TOEIC Grammar Rules for Part 5 and Part 6

The grammar TOEIC tests in Parts 5 and 6, in tables: word form, tense, prepositions, conjunctions, relative clauses, agreement and the traps in each.

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Sep 4, 2026

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5 min read

TOEIC Grammar Rules for Part 5 and Part 6

Key Takeaways

The grammar TOEIC tests in Parts 5 and 6, in tables: word form, tense, prepositions, conjunctions, relative clauses, agreement and the traps in each.

TOEIC does not test all of English grammar. Parts 5 and 6 recycle a narrow set of structures — word form, verb tense, prepositions, conjunctions, relative pronouns, subject-verb agreement, and a handful of comparatives and participles. That is 46 of the 100 Reading questions built on roughly a dozen rules.

Each rule below is stated as a decision you can make in the exam, with the trap the test uses against it.

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Key Takeaways

Parts 5 and 6 together are 46 questions — 30 Incomplete Sentences and 16 Text Completion.
Roughly half of Part 5 is word form: the four options are four forms of the same word, and grammar alone decides the answer.
Identify what the blank is (subject, object, modifier) before reading the options.
Part 6 adds one question type Part 5 has not: sentence insertion, which needs the paragraph, not the sentence.
Aim for 20-25 seconds per Part 5 question so Part 7 keeps about 55 minutes.

Rule 1: Word form — decide by position, not meaning

If the four options are succeed / success / successful / successfully, the meaning is identical. Position decides.

Blank position	Needed form	Example
After an article or possessive (the ___, our ___)	Noun	the success of the launch
Between article and noun (the ___ result)	Adjective	the successful result
After a complete clause, or before an adjective	Adverb	completed successfully
After a subject with no other verb	Verb	The team succeeded
After a preposition (for ___, by ___)	Noun or gerund	for approval / by approving

Trap: a noun ending that looks like an adjective — alternative, representative, objective are all nouns as well as adjectives.

Rule 2: Subject-verb agreement — find the real subject

Structure	Verb agrees with	Example
Subject + prepositional phrase	The subject, not the phrase	The list of items is attached.
Each / every / either / neither + noun	Singular	Every applicant receives a reply.
A number of…	Plural	A number of staff have applied.
The number of…	Singular	The number of complaints has fallen.
Either A or B	The nearer noun	Either the managers or the director signs.
Collective nouns (staff, team, board)	Usually singular in TOEIC	The board meets monthly.

Rule 3: Verb tense — the time marker decides

Marker in the sentence	Tense required	Example
yesterday, last week, in 2021, ago	Past simple	The store opened in 2021.
since, for + period, so far, already, recently	Present perfect	Sales have risen since March.
by + future time, next month, tomorrow	Future / future perfect	We will have finished by Friday.
currently, at the moment, this week	Present continuous	They are reviewing the terms.
every day, usually, always, generally	Present simple	The shuttle runs hourly.
by the time + past, before + past	Past perfect	The report had been sent before he called.

Trap: in a time clause after when / after / as soon as / once, use the present for future meaning — “as soon as the shipment arrives“, never “will arrive”.

Rule 4: Active or passive

Test	Result	Example
Is there an object after the blank?	Yes → active	The team submitted the report.
No object, subject receives the action	Passive	The report was submitted.
by + agent present	Passive	It was approved by the board.
Verb cannot take an object (arrive, rise, occur, happen)	Never passive	The delay occurred on Monday.

Rule 5: Prepositions — the fixed sets

Preposition	Use	TOEIC examples
in	Months, years, cities, longer periods	in March, in 2024, in Osaka, in two weeks
on	Days, dates, surfaces	on Monday, on 14 April, on the shelf
at	Clock times, points, addresses	at 9:00, at the entrance, at 42 Bell Street
by	Deadline (not later than)	Submit by Friday.
until	Continuing up to a point	Open until 18:00.
within	Inside a period	within 30 days
during	Throughout an event	during the conference
for	Length of time	for three years
since	Start point with perfect tenses	since 2019
throughout	Every part of a place or period	throughout the building

by vs until: by is a single deadline, until is a continuing state. “Pay by Friday” ≠ “Pay until Friday”.

Rule 6: Conjunction or preposition — look at what follows

Followed by a full clause (subject + verb)	Followed by a noun or gerund	Meaning
because	because of / due to / owing to	Cause
although / even though / while	despite / in spite of	Contrast
while / when	during	Time
so that	for / in order to + verb	Purpose
if / unless	in the event of	Condition
as / since	in view of	Reason

Trap: “Despite the delay was short” is wrong — despite cannot take a clause. This single distinction accounts for several Part 5 questions per test.

Rule 7: Relative pronouns

Pronoun	Refers to	Role	Example
who	People	Subject	the manager who signed it
whom	People	Object, after a preposition	the client to whom we wrote
which	Things	Subject or object	the invoice which arrived
that	People or things	Subject or object, no commas	the file that was lost
whose	People or things	Possession	the supplier whose prices rose
where	Places	Location	the warehouse where it is stored
when	Times	Time	the week when we audit

Trap: if the relative clause already has a subject, the answer is whom or which, not who.

Rule 8: Participles as modifiers

Form	Meaning	Example
-ing (present participle)	Active — the noun does it	the increasing costs
-ed (past participle)	Passive — it is done to the noun	the increased budget
-ing at the start of a sentence	Same subject as the main clause	Reviewing the file, she found the error.
-ed at the start	Passive with the same subject	Approved in May, the plan began in June.

Test yourself with the noun: costs increase by themselves → -ing. A budget is increased by someone → -ed.

Rule 9: Comparatives and superlatives

Structure	Form	Example
Two things	-er / more + than	cheaper than, more efficient than
Three or more	the -est / the most	the fastest route, the most reliable carrier
Equality	as + adjective + as	as accurate as last year
Parallel increase	the -er, the -er	The sooner we order, the lower the price.
Modifiers of comparatives	much / far / slightly / considerably	considerably higher

Trap: very cannot modify a comparative. “very higher” is wrong; “much higher” is correct.

Rule 10: Part 6 only — sentence insertion

Part 6 gives you four questions per passage, and one is usually a full sentence to insert. Word-level rules do not help.

Signal to check	What it tells you
Pronouns in the option (it, they, this)	The referent must appear in the sentence before the blank
Linkers (However, Therefore, In addition)	The relationship to the previous sentence must match
Definite article (the report)	That item must already have been introduced
Time sequence	Dates and steps must run in order

Read the sentence before and after the blank. An option that fits the preceding sentence but contradicts the following one is the standard distractor.

Decision checklist for any Part 5 blank

Look at the four options. Are they four forms of one word? → word form question; go to Rule 1.
Are they four tenses of one verb? → find the time marker; Rule 3.
Are they four prepositions or conjunctions? → check whether a clause or a noun follows; Rules 5 and 6.
Are they four different words with different meanings? → vocabulary question; read the whole sentence.
Still unsure after 25 seconds? Mark a letter and move on. Part 7 needs the time more.

FAQ

How many grammar questions are on the TOEIC?

Parts 5 and 6 hold 46 of the 100 Reading questions, and most of them are grammar rather than vocabulary. Part 7 adds no grammar questions, though grammar affects how quickly you read the passages.

Which grammar point appears most often?

Word form. In a large share of Part 5 questions the four options are four forms of one word, which means the answer is decided entirely by the position of the blank in the sentence.

Do I need to know irregular verbs?

Yes, but only for recognition. Tense questions give you the forms in the options, so you need to identify which one is the past participle rather than produce it from memory.

Is Part 6 grammar different from Part 5?

It is the same rules plus context. Part 6 blanks can depend on the sentence before or after them, and each Part 6 passage usually includes one full-sentence insertion question that Part 5 never asks.

Should I study grammar or vocabulary first?

Grammar, if you are below about 600. Word-form and preposition rules are a small, closed set that pays off immediately in Part 5. Vocabulary is a much larger set with slower returns per hour studied.