PTE Core Paraphrasing: When and How to Change Grammar in Your Response

Paraphrasing every sentence is not necessary in PTE Core tasks like Summarize Written Text, Write Email, and Summarize Spoken Text. You can keep important words and phrases from the original passage or recording, especially when they are accurate, clear, and difficult to replace.

However, there are situations in which changing the grammar can help you combine ideas, remove repetition, reduce the number of words, or express the main point more clearly.

This guide explains when grammatical changes may be useful and how to make them without changing the original meaning.

Do You Need to Paraphrase in a PTE Core Summary?

Paraphrasing is not necessary in the PTE Core test. You do not need to replace every word or rewrite every sentence from the source. In fact, forced paraphrasing can make your answer less accurate.

Consider this sentence:

The government introduced a new program to improve access to affordable housing for families.

Although some of these words in the left example are technically related, the rewritten sentence sounds unnatural. Access to affordable housing is also a clear and useful phrase that does not need to be changed.

The important lesson is that paraphrasing should have a purpose. Keep the original wording when it is already concise and accurate. Change the grammar only when the new structure helps you shorten, combine, or clarify the information.

Combine Related Ideas

Source texts often explain one relationship across two or more sentences. In a summary, these related ideas can sometimes be combined.

The two sentences describe an action and its result. Repeating both sentences separately would use more words than necessary.

This version combines the action and its result in one sentence. The verb improved expresses the relationship originally introduced by as a result.

The summary does not need to repeat that the city introduced the routes unless the city itself is important to the passage. The key message is that the additional routes made public transportation more accessible.

Use this type of change when two sentences clearly describe:

• an action and its result;
• a problem and a solution;
• a decision and its effect; or
• a change and its consequence.

Before combining sentences, make sure that the relationship between them is clear. Do not join ideas simply because they appear next to each other.

Reduce Clauses to Phrases

A clause contains a subject and a verb. In some cases, it can be shortened into a phrase without losing its meaning.

The clause because fuel prices increased rapidly can be reduced to the phrase rising fuel prices.

The revised sentence is shorter and more direct. It still preserves the cause-and-effect relationship: fuel prices increased, and this encouraged people to use public transportation.

Another possible version is:

More commuters used public transportation because of rising fuel prices.

Both versions are acceptable because they maintain the original meaning.

This change is useful when structures such as the following can be shortened safely:

• because prices increased → because of rising prices;
• people who work remotely → remote workers;
• when the population grows → during population growth;
• products that are made locally → locally made products.

Do not remove a clause if it contains an important condition, time reference, or contrast that cannot be expressed clearly in a shorter phrase.

Turn Quotations into Reported Ideas

Articles and reports sometimes include quotations. A summary normally needs the message of the quotation, not the speaker’s exact words.

Copying the full quotation would use unnecessary words and would not sound like a summary.

Several grammatical changes have occurred:

• We becomes the company.
• Next year becomes the following year.
• The direct quotation becomes a reported statement.

This version removes the director because the company’s plan is the main information.

When reporting speech, focus on what was said rather than reproducing the exact quotation. Useful reporting verbs include:

• stated;
• explained;
• reported;
• announced;
• warned;
• predicted; and
• argued.

Choose a reporting verb that matches the original meaning. For example, a person who warned about a danger did more than simply say something.

Simplify Conditionals

Conditional sentences often use if to connect a situation with its possible result. In a summary, the same idea may sometimes be stated more directly.

The main point is that reducing water consumption is necessary to avoid shortages.

This version changes the negative if condition into a positive action. It is shorter, but it keeps the same level of certainty by using may.

Another accurate version is:

The city may face serious summer shortages unless residents reduce their water consumption.

The word unless means if not, so the original condition remains clear.

However, a sentence such as the following would be inaccurate:

Reducing water consumption will prevent summer shortages.

The original said that the city may experience shortages. It did not guarantee that lower consumption would completely prevent them.

When changing a conditional, protect both the condition and the level of certainty.

Shift Active and Passive Voice

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. In a passive sentence, the focus is usually on the action or its result.

Changing between active and passive voice can be useful, but it is not necessary unless it improves the focus of the summary.

If the government’s role is important, active voice is clearer. The active version is shorter and identifies the decision-maker immediately.

Now consider a different example:

If the material is more important than the researchers, the focus can shift. The researchers have been removed because their identity may not be essential to the summary.

Use active voice when the person, organization, or group performing the action matters. Passive voice may be useful when the result, discovery, policy, or process is more important than who completed it.

Change Word Forms to Make Sentences Clearer

A word can sometimes be changed from one grammatical form to another. For example, a verb can become a noun, or a noun can become a verb.

However, the new structure should make the summary clearer or more concise.

The verb grew and the noun growth repeat the same idea. The verb grew has been changed into the noun phrase population growth. This allows the two original sentences to be combined.

Consider another example:

The noun investigation can become a verb. The second version is shorter and more direct.

Common changes include:

• increased → an increase;
• decided → made a decision;
• investigated → conducted an investigation;
• failed → experienced failure;
• explained → provided an explanation.

Not every change is useful. Choose the form that fits the sentence naturally rather than automatically choosing the more formal-looking option.

Restructure Sentences to Avoid Subject Repetition

Source passages may repeat the same subject across several sentences to make the information easy to follow. A summary can often remove this repetition.

Repeating the study three times is unnecessary in a summary.

The revised version keeps the two main findings:

• Employee satisfaction improved.
• Communication and teamwork became more difficult.

The first sentence, which only says that the study examined remote work, can be removed because the findings already show what the research investigated.

This type of restructuring is useful when several sentences repeatedly begin with:

• the study;
• the researchers;
• the government;
• the company;
• the report; or
• the author.

Mention the subject once and connect its related actions or findings. However, do not combine the sentences if they describe unrelated points.

Keep Key Terms Unchanged

Some words should usually remain unchanged because they identify the exact topic of the passage.

Original

The Canadian government introduced a carbon-pricing program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A learner may attempt to change every important term, but that version is less accurate. Carbon pricing and greenhouse gas emissions are established terms and should not be replaced with vague expressions.

The sentence has been shortened, but the key terms remain unchanged.

You should normally keep:

• technical vocabulary;
• names of policies and programs;
• scientific terms;
• names of organizations or locations;
• important numbers and percentages;
• dates or time periods; and
• central topic words.

Using original key terms is not a weakness. It often protects the accuracy of your summary. You can still change the surrounding grammar when necessary.

Preserve the Original Level of Certainty

A grammatical change must not make a cautious statement sound definite.

Original

The researchers suggested that the new treatment may reduce recovery time.

The words suggested and may show uncertainty. The research indicates a possible benefit, but it does not prove that the treatment always works.

The incorrect sentence presents the result as a fact and therefore changes the meaning.

A shorter accurate version could be:

The treatment may help shorten recovery time.

Both accurate versions preserve the original uncertainty.

Pay close attention to words such as:

• may;
• might;
• could;
• possibly;
• probably;
• is likely to;
• suggests;
• indicates;
• confirms; and
• proves.

For example, suggests is weaker than proves, and may improve is weaker than will improve.

When shortening a sentence, do not remove these words unless the source clearly presents the information as certain.

Final Reminder

You do not receive an advantage simply for changing more words or using more complicated grammar. In many cases, the safest choice is to keep the important vocabulary from the source and make only the changes needed to produce a clear and concise summary.

Change the grammatical structure when it helps you:

• combine related points;
• reduce repetition;
• shorten a long idea;
• report a quotation;
• clarify a condition;
• shift the focus; or
• express a relationship more directly.

After making a change, check that the original meaning, level of certainty, tense, and logical relationship are still accurate. A simple and correct sentence is always more useful than an advanced sentence that changes the message.

Practice Summarize Written Text, Write Email, and Summarize Spoken Text tasks to practice purposeful paraphrasing and clear, accurate summaries.