📖Definition
In these questions, you are given a sentence in which one of the words (shown in capital letters) has had 3 or more consecutive letters removed. The missing letters form a word in their own right.
You must decide what the incomplete word should be and then identify the shorter word that is missing from it.
✏️Example
My brother was DISCT from the other children in his class because he was so tall.
Knowledge Required
A good vocabulary is required and a good knowledge of how words are made.
✅How To Answer
Method 1
Read the sentence carefully and work out what it's trying to say.
Consider the word in capitals - what sort of word is it? It will usually be one of the following:
Verb - action word Adverb - word describing a verb Noun - an object or thing Adjective - word describing a noun
Verb - action word Adverb - word describing a verb Noun - an object or thing Adjective - word describing a noun
In the above example, it's describing 'My brother' so it's an adjective. Now work out what it means.
The sentence tells us that he was much taller than the other children so he wasn't like them.
Now, think of adjectives that mean 'not like' such as:
DIFFERENT, DISTINCT, UNUSUAL, UNLIKE
Next, reject any that obviously don't fit with the letters you've been given.
Here we can immediately get rid of UNUSUAL and UNLIKE.
So we're left with DIFFERENT and DISTINCT. The first two both start with DI but, as the next letter is S, we can reject DIFFERENT
That leaves DISTINCT.
All the letters in the incomplete word, DISCT are there and the missing letters are TIN and that's a three-letter word so that's our answer.
✏️Example
The BGE made a creaking sound when I stepped onto it.
Method 2
If you can't find a word of the right meaning using the technique in Method 1, then look at the letters in the incomplete word in the sentence and see if you can get any clues about where the missing letters are likely to fit.
Here, the letters we're given are BGE. The combination GE often appears in words (MANAGE, EDGE, REVENGE etc) but BG doesn't so, it's likely that the missing letters go between the B and the G.
Think of words that have the pattern: B_ _ _ G E.
As you're thinking, bear in mind the sentence. You're looking for something that you can 'step onto' and that might 'make a creaking sound'.
You should come up with BRIDGE. The missing letters were RID which is a word and the completed sentence is:
The BRIDGE made a creaking sound when I stepped onto it.
💡Multiple Choice Tip
If you're struggling to think of the word, then try each of the answers in the most likely gap(s).
In the last example, that would be between the B and the G.
Variances
Sometimes the missing word can be four or even five letters long. Use exactly the same methods to find the answer.