GRE practice questions, and how section-level adaptivity sets your ceiling
The GRE General Test is about 1 hour 58 minutes: one 30-minute Analytical Writing task, two Verbal sections (12 then 15 questions) and two Quantitative sections (12 then 15). Verbal and Quantitative are each scored 130–170, Analytical Writing 0–6, and ETS keeps your scores reportable for five years from the test date.
Formally the GRE General Test. Awarding body: ETS. Neuron Trainer is an independent study app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the organization that owns this exam.
Every row below is quoted from a document published by ETS and carries the date we checked it. Where ETS publishes nothing, the row says so instead of quoting a number from somewhere else.
Sections
Five sections: one Analytical Writing task, two Verbal Reasoning sections and two Quantitative Reasoning sections. Analytical Writing is always first; the Verbal and Quantitative sections may appear in any order after it.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
Questions
Analytical Writing: one 'Analyze an Issue' task. Verbal Reasoning: 12 questions then 15. Quantitative Reasoning: 12 questions then 15. 54 scored questions plus the essay.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
Time limit
About 1 hour 58 minutes in total: Analytical Writing 30 minutes; Verbal 18 minutes then 23 minutes; Quantitative 21 minutes then 26 minutes.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
Format
Section-level adaptive. The first section of each measure is of average difficulty, and the difficulty of the second depends on your overall performance on the first. Within a section you may skip, return and change answers.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
Score scale
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning are each scored 130–170 in one-point increments. Analytical Writing is scored 0–6 in half-point increments.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
Fee
US$249 for the GRE General Test in the United States and most of the world.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
How long scores last
GRE scores are reportable for five years following the test date.Source: ETS, verified 7 August 2026
Passing score
Not published by ETS. The GRE has no pass mark. Each graduate program decides what it wants to see, and many weigh the score alongside transcripts, research experience and references. Anyone quoting a 'passing GRE score' has invented it.
Passrate
Not published by ETS. There is no pass rate, because there is nothing to pass.
Always verify: structure, fees and score policies come from ETS and change. Confirm current details at ets.org/gre before you register, and check each program for what it expects, the GRE has no pass mark.
What our GRE question bank covers
What this app's question bank covers — our own category shares across 648 questions, not ETS's published blueprint.
Category
Questions in our bank
Share of our bank
Verbal Reasoning
Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, Reading Comprehension, vocabulary
325
50.2%
Quantitative Reasoning
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data analysis, quantitative comparison
323
49.8%
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Try it
4 questions from our GRE bank
One Verbal item and three Quantitative, including the Quantitative Comparison format that appears on no other test on this site. All are taken from the 648 in the GRE bank.
What actually trips people up on the GRE
Treating the first section as a warm-up
Section-level adaptivity means performance on the first Verbal or Quantitative section sets the difficulty, and the ceiling, of the second. The first twelve questions are the highest-leverage questions on the test.
Quantitative Comparison as computation
QC items ask which of two quantities is larger, and often the fastest route is structural rather than arithmetic. Candidates who compute both sides fully burn time they need elsewhere and still risk “cannot be determined” traps.
Preparing for a pass mark that does not exist
The GRE has no passing score and never has had one. Verbal and Quantitative each run 130 to 170 and Analytical Writing runs 0 to 6, and every graduate program decides for itself what those numbers are worth beside a transcript, a research record and references. Candidates who set themselves a round target from a forum post are aiming at a figure nobody publishes, and they usually over-prepare the measure their programs care least about. Find the score ranges your actual programs report, and aim at those.
Vocabulary in context, not vocabulary in lists
Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence items give a contrast signal: “far from being”, “so … that even”, that tells you the polarity of the blank before you know the word. Learning the signal beats learning another hundred words.
Skipping strategically without a plan
The GRE lets you skip and return within a section, which is a genuine advantage, but only if you have rehearsed a rule for when to move on. Discovering it on test day costs more than it saves.
How long should you study for the GRE?
Six to ten weeks, split by measure, because Verbal and Quantitative improve differently. Scores are reportable for five years, so sitting it early in a multi-year application plan is a legitimate strategy.
Weeks 1–2 · Establish a baseline in both measures
Run Smart Quizzes in both categories. Our GRE bank is 648 questions, split 325 Verbal and 323 Quantitative, so a first pass reads both measures fairly.
Weeks 3–5 · Quantitative content, then Quantitative Comparison
Fix the content gaps first: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data analysis, then drill Quantitative Comparison as its own format. It rewards structural thinking, not speed.
Weeks 6–8 · Verbal signal-reading
Work Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence in volume, naming the contrast signal in each stem before choosing. Our bank’s Verbal items are weighted toward the harder end (difficulty 3 and 4), which is where the score separation lives.
Weeks 9–10 · Full-length timing and the essay
Practice the 30-minute Analyze an Issue task to the clock, and rehearse the 18/23 and 21/26 minute section splits so the pacing is muscle memory.
Is the GRE hard?
The GRE is hard in a way that has little to do with content level. The math tops out around high-school standard and the vocabulary is learnable. What makes it demanding is the section-level adaptivity: your performance on the first Verbal and first Quantitative section decides the difficulty, and therefore the score ceiling, of the second. That front-loads pressure onto twelve questions per measure, and it rewards a calm, accurate opening far more than a strong finish.
The second source of difficulty is format-specific. Quantitative Comparison has no equivalent on any other test in this family, and it punishes candidates who compute both quantities in full instead of reasoning about structure. Our GRE bank of 648 questions is deliberately weighted toward the top: only 72 questions sit at our easiest level, against 217 at level three and 180 at level four, because the score separation on the GRE happens in the hard half. There is no pass mark and no pass rate, programs decide what a given score means to them.
How the GRE differs from the exams beside it
The GRE is section-level adaptive, and that one design choice changes how you should sit it. The first Verbal and first Quantitative section are of average difficulty; how you do on them determines the difficulty of the second, and therefore your score ceiling. So the opening twelve questions of each measure carry more weight than any twelve later on. Inside a section you can skip, come back and change answers: unlike the CAT-ASVAB, where an answer is final once submitted. The other structural point is that there is no pass mark and never has been: scores are reportable for five years and programs decide for themselves what a 158 means.
Questions people actually ask about the GRE
How long is the GRE?
About 1 hour 58 minutes. Analytical Writing is 30 minutes, the two Verbal sections are 18 and 23 minutes, and the two Quantitative sections are 21 and 26 minutes.
How many questions are on the GRE?
54 scored questions plus one essay: Verbal has a 12-question section and a 15-question section, and Quantitative has the same split. An unscored trial section may also appear.
What is a passing GRE score?
There isn’t one. Verbal and Quantitative are each scored 130–170 and Analytical Writing 0–6. Each graduate program decides what it wants; ETS publishes no pass mark.
Is the GRE adaptive?
At the section level. The first Verbal and Quantitative sections are of average difficulty, and your performance on each determines how hard the second one is. Within a section you can skip and change answers freely.
How much does the GRE cost?
US$249 in the United States and most of the world, as published by ETS. Additional score reports and rescheduling carry their own fees.
How long are GRE scores valid?
Five years from your test date. ETS’s ScoreSelect option lets you choose which of your scores from that window to send.
What is Quantitative Comparison?
A GRE-specific format that gives you two quantities and asks which is larger, or whether that can be determined at all. It usually rewards reasoning about structure rather than computing both sides.
Are these real GRE questions from the actual exam?
No. Reproducing live items would violate ETS’s test security rules. These are original questions written to the same blueprint, format and difficulty as the real GRE, each with the explanation we ship inside the app.
Practice another Next exam
Business, academic & admissions. Every one of these pages is built the same way: sourced facts, an honest admission where the sponsor publishes nothing, and free practice questions.
The app
The GRE app is still in development
The GRE Practice Test app ships 648 questions split evenly between the two scored measures, 325 verbal reasoning and 323 quantitative reasoning, each with a written explanation. Smart Quiz targets what you keep missing, Topic Drill isolates a measure, and the Exam Simulator runs 54 questions in 88 minutes, matching the real scored-question count and multiple-choice timing. There is a calculator and an AI tutor built in. The app does not score Analytical Writing. The app isn’t on the App Store yet; it’s in development. When it ships it will be free to start, with a subscription for the full bank.
Smart Quiz — keeps returning to the categories you keep missing
Topic Drill — one category at a time, on its own
Exam Simulator — a fixed-length timed paper (54 questions in 88 minutes, as this app sets it). It does not get harder as you go; the length and the mix are fixed.
AI tutor — re-explains any question in plain English
Progress tracking, reported per category
On-screen calculator
Study reminders
Light and dark themes
The app calls you ready at 65% on its own simulator. That is an in-app practice target we chose, not ETS's passing standard.
Not on the App Store yet. This one is still in development, so there is nothing to download today. The practice questions above are the whole of what we can give you right now, and they are free and complete. See where it sits in the queue, or browse the apps that are live.
Open strong, because the first section sets the ceiling
The GRE app carries 648 practice questions with explanations, weighted toward the harder end where score separation actually happens, plus timed 54-question simulations.
This page was last reviewed on . The 7 facts quoted above were last checked against their sources on . Where ETS publishes nothing, the table above says so rather than guessing.