DET Practice Questions: Every Question Type With Examples

Ömer opened the DET for the first time and didn''t recognize a single question type.

Not because his English was bad — his vocabulary was strong, his grammar was solid. He just had no idea what the test was going to ask him to do. He''d studied English for years. He''d never practiced these questions.

He scored 95. He needed 115.

This post gives you DET practice questions and samples for every question type on the test — so you know exactly what to expect before you sit down. By the end, you''ll have worked through each section and know where you''re strong and where to focus.

What the DET Actually Tests

The english proficiency test duolingo administers doesn''t just check vocabulary or grammar. It tests how fast your brain can access English under pressure. Every question type is designed to see whether you can use the language, not just recognize it.

There are eight question types you need to know. Some take five seconds. Some take five minutes. All of them show up without warning, in random order. Here''s every one of them with a real example of each.

Read & Select

You see one word at a time. You have five seconds to decide: is it a real English word or not?

Example: grantic — not a word. Nervous — real word.

The trap most students fall into is trying to define the word before deciding. You don''t have time. The question is testing recognition, not recall. If you''ve seen the word before and it feels familiar, it''s probably real. If something feels invented, skip it.

What helps: Reading widely before your test date. The more words you''ve seen in context, the faster your recognition becomes. Unanswered questions count against you, so only skip if you''re genuinely unsure.

Fill in the Blanks

You see a sentence with one word partially written. The first few letters are there — you type the rest.

Example: She was very tire__ after a long day at work.

The letters tire are already there. The sentence tells you she''s exhausted. The answer is tired.

The DET always gives you the starting letters. That''s not an accident — it''s a clue. Your job is to combine the letters you can see with the context of the sentence. Students who struggle here are usually ignoring one or the other.

Read & Complete

Similar to Fill in the Blanks, but you''re working through a full passage instead of a single sentence. Multiple words have missing letters throughout the text.

Example passage: It was cold outside, so the children stayed ins____ all afternoon.

The context — cold, children, afternoon at home — points directly to inside. Read the whole passage before filling anything in. The sentences around each blank almost always tell you what the word should be.

Interactive Reading

You read a short passage, then answer questions about it. Some questions ask you to choose the word that fits a blank. Others ask what the passage is mainly about, or ask you to identify a specific detail.

This is the one section where going back to the passage is not just allowed — it''s the strategy. Students who try to answer from memory make avoidable mistakes. The passage is right there. Use it.

Write About the Photo

You see a photo and write one or two sentences describing it. You have about 90 seconds.

The mistake most students make is trying to say too much. One clear, accurate sentence beats two vague ones. A frame that works:

I can see [who/what] + [what they are doing] + [where].

Example: I can see two people having a conversation at a table in an office.

That''s enough. The DET is checking whether you can describe what you observe in accurate, natural English — not whether you can write a paragraph. The DET practice PDF below includes duolingo english test samples for this section with frames to help you start.

Interactive Writing

You answer a question in writing, then answer one follow-up question. You have about five minutes total.

The question types follow predictable patterns: opinion, compare and contrast, problem and solution, cause and effect. You don''t need to write a perfect essay. You need to write something clear, on-topic, and connected.

A frame that works for most prompts:

[Your position] + because [reason] + For example, [evidence from your own life].

The follow-up question usually pushes you one level deeper — it asks you to add a detail, address a counterpoint, or extend your example. Don''t start over. Build on what you wrote.

Read Then Speak

You read a question, then speak your answer for up to 90 seconds. There''s no one listening in real time — you''re recording your response.

The most common mistake: students try to say everything they know about the topic. That leads to unfinished sentences and lost ideas.

Instead, pick one idea. Say it clearly. Give one example from your own life. That structure — one idea, one example — fills the time and scores better than a scattered answer twice as long.

A starter that works for almost any prompt: "One thing I think about this is..."

Writing Sample

This is a longer writing task at the end of the test. You have five minutes to respond to one prompt.

The prompts follow the same patterns as Interactive Writing: opinion, compare and contrast, problem and solution. The difference is length and depth — you''re expected to develop your answer more fully.

Start with your main idea, not with "I think that..." — that phrase weakens your opening. Start with the claim itself.

Living in a big city has real advantages for people who are building a career.

That''s stronger than: I think that living in a big city is better because of career opportunities.

What Most Students Get Wrong

They prepare for English. They don''t prepare for these questions.

Knowing the word convenient is not the same as being able to complete conv______ in twenty seconds under pressure. Knowing how to write an opinion paragraph is not the same as writing one in five minutes after twenty other questions.

The DET is a performance test. The content is English, but the skill being tested is access under time pressure. That''s a different thing to train.

The students who score highest aren''t necessarily the ones with the best English. They''re the ones who''ve seen the question types before, know what each one is asking, and have a starting point for every section.

That''s what the duolingo english test sample paper above gives you — practice questions across every section, in the same format as the real test. Work through it once, check your answers, and notice where you slow down. That''s where to focus.

If you want to look at your results together and build a plan, the diagnostic call is free and takes twenty minutes. You can book it at luenglish.com/book-a-diagnostic.