Nailing Grammar in IELTS: Your Guide to Language Precision

 Hey Future IELTS champions,

Embarking on the IELTS journey? Fantastic! One key aspect that can truly elevate your performance is mastering grammar. Let's break down the essentials to ensure your language skills shine brightly on the exam date. So if you look into IELTS marking criteria both speaking and writing, In order to get a higher band you must use good grammar and must use a variety of it too. I'll talk about the main points that you should know regardless of whether it is the speaking test or the writing test. For easy understanding, I'll break it down into the following topics,

1. Variety of grammar to use
2. Linking words
3. Tips and tricks

Some say that grammar is not that important. Yes and No... If you have good grammar knowledge you don't need to follow grammar lessons. Use what you have and avoid making mistakes. And if you feel like you are lacking in grammar knowledge then I encourage you to learn from a class or through YouTube. There are lots of lessons on YouTube that you can self-study. You should not underestimate the Grammar part. If you look at the marking scheme it accounts for 1/4 of the marks. So needless to say it's quite important. Let's get into it.

Variety of Grammar

By the way, you should not be overly ambitious with the Grammar. In the marking scheme, it clearly states that if you want band 7 or higher you should use a variety of grammar. You don't need all of them but let me summarize things that you must use throughout your writing and speaking as well.

Simple Tenses

There are 12 simple tenses in English. You don't need to use all of them but you need to be fluent in them. Most of the time you will use simple present, present continuous, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, and future simple tense. So if you are not much familiar with these you definitely should study them a bit. Check out the image below.

Passive voice

If you can add at least one or two sentences with the passive voice that will help with your score.

Relative clause

This is really important you must use these types of sentences throughout your answers. it will not only help you to expand your answers but all so can help to add more information without writing another simple sentence.

Relative pronouns: Who, Which, That, Whose, Whom, Whose

How to use them:

With people and also for pets we can use "Who". For things and also for animals we use "Which" and "That" is less formal so mostly in speaking you can use which or who instead when writing. Most of the time relative clause goes directly after the Noune.

There are two types of Relative clauses, Defining Relative clauses and Non-defining Relative clauses. You should understand the difference between these two. When writing you need a non-defining relative clause to build up complex sentences which I will talk about below.

• The Defining Relative clause will explain or simply define a noun of a sentence.

"children who hate chocolate are uncommon." In this sentence, if you remove the clause the sentence will lose its meaning so the relative clause acts as a definition of the noun.

• The non-defining Relative clause will add more information about a noun of a sentence.

"John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren." In this sentence, if you remove the clause the sentence will not lose its meaning so the relative clause only adds more information about the noun of the sentence.

Important: When you write a non-defining relative clause,

• If the clause is in the middle of the sentence you must put a "COMMA" at the beginning of the clause and also at the end.
• If the clause is in the end just put the comma at the beginning of the clause. 

If clause/ Conditional clause

This clause is used to discuss the future and possible outcome events. It always begins with "IF".

"If the trains are not running this weekend, I'll walk to the park instead."

• Dependent IF clause:- "If the trains are not running this weekend,"
• Independent result:- "I will walk to the park instead."

There are three types of conditional clauses:

1. First conditional - Use to describe a possible future situation.

"If the weather is bad, we will not go to the beach." so there is a possibility that can happen.

( IF + Present simple & will/ won't)

2. Second conditional - Use to describe an unlikely future situation.

" If travel were much cheaper, I would visit America and Europe." so this is not going to happen. It's just a description.

( IF + Past simple & would/could/might)

3. Third conditional - Use to describe an imagined past and future situation.

"If I had studied, I would have passed the exam very well."

( IF + Past perfect + would have & past participle[ 3rd from of the verb] )

This clause is great for supporting sentences and useful when providing examples.

" For example, If a country exported all its food produced, it might not be able to feed its own people."

You don't need to use all at least incorporate one of these to your speaking answer and also for the writing answer.

Compound sentences 

A compound sentence is a sentence that has more than one Sunject or predicate. It joins two more sentences that have related ideas of equal importance. The two sentences go together. Each sentence or independent clause must still have a subject and verb.

• One way to create a compound sentence is with a semi-colon.

Not a common practice, a semicolon is used only where ideas are very closely related.

For example;- "They say it is your birthday; it is my birthday too."

• Another way to create a compound sentence is with a Coordinating Conjunction.

Coordinating Conjunctions are sometimes referred to as "F A N B O Y". Notice how a comma is used with a coordinating conjunction.

1. For - He could not go home, for he had no place to go.
2. And - I took a taxi, and she drove home.
3. Nor - He did not want help, nor did she offer it.
4. But - I wanted to go late, but she wanted to go in time.
5. Or - She cooks dinner, or she goes out to a restaurant. 
6. Yet - She owned a car, yet she did not know how to drive it.
7. So - She had to go, so she called a friend to drive her.

Important - only combine sentences that are closely related.

Complex sentences

Complex does not mean complicated, long, or impressive. A complex sentence is made up of a main clause and a subordinate clause connected to each other with a subordinate conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions are common in academic writing, and they are extremely useful for indicating sophisticated connections between ideas. A subordinate clause is an incomplete sentence and cannot be used on its own. For example,

"His first job as a minister in Washinton D.C was short lived (main clause) because his abolitionist views clashed with those of his congregation (subordinate clause)."

A subordinate clause can either go before or after the main clause. For example,

"Whereas a few people set out deliberately to defraud in this way, there is a risk of unintentional plagiarism."

Note - If the Subordinate clause comes first, a COMMA is used to separate it from the main clause.

Below are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions:-

"After , Although , As , Becuse , Before , Even Though , If , Once , Since , So long as , Though , Unless , Until , When , Whenever , Whereas , Wherever , While "

Using Adverbs also you can create Complex sentences. It is common to use adverbs to connect ideas in academic writing. Typically adverbs can be found at the beginning of a sentence, or they can occasionally be placed between the subject and verb.

" However, a small group cannot file abbreviated accounts at companies house."

" The sun was shining, however, it was not very warm."

" Nevertheless, given the rapid advance on mobile phone technology, they look adequately antiquated to meet many purchasers' needs."

Using Non-defining Relative clauses also we can build up complex sentences. 

Linking words

Linking words is crucial in IELTS writing. You need to use a bunch of it so that your ideas have a good flow and connection. I will give you some commonly used linking words below make sure you practice and use them in your essay.

" But - Although, However, Nevertheless, Despite, In spite of, Nonetheless"

"While, Whereas, On the other hand, Conversely, In contrast"

" And - Along with, Together with, As well as, Besides"

"Also - Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, Likewise, Similarly"

"After - Subsequently "

" As a result, Consequently, As a consequence, Therefore, Thus "

Tips and tricks

• Avoid writing contractions when you writing. For example, do not write "Don't" Write it as " Do not".
• Do not write in bullet points.
• Do not use signs like "&", just write "and".
• Do not use abbreviations like, "e.g" or "etc".
• Avoid using idioms in writing but use them in speaking.
• when you give an answer or write an answer check the tense of the question and answer accordingly.
• Make sure to keep an eye on subject-verb agreement.
• Use articles correctly (the, a, an ).
• Use punctuation properly when writing. Use commas and semicolons the correct way.
• When you are writing an essay start with simple sentences and when you expand your answer use complex sentences to give examples and explanations.

Grammar proficiency isn't just a box to check; it's the brushstrokes that paint a vivid picture of your language skills, Practice, review, and let your grammar prowess shine in the IELTS exam.

You've got this! May your grammar be flawless and your sentences be eloquent.

Cheer,

Hasitha Senarathna