IELTS Simon

IELTS Grammar: using 'they' with a singular

A student asked me about this page on Wikipedia, which gives three examples of the words "they" and "their" being used to refer to singular nouns:

• Somebody left their umbrella here. Would they please collect it?
• The patient should be told how much they will be required to pay.
• A journalist should not be forced to reveal their sources.

They and their are used instead of he or she and his or her.

This is very common in English, and it is unlikely that someone would say: "Somebody left his or her umbrella. Would he or she please collect it?"

But can we use "they" with a singular in the IELTS test?

The simple answer is yes, but my own preference is a little more complicated. When speaking, I naturally use "they" with singular nouns from time to time. But I tend to avoid doing this in written essays, as I prefer to stick to the normal grammatical conventions. For example, I used "he or she" in the sentence below, which comes from this essay.

Firstly, it is hard for a person to be happy if he or she does not have a safe place to live and enough food to eat.

IELTS Grammar: subject + verb

Question: Which of the following is a correct sentence?

1. Learning a foreign language.
2. Firstly, learning a foreign language in order to improve your career prospects.
3. For example, learning a foreign language by living in a country where that language is spoken, and communicating with native speakers on a daily basis.

Answer: None of these are correct sentences. None of them has a main verb.

To make a sentence, you need a subject (noun/noun phrase) and a verb:

1. I am learning a foreign language. OR, Learning a foreign language is useful.
2. Firstly, many people learn a foreign language in order to improve their career prospects.
3. For example, some people learn a foreign language by living in a country where that language is spoken and communicating with native speakers on a daily basis.

Some students really need to work on writing correct "subject + verb" sentences. Missing the verb in a sentence is a serious mistake that will definitely affect your score.

IELTS Vocabulary: are you a collector?

In my opinion, a good language learner is someone who collects words and phrases. But the best learners don't simply store their collections and allow them to get dusty; they use them.

How about you? Are you a language collector? Did you collect any good phrases from the essay that I shared on Wednesday? Did you note them down? Do you regularly review your collection and try to use it?

IELTS Vocabulary: review of the week

Here's a list of some of the good words and phrases that I've used in my blog lessons this week:

• certain special occasions
• is likely to have (meaning 'probably has')
• you would hope that (common expression meaning 'hopefully')
• the end result
• a set of stunning photographs
• thinking back to... (this is a nice way to give a personal example)
• knew exactly what he was doing
• the bride, groom and guests
• (can't) trust an amateur
• a once-in-a-lifetime event
• a shift towards eating fast food less frequently
• restaurants = outlets = establishments
• at the other end of the scale
• the weekly fast food habit
• became a monthly or twice monthly habit
• historical events
• a sense of continuity across the generations
• passing down knowledge
• a consistent curriculum
• limits to the teaching scope
• visit key locations

IELTS Grammar / Vocabulary: correct the mistakes

Here are some of the sentences that people wrote below last Sunday's lesson. They all contain grammar mistakes or 'unnatural' use of vocabulary. Can you correct and/or improve them?

1. I’m in the dilemma of whether to get a job or continue my education.
2. I am uncertain about to a get a job or go to university.
3. I am thinking about to get admission in university or to start work.
4. I am undecisive of going to a university or getting a job.
5. I am a bit confused if I get a job or go to university.
6. I haven't decided if I should step into society or enrol in tertiary education.

IELTS Vocabulary: the paraphrasing skill

How good are you at finding different ways to communicate the same message? Let's practise using the following sentence from yesterday's lesson:

I am considering whether to get a job or go to university.

How many different ways can you find to communicate this idea? You don't need to change all of the words in the sentence, and it doesn't matter if your suggestions are less (or more) formal than the original. Just practise the paraphrasing skill.

Here's one example:
I'm not sure if I should look for work or apply to university.

IELTS Grammar: whether

Look at the two sentences below. Both are normal and correct.

A)  I am considering whether to get a job instead of going to university.
B)  I am considering whether to get a job or go to university.

Now look at this sentence from the introduction in Wednesday's lesson:

People have different opinions about whether schools should prioritise the teaching of national literature and history, instead of taking a more global view of these subjects.

Task: Can you change the sentence above into a type 'B' sentence?

IELTS Grammar: opinion + conditional

Try this useful technique for IELTS writing and speaking:

Give an opinion, then follow it with a conditional sentence.

Look at these examples:

1. In my opinion, governments should invest more money in public transport. If rail and bus services were more reliable, fewer people would need to drive.
2. Schools have an important role to play in children's health. If schools banned junk food, they would help to reduce the problem of childhood obesity.
3. In the future I think more people will do their shopping online. But if Internet shopping becomes more popular, many traditional shops will lose customers.

I've underlined the conditionals. Examples 1 and 2 are second conditionals, while 3 uses the first conditional.

Practice:
Prepare your own "opinion + conditional" ideas for different topics. Having a few of these ideas ready could help you in the writing and speaking tests.

IELTS Vocabulary: from yesterday's lesson

Have a look at the following phrases from yesterday's lesson. There is some interesting vocabulary here, even if you're not doing the General IELTS test.

• the unacceptable state of
• the neglected and shabby state of
• carry out maintenance work
• in all that time
• paint is peeling off the walls
• floor tiles are cracked
• there is mould and mildew growing
• we are being treated like farm animals
• putting our health at risk
• the customer experience
• address the issue
• as a matter of urgency
• a full refurbishment
• consider some form of compensation
• tolerate a situation

IELTS Vocabulary: essay review

Here's a quick review of the 'band 7 to 9' vocabulary in the essay that I shared on Wednesday:

• shoulder a huge responsibility
• raising children
• by no means an easy task
• attend parenting courses
• take a parenthood preparation course
• prospective parents
• busy schedules
• may not be willing or able to
  
• this raises the question of
• to enforce the idea
• compulsory training
• what good parenting entails
• to suit everyone
• without formal help
• official interference
• the surrounding culture
• learn by instinct
• learn by trial and error
• try different strategies
• a badly-behaved child
• develop an understanding
• a taught course
• such a scheme
• unworkable and largely pointless

What connection do you see between the list of vocabulary above and the advice in yesterday's speaking lesson?

IELTS Grammar: conclusion mistakes

The following sentences come from conclusions that people shared below this lesson. Can you improve them by correcting mistakes or by choosing more natural phrasing?

1. Organising a same parenting course for mothers and fathers with different family, culture and education background is impractical.
2. I do not see it as applicable to force parents to attend special courses.
3. That is a hard journey with fully challenges.
4. I disagree with the need for parents attending a mandatory parenting course.
5. I disagree with the view that parents should be made to undertake a parenting course instead these factors should rather be taken into consideration.

IELTS Grammar: 'onto' or 'on to'?

In Thursday's lesson I wrote this: "Traffic will be diverted on to a dual carriageway".

But why didn't I write 'onto' as one word? Do you know when to write the single word 'onto' and when to write 'on to' as two separate words?

Here's the answer:

• When the meaning is 'to a position on the surface of', we can use the single word 'onto' e.g. The child climbed onto the chair.
• But if the meaning is 'onwards' or 'towards', we should use the two words 'on to'. In my example ("on to a dual carriageway"), the meaning was 'towards', not 'to a position on the surface of'.

IELTS Grammar: passives with 'will be' and 'being'

Here are some more examples of the construction in yesterday's lesson:

There is a danger that this will be misunderstood. =
There is a danger of this being misunderstood.

Employers should assess the risk that staff will be affected by stress. =
Employers should assess the risk of staff being affected by stress.

What is the likelihood that the project will be completed by Friday? =
What is the likelihood of the project being completed by Friday?

IELTS Grammar: passive with 'being'

A student asked me about the use of 'being' in the following sentence.

"There is a danger of nuclear weapons being obtained by terrorists."

Here's my (updated) explanation:

• First, imagine that the simplest version of this sentence is this: "There is a danger of x" (in which x is a noun).
• Now we can consider "nuclear weapons being obtained by terrorists" as a big noun phrase.
• The "being obtained" part of this phrase can be called a passive gerund. It is not a verb or verb phrase, so the word "are" (are being) is not missing and cannot be added.

Note: When we use the phrase "there is a danger of...", there is a future implication. So, "there is a danger of x" means "there is a danger that x will happen".

Therefore, our sentence really means this:
- There is a danger that nuclear weapons will be obtained by terrorists" OR
- There is a danger that terrorists will obtain nuclear weapons.

Thanks to Morteza and Oleg for pushing me towards a better explanation!

IELTS Grammar: I'm agree or I agree?

In the comments below a recent lesson, I noticed that several people had written "I'm agree with you". This is incorrect.

You can't say "I'm agree" in English. You must say "I agree".

I think this mistake is caused by people translating from their own languages. For example, I know that in French and Spanish, the verb 'be' is used when people want to say that they agree, so it looks something like "I am agree" or "I am agreed". It's not the same in English.

In English, we simply use 'agree' as a normal verb: I agree, I prefer, I like...

IELTS Vocabulary: when do we use 'soar' and 'plummet'?

In Thursday's lesson I told you not to use words like soar, rocket, shoot up, creep up, dive and plummet in IELTS writing task 1.

But what's wrong with those words?

The problem with those words is that they are too figurative for writing task 1. Think about the normal use of these verbs (e.g. the bird soared into the air, the climber plummeted to his death). If you use these words to describe figures on a graph, it seems too sensational or exaggerated. This is why I prefer to stick with increase, decrease, rise and fall.

So can we ever use these words to describe figures?

If you're writing for a newspaper, yes you can! You'll often see phrases like this in newspapers: house prices soared, share prices plummeted, the price of petrol crept up. Newspapers and magazines love idiomatic and descriptive language, but this style does not suit academic graph descriptions.

IELTS Vocabulary: from this week's essay

Here's a list of the good 'topic vocabulary' from Wednesday's essay:

• in the modern workplace
• dress codes
• should be seen as irrelevant
• in many work contexts
• certain professions
• technology giants like Google and Facebook
• create relaxed office environments
• encouraged to dress casually
• are rarely seen wearing anything other than...
• produce work of outstanding quality
• global dominance
• in the technology sector
• a practical or safety function
• identify the person's position or role in society
• to portray an image of
• authority, trustworthiness and diligence
• smart, formal attire
• not applicable to all occupations
• sectors of the economy

IELTS Grammar: lowest, least, minimum

Look at this sentence from Thursday's lesson:

"The lowest number of attendances was recorded in the 5 to 15 age group."

Can you explain why we can't use "least" or "minimum" instead of "lowest" in this sentence? Note: there's a different problem with each of these two words.

IELTS Vocabulary: collocations and phrases

There were some really good collocations and phrases in the letter that I wrote last Sunday. Note them down, even if you're not doing the General Training test.

• recommend someone for something
• work closely with someone
• provide a reference
• highly qualified
• have significant (sales, teaching, management) experience
• to be given a post / job / position
• demonstrate skills
• exceptional skills
• organisation skills
• team building skills
• describe someone as (dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic)
• professionalism in (e.g. in the classroom, in her job, in the workplace)
• commitment to something
• the perfect candidate ('ideal candidate' is another common collocation)
• If you have any further questions
• do not hesitate to contact me

IELTS Vocabulary: weekly review

There were plenty of good phrases and collocations in this week's lessons. Here are just some of them:

From the reading lesson:

• internationally known
• a teaching philosophy
• create an environment
• to foster good moral character
• pick up their native language
• acquire their native language
• become proficient
• raise generations of children

From the writing task 2 lesson:

• a positive trait or attitude
• in the realm of education
• diligently follow instructions
• achieve good grades
• take their first steps
• the path to a successful career
• in an employment setting
• the most motivated, industrious and committed individuals
• rise to the top
• experts in their fields
• an unhealthy obsession with
• outcompeting others
• neglect family and relationships
• stressed and irritable
• a positive trait

Task: Can you list the good phrases and collocations from Friday's speaking lesson?

IELTS Vocabulary: collocations

Did you notice the following collocations (words that often go together) in Wednesday's lesson?

• main factors
• key factor
• work hard
• study hard
• hard work
• goal-oriented
• parental pressure
• graduate successfully
• escape poverty
• a new life
• truly enjoy

A student called DaNang even made a collocations exercise in the comments area below Wednesday's lesson. Good work DaNang!

IELTS Grammar: correct the mistakes

Can you correct the mistakes in the following sentences that students wrote about yesterday's 'status symbols' topic?

1. Owning a house is symbolised for having enough money to live.
2. I don’t think the possessions take an important role for our life.
3. People has a high regards to personality possessing extremely huge houses.
4. Owning summerhouse which is usually a little cottage in countryside is a status symbol.
5. They are considered as status symbols of the upper class people which make them proud to see people marvelling at these things.

IELTS Grammar: mistakes and corrections

Let's look at the grammar problems in last Sunday's lesson.

1. Don't write "growth population". You need to write "population growth".
2. You can't write "the number of public" because 'public' is uncountable.
3. Don't write "there was" when giving a future prediction.
4. You can't put "alike" before a noun, so "alike growth rate" is wrong.
5. Don't put "is" after a plural (prospects is), and you can't write "by meanwhile".

Here are my corrected versions of the sentences:

1. Population growth in England is projected at 5.9%.
2. The number of people living in England is projected to grow by 5.9%.
3. There will be a 5.9% increase in England's population.
4. There are similar population growth trends in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
5. The population is expected to grow by 3.2% in Scotland and by 4.3% in Northern Ireland.

IELTS Grammar: correct the mistakes

Here are some sentences that people wrote below Thursday's lesson. Can you correct the mistakes that they contain?

1. Growth population in England is projected at 5.9%.
2. The number of public living in England is projected to grow by 5.9%.
3. There was a slight increase in England's population approximately 5.9%.
4. There is alike growth rate trend in Northern Ireland and Scotland population.
5. By meanwhile the growth prospects is expected to be almost 3.2% in Scotland and 4.3% in Ireland.

IELTS Vocabulary: review of this week

Here's a list of useful vocabulary from this week's lessons:

Reading and listening

• make a resolution
• keep a resolution
• achieve a resolution
• draw a conclusion
• slip or make a mistake
• double your efforts
• break a goal into smaller steps
• give yourself a reward
• map out your progress

Writing task 2

• experience various problems
• considerable numbers of people
• intense competition
• oversupply of labour
• an abundance of working-age adults
• higher rates of poverty
• falling living standards
• meet the demand for
• provision of housing and public services
• rates of crime and antisocial behaviour
• the needs of .......... are not met
• poorer working conditions
• bring wages down
• exploit workers
• forced to migrate abroad
• in search of work
• an exodus of well-qualified young graduates
• brain drain
• not a desirable outcome

Speaking

• a specific example of
• it's thought to be
• I'd probably say that
• the most impressive .......... that I've ever seen
• areas of woodland
• commonly found in
• it stands out from
• has traditionally been used in
• a tourist attraction
• to marvel at something
  
• it symbolises history, strength and reliability
• legendary or mythical status
• the stories that are associated with it

IELTS Grammar: mistakes using model sentences

On Thursday I suggested that you write some sentences using two of my own sentences as models. Here are the model sentences:

1. More waste goes to landfill sites than to any other refuse management facility.
2. Austria and Belgium are the most environmentally friendly of the fifteen countries, recycling around 60% and 50% of their waste respectively.

And here are some sentences that people wrote in the 'comments' area below the lesson. Can you find and correct the mistakes?

1. More expenditure spends on cars than to any other consumer goods.
2. More women go to science degrees than any other university courses.
3. America and China are the most exported countries of all, exporting almost 2300 billion and 1600 billion respectively.
4. America and Canada are the most culturally friendly of the fifteen countries, with welcoming 50% and 60% of foreigners respectively.

IELTS Grammar: imagining something that doesn't exist

An interesting aspect of the speaking part 2 question that I answered on Friday was that I had to imagine a sports centre that doesn't currently exist.

Look at the phrases that I used when imagining:

• The place of entertainment that I wish we had
• My ideal sports centre would have...
• I can think of the perfect place for this
• It would be easy for people to get to
• I think a sports centre would be much better
• There could be sports lessons
• I’m sure many adults would join the gym
• The centre could hold sports events
• A sports complex would give young people...
• A sports centre would brighten up my local area

Notice that I mostly used 'would' and 'could' to imagine things. Try preparing an 'imagining' description yourself, and make sure you use these words.

IELTS Vocabulary: good phrases

Did you note down the following phrases from yesterday's description?

• indoor and outdoor football pitches
• an all-purpose area
• a disused piece of land
• just down the road from where I live
• an old warehouse was knocked down
• a plot of land
• local residents
• team practice sessions
• join the gym
• use the pool
• book the courts for games of tennis
• hold sports events
• attract spectators as well as participants
• facilities, activities, lessons and clubs
• something fun and productive to do
• brighten up my local area
• improve our quality of life

IELTS Vocabulary: band 7-9 phrases

Here are the best words and phrases from Wednesday's essay. Note them down, and try to use them in your own sentences - perhaps you could even try rewriting the essay using the list below to help you.

• household waste
• new legislation
• just one possible way to tackle the problem
• a legal obligation
• householders
• fail to adhere to this law
• prison sentences for repeat offenders
• act as a deterrent
• encourage people to obey
• improved behaviour of homeowners
• a clean, waste-free environment
• put education at the centre of a recycling campaign
• the environmental impact of household waste
• Another tactic that governments could use
  
• create stricter regulations
• packaging for household products
• recycling facilities and systems
• waste is processed more effectively
• dispose of their waste more responsibly

IELTS Grammar: not following advice leads to mistakes!

In Thursday's lesson I suggested some phrases that could be used in a task 1 introduction sentence.

However, I noticed below the lesson that some students had used their own ideas instead of my suggested phrases. Unfortunately this led to some big mistakes in the sentences below:

1. The bar chart portraits the three different environmental unfriendly techniques for recycling the waste management in various countries of Europe.
2. The bar chart depicts data about the percentage of recycled waste that is put into a landfill, an incinerator, or have been disposed of in other ways which are done in various EU countries.
3. The bar chart shows the percentage waste that is recycled.Meanwhile, put into landfill, incinerated, or disposed of in other ways in various EU countries.

Can you see the mistakes that could have been avoided if the students had used my suggestions?

IELTS Grammar: instead of 'rules'

Instead of trusting the grammar 'rules' that you find in a book, why not do your own investigating to see exactly how a word or phrase is used by native English speakers?

This is what I was encouraging you to do in yesterday's lesson about the word "alike". Instead of explaining the grammar rules, I simply showed you some correct sentences that contained the word. I gave you a 'model' or 'pattern' that you can use to make your own sentences.

Click here to see another example of a lesson in which I used 'model' sentences instead of rules to show how a word is used.