IELTS Grammar: two important points

Here are two grammar points to note from the mistakes in Friday's lesson:

1. Commas don't connect sentences
You can't write "They asked me to do an interview, I felt so shy" with a comma connecting the two ideas. You would need a full stop or a linking word like "and" or "but" (e.g. They asked me to do an interview, but I felt so shy).

2. Don't put "which" and "it" together
You can't write "a conversation which I found it interesting". Delete the "it".

Click here to see all of the answers to Friday's exercise.

Comments

[Mert]

Hi Simon,

I got my result last week

Writing - 6

Speaking - 6

Listening - 6

Reading - 6

I need 6.5 at writing and 6.5 overall.What do you suggest Simon :(

[suma]

Hi Simon

I would like to ask you about the second mistake is this lesson ( not put which and it in the same sentence) I noticed that I usually use that and it is apparently wrong. Can you please give me another way to say or write the sentence in your example in the right way?
thanks a lot

[Ha]

hi Suma
This is a relative clause. u should really try to use it to promote your grammatical range. however, if you find it too hard to use a relative clause, you can separate it into 2 simple sentences. for example, iam going to talk about a conversation and for me, it is very interesting

[ali]

in the fifth example, why we have used "the few" instead of "few"

[Roqi]

Hi Simon Hi all
I have IELTS test on December 7 and 14 of the same month
I am very worried
Do you have today advice help me and encourage me to study and also to focus more
Thank you

[Hessam]

" while the figures for pork fluctuated between 50 and 40 pounds per person"
why figures and not figure?
there is only one line for "pork" ( the pink line)

[MEDO]

Hi Simon
when can i sue in or by with date ?
For example : sometimes i saw the writer write ( by2007) and sometime write ( in 2007 )

[Braulio]

Hi Medo,

By and In are two different prepositions. So, they are used for different situations.If you see the writer stating " in 2007" , it is probably because he/she wanted to raise the information for that particular period (year). But, by using the preposition "by ", The writer makes relevant the period until that date.

From previous Simon's lessons:
"IELTS Writing Task 1: 'to' or 'by'

In IELTS writing task 1, you might need to use verbs like increase, decrease, rise and fall. These verbs can be followed by the words 'to' and 'by', but what's the difference?

Let's use these figures:
- Company profit in 2005 = £20,000
- Company profit in 2010 = £25,000

Now compare these sentences:
- Company profit rose to £25,000 in 2010.
- Company profit rose by £5,000 between 2005 and 2010.

It's easy: 'to' is used before the new figure, and 'by' is used to show the change. It's the same when you are talking about a fall."

[Braulio]

Hi Simon,

I was reading a model answer for an opinion essay, and the way the author answered the question held my attention. In the first paragraph the author wrote why he did not agree with the question. However, in the second paragraph he wrote why he agreed , as he stated in the introduction. Is it ok to do that? I prefer the way you have taught us to do, much simpler and less confusing.

[aleeza]

hi sir, i appreciate ur work as u r doing a great job by helping students to prepare,m glad that i have found such a nice blog!could u help me making a clear difference b/w the use of COULD,WOULD,MIGHT? These remain perplexing to me while using them in sentences...i will b highly obliged to u.

[Abhi]

Thank u so much sir for correction of our speaking.
Thank u

[suma]

Hi Ha,

Thank you for your response and clarification

[navneet]

hi all, i got 6.5 in writing,7.5 list,7.5 speaking,reading 6 but my requirement is 7 in writing. how can i improve.please suggest

[Aismk]

Hi all .. I realy do not know how could i get 7 band .. I got 6 in 2 attempts .. I worked hard took tuition but use less ..
Near to die ... Any help or suggestion