she thought. 'Harder' fits that, making A correct. 'Easier' and 'lighter' would both mean she could manage on her own, which is the opposite of what happened. 'Faster' talks about speed and gives no reason why she would need help.
Correct answer: B
People blow on food to cool it down, so the blank must say the soup was too warm. 'Hot' explains the blowing, making B correct. 'Cold' would mean there was nothing to cool. 'Sweet' describes taste and 'thick' describes how the soup pours, and neither one would make Leo blow on it.
Correct answer: C
Wind moves things by pushing air, so the blank needs a word for what wind does to leaves. 'Blew' describes exactly that, making C correct. 'Grew' is something leaves do on a tree, not something wind does to them. 'Drank' and 'sang' are actions that neither wind nor leaves can perform on each other.
Correct answer: D
The clue is that nobody walking past could see the cat, so it must be somewhere hidden from view. 'Under' the bed hides it, making D correct. 'Beside' the bed would leave the cat in plain sight, and 'above' the bed would be even more visible. 'Around' does not name a single hiding place at all.