How Many Questions Are on the GRE?

Interestingly, although the GRE General Test takes a couple of hours to complete, there are relatively few questions on the exam. So, how many questions are on the GRE? In this article, we’ll answer that question and explore the following related topics:

• the test duration
• the test format overall
• the GRE question count per section
• how many of each question type you may see

and more.

We’ll also answer some common questions about the GRE number of questions, such as how many questions on the GRE you can miss and still earn a top score and how the relatively small number of questions in GREs should influence your test prep strategy.

Here are all the topics we’ll cover:

• The GRE Test Length
• The GRE Test Structure
• The Analytical Writing Section
• The Verbal Reasoning Section
  • Text Completion
  • Sentence Equivalence
  • Reading Comprehension
• The Quantitative Reasoning Section
  • Single-Answer Multiple-Choice
  • Multi-Answer Multiple-Choice
  • Numeric Entry
  • Quantitative Comparison
  • Data Interpretation
• GRE Study Strategy: Be Prepared for Anything
• GRE Number of Questions: Quick Reference
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • Is the GRE multiple-choice?
  • In total, how many verbal questions are on the GRE?
  • In total, how many math questions are on the GRE?
  • How many questions in GRE Quant are Data Interpretation?
  • How many questions are in each section of the GRE?
  • How many essay prompts are you given on a GRE?
  • How many questions can you miss on the GRE and still score high?
  • How many questions do you need to get right on the GRE to score 330+?
• What’s Next?

To start, let’s discuss the test duration.

The GRE Test Length

The GRE testing time is 1 hour and 58 minutes. You also need about 15 minutes to complete the online check-in process with the remote proctor if you’re taking the GRE at home, and about 15-30 minutes for the check-in process at a test center.

Additionally, at the end of your exam, you’ll be given the option to either report or cancel your scores. If you choose to report your scores, you’ll see your unofficial Quant and Verbal scores and be able to designate up to 4 recipients to send your scores to for free. (You can also choose to send your scores later for a fee.)

So, in total, you can expect your testing experience to take around 2.5 hours, with 2 of the hours dedicated to actually completing the exam.

Note that there are no scheduled breaks during the GRE, unless you have been granted an accommodation for breaks.

KEY FACT:

The GRE test length is 1 hour and 58 minutes in total, plus check-in time.

Now, let’s discuss the test structure.

The GRE Test Structure

The GRE is made up of 5 sections. The first section presented is always Analytical Writing (the essay section). After the Analytical Writing section, you will see 2 each of alternating Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections. Note that the first Verbal and Quant sections are slightly shorter than the second sections of the respective types. The table below shows how the test duration breaks down by section:

KEY FACT:

The first Verbal and Quant sections are slightly shorter than the second sections of the respective types.

Now, let’s take a look at the question breakdown in each section, starting with the Analytical Writing section.

The Analytical Writing Section

There is 1 essay task in the GRE Analytical Writing section, the Analyze an Issue task. You have 30 minutes to write this essay. As we noted earlier, the first half-hour of the GRE is always dedicated to this task.

To learn more about GRE Analytical Writing questions, check out our guide to GRE essay prompts. You can also view actual Issue essay prompts here.

KEY FACT:

There is 1 essay task in the GRE Analytical Writing section, the Analyze an Issue task, which you have 30 minutes to complete at the beginning of your exam.

Now, let’s discuss how many GRE Verbal questions you’ll see on your exam.

The Verbal Reasoning Section

How many questions GRE Verbal Reasoning sections have varies slightly because the Verbal sections are different lengths.

In the first Verbal section, which is 18 minutes long, you’ll see 12 questions. So, you’ll have an average of 1.5 minutes to complete each question in the first Verbal section. (Of course, your actual time per question will vary depending on the question type.)

In the second Verbal section, which is 23 minutes long, you’ll see 15 questions. So, you’ll have an average of just over 1.5 minutes to complete each question in the second Verbal section. (Again, actual time per question will vary.)

So, you’ll see a total of 27 GRE Verbal questions on your exam.

KEY FACT:

The GRE Verbal Reasoning number of questions varies slightly from the first Verbal section to the second, which is slightly longer.

There are 3 main question types in GRE Verbal, all of which can appear mixed in any order in both Verbal sections. Those question types are:

• Text Completion (TC)
• Sentence Equivalence (SE)
• Reading Comprehension (RC)

Note that all GRE Verbal questions are multiple-choice. However, they are not all “standard” multiple-choice questions in which you pick 1 answer from 5 choices.

So, let’s look at what these questions consist of and roughly how many questions of each are on the GRE.

Text Completion

Text Completion questions present a sentence or short passage of up to a few sentences in which there is information missing that is represented by a blank. These questions come in 3 different varieties: 1-blank, 2-blank, and 3-blank. TC questions with 1-blank are always just a single sentence. However, a single-sentence TC question can contain up to 3 blanks.

Whichever variety of TC question you see, your job is to choose the appropriate word(s) or phrase(s) from among the answer choices in order to logically fill in the blank(s) in the question stem. In the case of 1-blank questions, you’ll be presented with 5 answer choices, as in a “standard” multiple-choice question. For 2-blank and 3-blank questions, you see 3 choices per blank. You must select the correct answers for all of the blanks in a TC question in order to get the question correct. There is no partial credit.

You can expect to see roughly 3 or 4 Text Completion questions in each Verbal section, for a total of about 7 or 8 TC questions on your exam. So, about 25-30% of GRE Verbal questions on any given exam are Text Completion. Note that in both Verbal sections, the TC questions you see will be a mix of the 3 varieties.

KEY FACT:

There are roughly 3 or 4 Text Completion questions in each GRE Verbal section, for a total of about 7 or 8 TC questions on the exam.

Sentence Equivalence

Sentence Equivalence is similar to Text Completion in that it involves logically filling a blank in a sentence. However, each Sentence Equivalence question has only 1 sentence with 1 blank to fill, and there are 2 correct answers. The 2 correct answers must not only both logically fill the blank but also produce sentence versions that convey essentially the same meaning (hence, the “equivalence”).

So, each SE question presents 6 answer choices, 2 of which are correct. As with multi-blank Text Completion, you must select all of the correct answers to a question in order to get credit for the question.

As with Text Completion, you’ll see roughly 3 or 4 Sentence Equivalence questions in each Verbal section, for a total of about 7 or 8 SE questions on your exam.

So, taken together, Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion comprise about half of the Verbal questions on the GRE.

KEY FACT:

As with Text Completion, there are roughly 3 or 4 Sentence Equivalence questions in each GRE Verbal section, for a total of about 7 or 8 SE questions on the exam.

Reading Comprehension

The other half of the GRE Verbal questions are Reading Comprehension questions.

Reading Comprehension questions are associated with written passages and may be presented in any of the following formats:

• “Standard” multiple-choice: These questions present 5 answer choices, only 1 of which is correct.
• “Select all that apply”: These multiple-choice questions present only 3 answer choices. Anywhere from 1-3 of the choices may be correct. You must select all of the correct answers in a question in order to get credit for the question.
• “Select-in-passage”: These questions require you to select a sentence in the associated passage that fits the description in the question stem.

Reading Comprehension passages tend to be 1 or 2 paragraphs long and have about 2 or 3 questions associated with them, although you may occasionally see a longer passage and/or a passage alongside more than 3 questions.

There is also a subtype of RC question called the Critical Reasoning question. For these questions, you will be presented with a short, 1-paragraph passage that presents an argument or scenario, alongside 1 question that asks you to analyze that argument or scenario in some way.

Generally, you can expect to see 2 or 3 regular RC passages per Verbal section, with 2 or 3 questions per passage, and possibly 1 additional passage per section that is Critical Reasoning-style, with 1 question per passage.

So, in total, you may see about 5 regular RC passages and 2 CR passages on your exam.

You can learn more about all the GRE Verbal question types here.

KEY FACT:

About half of the Verbal questions on the GRE are Reading Comprehension questions, including a couple of Critical Reasoning questions.

Now let’s look at how many Quantitative questions are on the GRE.

The Quantitative Reasoning Section

As with Verbal questions, how many questions in each section of GRE Quant there are varies slightly because the sections are different lengths. In fact, the first and second Quant sections have the same number of questions as the corresponding Verbal sections. However, you’ll have a little more time to answer the Quant questions.

In the first Quant section, which is 21 minutes long, you’ll see 12 questions. So, you’ll have an average of 1.75 minutes to complete each question in the first Quant section.

In the second Quant section, which is 26 minutes long, you’ll see 15 questions. So, you’ll have an average of just under 1.75 minutes to complete each question in the second Quant section.

The same caveat applies to Quant as to Verbal: the GRE question difficulty and type will affect how much time you actually spend on each question. Surely, some Quant questions will take longer than 1.75 minutes to answer, while others will require less time.

In total, you’ll see 27 Quantitative questions on your GRE.

KEY FACT:

The first and second Quant sections have the same number of questions as the corresponding Verbal sections, 12 and 15, respectively.

There are 5 main question types in GRE Quant, all of which can appear mixed in any order in both Quant sections. Those question types are:

• single-answer multiple-choice
• multi-answer multiple-choice
• Numeric Entry questions
• Quantitative Comparison (QC)
• Data Interpretation

Let’s look at what these questions consist of and roughly how many questions of each are on the GRE.

Single-Answer Multiple-Choice

Single-answer multiple-choice are the standard multiple-choice questions that present 5 answer choices from which you must select 1. You can expect to see roughly around 10 of these Problem Solving questions in total on your exam. However, they won’t necessarily be evenly split between the 2 Quant sections.

KEY FACT:

You’re likely to see a total of around 10 single-answer multiple-choice Quant questions on your GRE.

Multi-Answer Multiple-Choice

Multi-answer multiple-choice questions are Problem Solving questions that may have more than 1 correct answer.

In some cases, you will be instructed on how many answer choices to select, and you must select exactly that number of choices. In other cases, the question won’t specify how many answer choices to select, instead instructing you to “select all that apply.” Either way, a question will not be marked correct unless you select all of the correct choices and no others.

As with any of the GRE question types, there is no way to predict exactly how many multi-answer math questions you’ll see on any given exam. That said, you’re likely to see just a few on the entire exam. So, generally speaking, you may see around 3.

KEY FACT:

Generally speaking, you’re likely to see just a few multi-answer Quantitative questions on any GRE.

Numeric Entry

For Numeric Entry questions, no answer choices are given. Rather, you must input your answer into a box, as either an integer, a fraction, or a decimal.

Generally speaking, you’ll probably see just a couple of Numeric Entry questions split between the two Quant sections, so perhaps 2 or 3 questions total.

KEY FACT:

Generally speaking, you’re likely to see just 2 or 3 Numeric Entry questions on any GRE.

Quantitative Comparison

In Quantitative Comparison questions, you are generally provided with some information, sometimes called the constraint, and two quantities: Quantity A and Quantity B. Your job is to determine the relationship between the two quantities and select 1 answer from 4 standard choices:

• Quantity A is greater than Quantity B.
• Quantity B is greater than Quantity A.
• Quantities A and B are equal.
• The relationship between the two quantities cannot be determined.

You can review some examples of QC questions and get our top 3 Quantitative Comparison tips here.

The number of QC questions you see on the GRE will likely be roughly on par with the number of standard multiple-choice math questions you see. So, you could see around 9 or 10 Quantitative Comparison questions in total on your exam.

KEY FACT:

You may see somewhere around 9 or 10 Quantitative Comparison questions in total on the GRE.

Data Interpretation

Data Interpretation questions require you to quickly and accurately retrieve information from a chart or graph and use your mathematical and logical reasoning skills to analyze that information.

You will probably see just a few of these questions in total on the GRE, perhaps 3 or 4.

KEY FACT:

Generally speaking, you’re likely to see just a few Data Interpretation questions on any GRE.

Now that we’ve covered how many questions are on the GRE, how many questions are in each section of the GRE, and roughly how many questions of each type you can expect to see, let’s talk about how this information should influence your GRE preparation strategy.

GRE Study Strategy: Be Prepared for Anything

There are many more topics that can be tested on the GRE than there are questions that actually appear on the exam. In fact, between Quant and Verbal, there are hundreds of topics and concepts that the GRE may test. Of course, with only 27 Quant and 27 Verbal questions, any one GRE exam is not going to test every possible GRE topic. The thing is, there is no way for you to know which topics will appear on a given exam.

Furthermore, there is no way to predict how many questions on each topic you’ll see. Thus, you must be prepared for anything and everything that could possibly be thrown your way on test day. Picking and choosing what to study based on what you think are the “important” concepts or “common” topics is a recipe for disaster when preparing for the GRE. Every GRE topic is important!

So, a smart strategy for devising your GRE study plan is this: If it can be tested on the GRE, assume that it WILL be tested on your GRE.

Of course, a comprehensive, structured self-study course with a built-in study plan can help you ensure that you’re mastering all of the material you need to know to earn a great GRE score. If you’re looking for a course, give our 5-star rated GRE course a try for just $1.

TTP PRO TIP:

Study for the GRE under the assumption that if a topic can be tested, it will be!

GRE Number of Questions: Quick Reference

The table below provides a quick reference for the GRE question count and test duration.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is the GRE multiple-choice?

With the exception of the essay task and “select-in-passage” Reading Comprehension questions, GRE questions are multiple-choice. However, some questions may have more than 1 correct answer. In those cases, you must select all of the correct answers to the question in order for the question to be marked correct.

In total, how many verbal questions are on the GRE?

There are a total of 27 verbal questions on the GRE.

In total, how many math questions are on the GRE?

There are a total of 27 math questions on the GRE.

How many questions in GRE Quant are Data Interpretation?

You’ll likely see only a few Data Interpretation questions on your entire exam. There is no way to predict the exact number, but generally you can expect 3 or 4 of the 27 Quantitative questions on the GRE to be Data Interpretation.

How many questions are in each section of the GRE?

The first section of the GRE, Analytical Writing, features 1 essay prompt.

The first Verbal Reasoning section and first Quantitative Reasoning section each present 12 questions. The second Verbal and Quant sections each present 15 questions.

How many essay prompts are you given on a GRE?

There is only 1 essay prompt on any given GRE.

How many questions can you miss on the GRE and still score high?

Many test-takers wonder how many questions in each section of GRE Verbal and Quant they can miss and still earn a high score. The truth is, you don’t have to be perfect to do well on the GRE. A few questions missed in an otherwise strong performance will not have a major effect on your score, especially if those questions are in the second Verbal and Quant sections, which may be more difficult depending on how you performed on the first sections.

However, even if you miss a handful of questions in the first Verbal and Quant sections, you can still earn good GRE scores. For example, say you have a score goal of 320, with 160 in both Quant and Verbal. You could have as many as 4-5 missed questions in each Verbal section and 2-3 missed questions in each Quant section and still reach your goal score.

Of course, you should always aim to do your best. But, if you’re feeling an inordinate amount of anxiety about the prospect of missing some questions on your GRE, breathe a sigh of relief!

How many questions do you need to get right on the GRE to score 330+?

If you’re aiming for section scores of 165 or thereabouts in Quant and Verbal, to reach a total score of 330+, you won’t have as much wiggle room as you would if you were aiming for scores in 310-320 range. You will need to get most questions correct in each section in order to earn such an enviable score. That said, you can still get a few questions wrong in each section and score 330.

What’s Next?

Get a detailed breakdown of the GRE test syllabus here.

Then, learn all about GRE question difficulty in Verbal and question difficulty in Quant.

And get your questions answered about how the GRE is scored in our guide to the GRE scoring system.

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