How many questions are on the GRE?
The GRE General Test has 54 scored questions plus one essay task: 27 Verbal Reasoning questions and 27 Quantitative Reasoning questions, each split into a section of 12 and a section of 15. Analytical Writing is a single Analyze an Issue task. Since September 22, 2023 the test takes about 1 hour 58 minutes, down from 80 questions plus two essays.
In more detail
Verbal and Quant each come in two sections: 12 questions, then 15. Analytical Writing always comes first, and the Verbal and Quant sections can appear in any order after it. The essay is scored on its own 0 to 6 scale and is not part of the 54.
Both reasoning measures are section-level adaptive. The first section of each is of average difficulty, and how you do on it sets the difficulty of the second. Your score counts the total number of correct answers across both sections and the difficulty of the second one. Inside a section you can skip, mark, review and change answers, so you can take the 12 or 15 questions in any order.
Time per question is tighter in Quant than in Verbal. Plan on about 1 minute 30 seconds for each Verbal question and about 1 minute 45 seconds for each Quant question. An on-screen calculator is available in Quant.
GRE General Test questions and timing (ETS, October 2026)
| Section | Questions | Time | Time per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytical Writing | 1 task | 30 min | - |
| Verbal Reasoning, section 1 | 12 | 18 min | 1 min 30 s |
| Verbal Reasoning, section 2 | 15 | 23 min | about 1 min 32 s |
| Quantitative Reasoning, section 1 | 12 | 21 min | 1 min 45 s |
| Quantitative Reasoning, section 2 | 15 | 26 min | about 1 min 44 s |
| Total | 54 + 1 essay | 1 h 58 min | - |
Step by step
- 1
Take a full POWERPREP practice test in one sitting to get a feel for the 12-then-15 rhythm.
- 2
Pace Verbal at about 1 minute 30 seconds and Quant at about 1 minute 45 seconds per question, and mark anything that takes longer.
- 3
Start with the questions you can solve fast, since you can move around freely inside a section.
- 4
Treat the first section of each measure as the one that sets your difficulty, and do not sink your time into a single stuck question.
- 5
Answer every question, because a blank earns nothing and a guess might.
- 6
Spend the first few minutes of the essay on a short outline before you start writing.
How StudyPDF helps
Upload your GRE prep chapters, vocabulary lists and notes, and StudyPDF builds a sectioned, timed practice set from them, with no feedback until you submit and a graded report per section. Practicing in blocks of 12 and 15 questions builds the pacing the test rewards, and the concepts you miss feed your next quiz. Set your test date in the Plan tab for dated sessions. The free plan covers about 4 materials a week, no card needed.
See also
More questions
How many questions were on the GRE before 2023?
Before September 22, 2023 the GRE had 80 scored questions, 20 in each of two Verbal and two Quantitative sections, plus two essay tasks. It took about 3 hours 45 minutes with a 10-minute break.
Is the essay counted in the 54 questions?
No. The 54 are the Verbal and Quantitative questions. The Analyze an Issue essay is one extra 30-minute task, scored separately.
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