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PTE Home A2 practice test

PTE Home A2 is the Pearson test for people extending a UK family visa. Compared with A1, the sentences you repeat are longer and the pictures need more than a list of things. The biggest change is a new task: you hear a short story once and tell it again in your own words. It is still taken alone at a computer, and the result is still a pass or a fail.

Length
Up to 30 minutes
Skills
Speaking and listening
Taken
Alone, on a computer
Result
Pass or fail

Used for extending a UK family visa after two and a half years.

Free practice tests

What is in the test

  1. Repeat sentence · 22 or 23 questions

    An everyday sentence, longer than at A1, is played once. Repeat it exactly, keeping the small words such as to, the and at.

  2. Describe image · 4 or 5 questions

    You get 25 seconds to study a picture, then describe the place, the people and what is happening.

  3. Retell story · 4 or 5 questions

    You hear a short story once. Then you tell it again in your own words.

How to prepare

  • Listen for the meaning, not each word. A2 sentences are too long to remember sound by sound. Understand the idea, and the words come back more easily.
  • Keep going if you forget a word. Say the rest of the sentence. Stopping loses more marks than one missing word.
  • For stories, remember who, what and how it ended. You do not need every detail. Say the main events in the right order, in simple past-tense sentences.
  • Use the 25 seconds for pictures. Decide your first sentence before the microphone opens: "This picture shows...".
  • Practise with headphones. The real test is taken with a headset in a room with other people, so get used to speaking clearly at a normal volume.

For each task in detail, with examples, common mistakes and a one-week plan, see our PTE Home A2 tips.

Worked example: retelling a story at A2

A short story written for this page in the style of the A2 task, and how a good retelling is built from it.

  1. What you hear

    "Last Friday Ben wanted to go to a concert in the city. He bought a ticket online, but on the evening of the concert his car would not start. His sister drove him there, and he arrived just before the music began."

  2. Step 1: who and what

    Ben and a concert. That is your first sentence: Ben wanted to go to a concert.

  3. Step 2: the problem

    His car would not start. A story like this turns on a problem in the middle, and the retelling makes no sense without it.

  4. Step 3: the ending

    His sister drove him, and he was in time. Always finish with the ending, even if you have to drop a detail such as the ticket.

  5. The retelling

    "Ben wanted to go to a concert on Friday. But his car did not start. His sister drove him to the city, and he arrived before the music started." Four events, in order, in the past tense.

Common mistakes at A2

At A2 the slips are mostly about the past, word order in longer sentences, and the small words between the main ones.

  • Not: Yesterday I go to the doctor.

    Better: Yesterday I went to the doctor.

    Retell story is always about the past. Practise the irregular verbs that stories use most: went, got, took, bought, found, left and told.

  • Not: He buyed a new jacket.

    Better: He bought a new jacket.

    The regular -ed ending does not work for common verbs like buy, catch and think. Learn their past forms as words of their own.

  • Not: Could you tell me where is the post office?

    Better: Could you tell me where the post office is?

    After could you tell me, the words go back to statement order. In repeat sentence, say the order you heard, even if it feels unusual.

  • Not: She has lived here since five years.

    Better: She has lived here for five years.

    For goes with a length of time, and since with a starting point, as in since 2020.

  • Not: In Monday I have an appointment.

    Better: On Monday I have an appointment.

    On for days, at for clock times, in for months. These little words are the first to disappear from a long repeat sentence.

  • Not: A retelling that spends 20 seconds on the first sentence of the story.

    Better: One sentence for the start, then the problem, then the ending.

    The start is the easiest part to remember, so people say too much about it and run out of time before the ending.

Sample A2 picture description, explained

Imagine a picture of a library: a woman is choosing a book from a shelf, a man is using a computer, and a clock on the wall shows half past four. It is described in words here and is not one of our practice pictures.

This picture shows a library. On the left, a woman is choosing a book from a tall shelf. Next to her, a man is sitting at a computer, and I think he is looking for information. There is a clock on the wall. It says half past four, so it is the afternoon. It looks quiet and comfortable.

Why it works

  • "This picture shows" is a fixed opening. Having it ready removes the hardest second of the task.
  • On the left and next to her say where things are, which adds content beyond a list of objects.
  • I think he is looking for information is the step up from A1: one sensible guess about the picture.
  • So it is the afternoon joins a fact and a conclusion in one sentence.
  • At about 60 words it fits comfortably in the 30 seconds our practice test gives you, without rushing.

Questions

Who needs PTE Home A2?
Pearson lists it for extensions of the spouse or partner visa and the parent visa, after two and a half years on a family visa. First-time applicants need A1 instead. The GOV.UK guidance for your visa says whether your extension needs a test.
Is the third task a conversation or a story?
A story. Pearson's specification for PTE Home lists the A2 tasks as repeat sentence, describe image and retell story, and its A2 page describes listening to a story and retelling it in your own words.
How is PTE Home A2 different from A1?
Longer sentences to repeat, pictures that need a fuller description, and short stories to retell in place of the A1 conversations. The length of the test and the pass-or-fail result stay the same.
Do I have to use the same words as the story?
No. Your own words are fine, as long as the main events come in the right order. Using a few key words from the story, such as the names of places and things, helps the content mark.

Other levels and tests

Official sources

TestWise Prep is independent and is not connected to Pearson. PTE and PTE Home are trademarks of Pearson. Test format checked against Pearson's pages on 10 October 2026; every practice question here is our own.